Halloween Pet Safety Tips: Your Guide to a Pet-Safe Halloween

Spooky season is upon us, and while we enjoy the frights of Halloween, the same can’t be said for our pets. Many aspects of Halloween can be stressful for pets, such as multiple visitors coming to the house, loud noises, music, and even costumes.

Of course, this is all in the name of fun, but it’s important to remember that Halloween is a human holiday, and pets don’t understand that this is only for one night. This is why ensuring your pet stays safe and calm this Halloween is a must!  

If you’re not sure where to get started, then check out our Halloween safety tips for pets below. You can also checkout our guide to Autumn Pet Dangers so you can be fully informed when making a plan for seasonal safety! 

We all love the spooky season for some reason or another, whether you're looking to binge your favourite horror films or you're planning to get dressed up for a party or trick-or-treating. 

But pets don't understand holiday festivities the same way, and many can find Halloween very stressful. That's why we've put together our top tips for a pet-safe Halloween. 

Every Halloween, trick-or-treaters flock to the streets to bring home the best Halloween Haul. But with so many people out and about and in costume, no less, it can be a very overwhelming time for your pet. This is why it's best to keep your pets inside on Halloween night, espeically during the most busy stretches. 

We recommend: 

• Walking your dog during the day to avoid large crowds of people in costumes.
• Keeping your cat indoors, even if they typical free roam to prevent them getting spooked and darting into a road or other danger. 
• Keep your windows shut and be careful when opening the door to prevent any escape attempts

By keeping your pets indoors over Halloween evening, you can rest assured you know where they are and that they’re safe. 

Both cats and dogs have superior hearing to humans, so if the Halloween party down the street seems loud, imagine how your pets feel.  

Keeping things relatively quiet at home is a great step to keeping your pets calm this Halloween. We recommend: 

• Providing a safe, quiet space where your pet can relax, like a spare room, office, or somewhere away from the front door. 
• If you use a Ring doorbell, mute the notifications so the sound doesn't trigger your dog each time it rings.
• Put a bowl or bag of treats outside your front door so trick-or-treaters can help themselves without ringing the doorbell. 
• Have the TV or radio on to provide a familiar enviroment.

While it's still likely to be a bit noisy outside, you can help your pets stay calm and relaxed in the safety of the home. 

Calm is the focus this Halloween, and ensuring your home remains a safe space for your pet is the goal. There are a variety of ways you can do this, and what works will depend on your pet, but we'd recommend: 

• Keeping windows and curtains/blinds closed - this will muffle sounds and block out any bright, flashing lights. 
• Give your pet somewhere cozy to relax, like a crate, bed, or cat tree to help them feel secure.
• Embue your home with a sense of calm by using a cat calming diffuser or a dog calming diffuser.
• Try and keep your usual routine - if you are calm and unafraid, your pets will pick up on it and know they're in no danger

There are a number of other pet calming remedies available, such as dog calming collars, calming treats, and so much more. Just make sure you introduce the calming aid a few days to a week ahead of the festivities to allow you pet to adjust and ride that calm wave right through the holiday.

Plus, most calming diffusers for cats and dogs last up to a month, so by introducing one to your home before Halloween, it will keep working to keep your pet calm through Bonfire Night on the 5th November. 

Halloween isn’t just about the scares and tricks but also the treats. Human treats, that is, since most of the goodies given out on Halloween will be toxic to pets.  

The most common culprit for Halloween treats is chocolate, which is toxic to cats and dogs because it contains theobromine, which is harmful to all pets, but is particuarly dangerous in small dogs and cats since it only takes a small amount to cause poisoning symptoms. 

We recommend:

• Feeding your pet an early dinner so they're full, calm, and can just lie down a relax. 
• Keeping any Halloween treats out of your pet's sight and reach, like a high cupboard or drawer. 
• Having a bowl of treats outside the front door for trick-or-treaters to help themselves to, eliminating the risk of accidental ingestion. 
• Be particularly careful with foods containing sweeteners (such a toxic Xylitol), raisins, nuts, boiled sweets, and chocolate. 

And it's not just the edible Halloween items you need to be concerned with, but also any decorations you're planning to use to spookify your home. Be particularly careful with: 

• Fake spiders which are small enough to swallow.
• Fake spider webs which pets and wildlife can become tangled or trapped in, and can also cause digestive blockages if eaten.
• Ornaments that your dog could mistake for a toy.
• Any decorations with wires or cables your pet might chew.
• Open flames in pumpkins or candles which can be a fire risk if knocked over, or can cause burns. 
• Fog machines, since the solution used to make the fake fog is potentially toxic and can irritate a pet's sensitive respiratory system.

If you are planning to spookify your home this Halloween, keep potentially toxic or swallowable decorations out of reach of your pet, or provide them with something more interesting to focus on, like a long-lasting treat or a new Halloween pet toy.

Halloween is all about the dressing up, and with pet halloween costumes growing in popularity, more owners are looking for the perfect outfit for their pet. 

However, most animals are not used to wearing clothes or any kind, let alone costumes, and can find it stressful or even painful to be forced into an outft just for a few pictures. This is why we recommend saving the dressing up for the humans.

You know your pet best, so if you know they're okay with wearing clothes, you can still dress them up. Just make sure: 

• You watch for signs of stress or discomfort while putting the outfit on (such as vocalising, struggling, or trying to get away), and stop immediately. 
• Monitor for any change to your pet's behaviour while wearing the outfit, and take it off immediately if you do. 
• Choose something that fits your pet, allows for full mobility, and is made from a comfortable, breathable, and non-abrasive material.
• Opt for decorative accents over outfits, such as something that can attach to your pet's collar (like bowties or bandanas), or their harness (like bat or fairy wings)

While seeing pets in Halloween costumes can be adorable, it's not suitable for every pet, and it's not worth stressing them out just for a picture. Remember, your pet doesn't know what Halloween is, and won't understand why you're forcing them to wear something.