Halloween With Pets

The spooky season is upon us once again - this year, we’re helping owners make the most of Halloween with pets! Amongst all the fun and excitement, it’s important to remember that Halloween can become a source of stress and danger for pets, and owners must make sure they put their furry friend’s happiness and safety first amid all the celebrations!

When done right, Halloween can be an exciting time for pets, and people alike! As long as you’re careful, they won’t have to spend the day feeling scared and confused - instead, there’s plenty of fun, engaging, and creative ways to get your furry friends in the spooky spirit.

If you’re currently stuck on how you can make Halloween a pet-friendly holiday, we’re here to help give you some ideas! Make sure to keep reading for some of our best tips for celebrating Halloween with pets.

Ensuring Halloween Safety

It’s no secret that Halloween can be a scary occasion for pets, particularly with all the dressed up trick-or-treaters, and spooky decorations. However, on top of the fright your pet may feel, there’s also a few precautions that you will need to take in order to ensure that your companion is safe from any potential Halloween dangers that you may not have considered before! Some of these risks include:

Halloween Sweets

While it may seem simple, you must make sure that the halloween sweets you leave out for trick-or-treaters are out of the reach of pets, as these are often very harmful to them, and can cause serious health complications. Likewise, if you have any children who will be out trick-or-treating, you must ensure that anything they bring back is kept away from pets!

Lit Candles and Jack-o-Lanterns

 It doesn’t take much for an excitable dog, or a curious cat to knock over a lit pumpkin! Make sure that any candles or jack-o-lanterns are either completely inaccessible by your pets, or that you use pet-friendly alternatives, such as battery-operated lights or glowsticks. 

Durable Dog Tags for Halloween Adventures 

If you’re a dog owner looking to take on some autumnal walks this time of year, you’ll need to ensure your pet’s tag is designed to endure anything your pooch throws at them! That’s why we craft our reinforced tags, so that you can have the peace of mind that your pet’s tag will remain legible all year round, no matter the adventure. If you’re looking to get yours, explore your options here.

In light of the spooky season, you can even treat your pet to one of our Halloween-themed brass tags! You can choose from either our pumpkin, or skull-themed tags for the opportunity to make this Halloween special for you, and for your furry friend! Click here to shop now.

Safe Rooms & Escape Prevention

Particularly as Halloween turns to the evening, the constant knocking of the door and ringing of the doorbell can disturb, upset, or confuse your furry friends. If your pet is terrified by trick-or-treaters, it may be worthwhile creating a safe room for them - ideally somewhere quiet, and away from all the action where they can unwind. Make sure to give them their favourite toys, treats, and water, and make sure to check on them as frequently as you can if the safe room is not with you.

Alternatively, if your pet is more sociable, and gets a little too excitable by all the new people knocking at your door, it may be worth taking precautions to prevent them escaping. You should ensure that your pet is supervised at all times, and they should never have the free reign to approach strangers without your control. Frightened pets have also been known to attempt to bolt out the door as soon as it’s open, and it is your duty to ensure that this doesn’t happen. If you feel this is a concern, block off any areas near to the door.

Wires, Lights, and Decorations 

When preparing your home for the big occasion, you should take careful consideration to ensure that wires, lights, and any other decorations will not become hazardous towards your pet. We’d recommend that you hang decorations out of the reach of your pets, preventing them from being able to chew on them, or getting themselves tangled. We’d also recommend avoiding using fake cobwebs, or other small items, as these can become choking hazards. 

Also, make sure your pet isn’t terrified of your decorations before you hang them up!

Early Walks

If you own a dog, it is always recommended that you get your daily exercise out of the way early, so that you’re able to avoid the crowds, and any potential scares from people (or other pets!) in costumes. If you’re not able to walk your dog early, consider replacing your walk with some engaging exercise from home, such as fun training games in the garden!

Fun Ideas for Halloween With Pets

Now that you’ve taken all the necessary steps to make the spooky season safer for your pet, it’s time to start thinking about how you can get them involved in all the excitement! There’s plenty of different fun, unique ways that you can include them in the spooky celebrations, and we’ll be exploring those ways to do so!

Halloween Costumes

A fantastic, popular way to get your pets involved in the excitement is to dress them up! You can turn your cuddly companion into a spooky skeleton, or a four-legged Frankenstein, the possibilities are endless! For something a little more subtle, you can swap your pet’s usual tag for one of our seasonal pumpkin, or skull tags! Make sure to click here and view your options.

This year, we’re looking to feature the spookiest pets on our profiles! Make sure to send us your best photos of your pet’s costume, or your exciting adventures, and we’ll feature your companion on our social media profiles. Send your pictures to us @engravingstudios on either Facebook, or Instagram.

Pet Safe Treats

As a one-off occasion, you can spoil your pets with some Halloween treats! There’s plenty of pet-friendly options to choose from, so that your pet doesn’t get too jealous of all the sweets being given out! Some fantastic Halloween treats for pets include:

• Pumpkin puree - Excellent for making pupcakes, biscuits, and frozen treats.

• Xylitol-free peanut butter

• Frozen candy-corn - A seasonal treat using yoghurt, pumpkin puree, and a banana. Click here for the recipe!

You can even put your own spooky twist on your pet’s traditional meals, just as long as it is safe for them to consume! If you’re looking to go the extra mile, you can also buy a spooky-themed food bowl! 

Scavenger Hunt

This year, why not create a scavenger hunt for your pet! This is a fantastic way to get your pet involved in an engaging, brain-training activity, which they’ll be sure to enjoy. You can scatter various Halloween-themed toys or treats around your house, or garden, and let your pet sniff them out. 

This is a fantastic alternative to trick-or-treating with pets, which is not recommended due to the potential stress from crowds, costumes, and new people.

Settle in For A Halloween Movie Night

You’ve got your exercise out the way earlier in the day, now it’s time to put your feet up, and cozy up with your pet for a movie night! Whether you’ve got the guts to stomach a horror movie, or you’d rather stick to Scooby-Doo, your pet will more than likely appreciate some down-time with all the trick-or-treating chaos going on outside, regardless of the film you choose!

Summary

Halloween should be a time that all can enjoy, that certainly includes your furry friends. We hope we’ve provided some inspiration for you, and that you now know how to make the most of Halloween with pets!

Make your pet’s Halloween extra special this year with our range of Halloween tags! These tags feature a seasonal design on the front, with your choice of wording deeply engraved on the back, meaning you can stay compliant with the Control of Dogs Order 1992 - whilst expressing your pet’s style! If you’re looking to have your furry friend rocking one of our skull, or pumpkin designed brass tags, make sure to click here and get yours before the spooky season begins!