Dog Safety During Halloween 10 Tips for 2014

• # 10. Be sure your dogs have their tags on, dogs may escape with your front door opening and closing all the time.
• # 9. Some dogs are very reactive to the front door bell. Be proactive and start training your dog that the front doorbell isn’t anything to be reactive to. Desensitizing your dog using treats and praise at the sound of the doorbell. This is a great way to start teaching your dog the bell isn’t something to worry about. Teaching them to stay back away from the door is also a good idea.
• # 8. Give your dog a save place to go when she’s scared A crate is a great idea for some dogs while other dogs will not tolerate the crate very well. For dogs that aren’t crate trained try a room and use some background noise to help your dog relax. Give your dog a save place to go when she’s scared A crate is a great idea for some dogs while other dogs will not tolerate the crate very well. For dogs that aren’t crate trained try a small room and use some background noise to help your dog relax. Put your dogs bed and water in this room as well. It’s a good idea to get your dog use to that area before the day you want to her to be in that room.
• # 7. This is not a good evening o keep your dog outside. If your dog is an outside dog keep an extra eye on her as your dog may see things that spook her. Again Tags on your dog are key.
• #6. When walking your dog, do so before all the trick or treaters are out and about. The goal is to keep her calm and avoid triggers.
• # 5. If your children are getting dressed up for Halloween, let your dog watch them get put on the costume. This sometimes helps the dog understand and not be startled when they see them.
• # 4. Our dogs like routine and getting too far off track is upsetting to them. Do your best to saty on your normal routine. Aside from walks during peek Traick Or Treat time.
• # 3. It’s always a good idea to get your dog some exercise. Before the activity starts, get your dog out for a good long walk. This never hurts.
• # 2. Mental stimulation for your dog is key. Giving them some smart toys their longest lasting treat during the activities can help distract them.
• #1. Be careful to keep all candy away from your dogs. As we all know many candies and make our dogs extremely sick. Take extra steps to keep the bags of candy away from them. As a dog trainer I see lots of dogs get into all kinds of things that can make them sick.

Happy Halloween! Be safe and have fun…