30/10/2026
As Halloween can be very stressful and scary for pets (and all animals), a bit of advance planning, preparation and awareness can make it a safer and less stressful night for all.
🎃 Walk dogs in daylight before any festivities begin to avoid fireworks, bangers, running into kids & adults in scary masks & costumes.
🎃 Call cats in early for the night, before the festivities begin.
🎃 Keep curtains closed and occupy pets with their favourite enrichment activities or toys. Play relaxing music or have TV on to drown out external noises and help keep them calm.
🎃 Be extremely careful opening doors to “trick or treaters” - a nervous pet is a high escape risk – ideally pop a dogs’ lead on if you are opening the door.
🎃 As well as ensuring microchip details are up to date, keep collars on your dogs/cats with an ID tag which includes your details.
🎃 Don’t leave pets home alone during the noisy hours.
🎃 Keep (human!) treats well out of reach of pets - most human treats (especially chocolate) are highly toxic to dogs. Though of course make sure you have some extra doggie treats in!
🎃 Pets that normally live outdoors should be given extra bedding to burrow in, or if possible, perhaps consider bringing small pets in for the night.
The NSPCA has a dedicated page to keeping dogs safe at Halloween - I’d highly recommend reading over it. https://nspca.ie/animal-advice/keeping-dogs-safe-at-halloween/
Wishing everyone a Happy (and safe) Halloween 🎃🐾🎉🍀