10/30/2026
Kids, costumes, dogs, candy, doorbells! Oh my! Read on for tips on making Halloween safe for everyone!
Let's be proactive!
- take your dog out to the bathroom and a walk before the action starts!
- set up a gate around your doorway so that you can stand inside it and hand out candy all while keeping your dog safely away from spooky dressed up strangers, away from an open front door and away from the big bowl of candy! Even dogs who like kids can become scared or over excited and jump up on them.
- have a stuffed Kong ready to keep doggy busy
- costume on your dog? If your dog is used to wearing clothes it may not be an issue, but some dogs get freaked out by wearing a costume. Maybe a bandana would be a better choice for those ones.
- heading out trick or treating? The safest place for your dog is at home.
- always watch your dog's body language for signs of fear, anxiety or stress. That can look like: yawning, scratching, ears (back or lowered), lip licking, freezing, refusing food, stiffness, paw lifting.
- make sure id tags and leashes are on, both in the house and out!
- have dog that goes nuts when the doorbell rings? They may end up on sensory overload tonight! An idea to avoid the doorbell being rung is to set up a table on the driveway (where possible) and greet the kids there!
- if your kids are heading out trick or treating, use a crate or tether to keep the dog away from the candy bags that get dumped out and inventoried at the end of the night 🙂
The more prepared we are the smoother it will go!
Enjoy!
