Halloween is the scariest holiday of the year! But you don’t want the festivities to actually terrify your brand-new puppy. This October 31st may bring children of all ages to your door dressed in costumes, friends and family into your home for a spooktacular gathering, and even a Halloween parade down your street! You need […]
Halloween is the scariest holiday of the year! But you don’t want the festivities to actually terrify your brand-new puppy. This October 31st may bring children of all ages to your door dressed in costumes, friends and family into your home for a spooktacular gathering, and even a Halloween parade down your street! You need to know all of the safety tips for your puppy this Halloween!
The sights, sounds, and smells will surely be exciting for your fur baby, and it could also be overwhelming. There are many precautions you can take, however, as you prepare for Halloween that will ensure your puppy remains safe and happy.
Read on to learn about Petland Texas’ Halloween safety tips for puppies!
Puppies remind us of toddlers—tiny, bouncy, and unusually fast. You’ve probably discovered for yourself that keeping an eye on your puppy is a good idea, even when you’re inside at home. For new puppy parents who are planning outdoor Halloween parties at their own houses or think they’ll go to their friends’ parties, it’s important to organize all of the necessary precautions before you show up to the ghostly festivities.
Our first safety tip for puppies is this: if your puppy hasn’t been microchipped, now is the time to get that done. Microchips are in no way harmful to pets. This technology has successfully located and even saved the lives of all kinds of domestic animals, puppies and dogs especially.
Have you registered your puppy, using all of your personal contact information, with the microchip company associated with your puppy’s microchip? Just because your puppy had a microchip put in before you took him home doesn’t mean that your puppy is registered. This is a critical step, so take the time now to register your puppy. And if your puppy is already registered, go into your microchip account and double-check that all your contact information is current and correct.
As an added measure, we strongly recommend that you associate your puppy’s microchip registration number with a smartphone app. Most microchip companies offer their own app. Get this set up on your smartphone and make sure you’re familiar with the GPS tracking tools. This will be your first line of defense and your best resource if you discover suddenly that you don’t know where your puppy is on Halloween.
Your puppy should always be wearing his collar with I.D. tags. Sometimes, a few tags are necessary so that all of the pertinent information is always with your puppy no matter where he is. Your dog’s I.D. tags should include:
If your puppy’s tags have old or outdated information, then now is the time to have new tags made. Our safety tips for puppies starts with always knowing where your puppy is!
What’s Halloween without glowing pumpkins, spooky cobwebs, dangling skeletons, festive snacks and fun drinks, and of course everyone dressed up in scary costumes? These are the hallmarks of any great Halloween party! But with great Halloween parties come grave dangers to dogs. Here’s what you need to watch out for when you bring your puppy to a Halloween party.
There are many human foods, ingredients, and liquids that are poisonous to dogs. These can be downright fatal to puppies because puppies don’t weigh much and they’re still developing. We recommend that you keep your veterinarian clinic’s emergency number with you at all times. If you suspect that your puppy may have ingested any of the following ingredients, don’t hesitate to call your vet and arrange to bring your puppy in ASAP. Safety tips for puppies are all about not accidentally poisoning your puppy!
If you’re scared out of your wits end, we don’t blame you! Any given Halloween party, whether at your house, at a friend’s place, or outside in a park will definitely have most of these items. For this reason, the best way to keep your puppy safe is to not allow anyone to feed him “scraps” and to keep him in your sight at all times.
Keeping your puppy on a leash is a good idea, but not always practical. The best alternative is to take the time now to train your puppy as much as possible in the basic commands until you are confident that your puppy will obey you right away, regardless of how interesting an item is. Focus on the “drop it” command, as well as the simple “no” command, and test him with recall exercises. Your puppy should always “drop” an item and “come” to you immediately when told to do so.
The best Halloween decorations create a virtual minefield of hazards for the average puppy. Carved pumpkins lit with burning candles, fake spiders’ web gauze, and the classic adult Halloween costumes all pose dangers to dogs.
If you’re planning on hosting a Halloween party, then there’s much you can do to avoid these hazards. Instead of using real candles, try battery-powered lights. Keep your decorations “high up” where your puppy can’t reach them. For example, draping and stringing fake spiders’ webs across the ceiling and high up on the countertops can provide the same decorative look without tempting your puppy.
If you’re planning on bringing your puppy to someone else’s party, it would be ideal to ask them to make decorative modifications for the sake of your fur baby. That may or may not be possible. When you arrive with your puppy, keep him on his leash, walk him through the space, and decide where he can and cannot go. Depending on your communication, your puppy may pick up on your cues to avoid certain areas. But again, we recommend that you keep your puppy on his leash so that he remains in your sight at all times.
Most Halloween costumes for children and adults are not pet-friendly and contain choking hazards. There’s not much you can do to prevent this. But you can prevent your puppy from getting hold of discarded costumes and costume pieces, like Halloween hats. If you see your puppy with a costume piece in his mouth, tell him to drop it and then check his mouth to make sure he didn’t bite off part of the costume.
If you notice your puppy choking, coughing, or vomiting, you’ll have to pry his mouth open, look inside, and use your fingers to remove whatever material he tried to swallow. Among our safety tips for puppies, providing a safe, dog-friendly costume is at the top of our list!
Whether you’re hosting a Halloween party or simply staying home to watch movies and hand out candy to trick-or-treaters, it’s a good idea to prepare a “safe room” for your puppy. The safe room should be set far apart from any “action,” including the front door if kids are coming to get candy from you all evening.
By preparing a quiet, cozy room for your puppy, you can move him into his safe space if and when he becomes overwhelmed. We recommend leaving some puppy pee pads on the floor, too, even if your puppy is housebroken. Accidents can happen when a dog is scared, and it’s never a bad idea to have pee pads.
We also recommend that you ask party guests and also trick-or-treaters to not ring your doorbell. The sound of a doorbell chiming can be too exciting for dogs, and if the doorbell is ringing all night, it could cause your puppy a great deal of anxiety. Instead, create a sign to hang on your front door that asks your guests and visitors to knock. If you’re throwing a party, your sign could say, “Come on in!”
Those are Petland Texas’ Halloween safety tips for puppies! We hope you have a great Halloween with your new furry friend! And if you don’t want spooky season to be puppy-less, come to our Houston and Tyler pet store locations. We have Pug puppies for sale in Houston, Australian Shepherds for sale in Tyler, TX, and hypoallergenic dog breeds for sale at all of our pet shops!
