You’ve hung the ghosts and skeletons, finished your Halloween costume, stocked up with about a metric ton of candies and gave your home over to jack-o-lanterns – you’re almost ready for Halloween. The only thing left to do is making sure the night goes smoothly for you furry little friends as well. Here’s our essential checklist for a fun and safe Halloween for your furry friends.
- Keep all sweets out of the reach of your pets. It’s not only the plastic wrappers that can cause serious medical problems if swallowed, but the sweets themselves as well. Chocolate for example can be extremely toxic, even deadly, to animals.
- Curios, excited or scared animals and open flames are not a combination you want to try. Keep all candles (including jack-o-lanterns) away from your pets, as they might accidentally knock them over. While Resident Shield has you covered in case of fire, be sure you take all precautions to avoid a calamity.
- If your dog has a habit of chewing on new things, put new decorations are out of his reach and don’t buy anything he could easily swallow.
- Hanging skeletons and ghosts sure creates the right mood for a night of spook, but be sure you pose them in a place where Captain Fluffington can’t hunt them down (and knock your prized heirloom vase off the mantelpiece).
- While it would definitely look adorable to wear matching or complementary outfits with your pet, don’t get carried away. Some animals don’t have a problem with wearing clothes and some even enjoy them. Others however, react poorly. Consider your pet’s disposition well before you him into a cape or make him wear a wig.
- If your pet handles costumes well and you plan on going trick-or-treating with them, make sure the costume doesn’t hinder their movements, as that might make them anxious. Make sure the costume provides plenty of protection against the elements too, as All Hallow’s Eve tends to be quite cold in some areas. Don’t forget to put your pet on a solid leash, not a retractable one, for both your safety.
- No matter how friendly your pet is, all the ruckus of Halloween (doorbells ringing non-stops, kids screaming and running, pranks) can be overwhelming to them. Although Resident Shield’s personal liability coverage includes liability provision for dog bites, it’s better to confine Scruffy to a bedroom until the activity subsides. If he wouldn’t handle that well, at least make sure that he’s nowhere near the door. You really don’t want Scruffy to get a bad reputation in your apartment community for biting a preschooler princess or firefighter.
- No matter how many precautions you take, with the door constantly opening, there is a chance your pet will get loose. Make sure all your pets are wearing an adequately tight collar with accurate and easily understandable contact information. If you want to be extra safe, consider getting an ID chip implant. Should the SPCA or animal control find them, it will only take seconds for them to identify you as the owner and return them home.
