There is nothing more fun than including your dog in holiday festivities as a dog parent or dog walker in Astoria. As the holiday season starts this Halloween, it’s important to be safe while ensuring your dog is having a good time. From magical corn mazes and parades, to costume contests and haunted houses, activities that are dog inclusive are becoming more mainstream. Dog walking in Astoria is always a great activity too. Especially to share fun, cute, or scary costumes with your neighborhood during daylight hours.
Tips for Doggy Halloween Costumes
If you love dressing your dog up in costumes, be sure to take the same precautions with Halloween costumes as you would with a child. Ensure that the costume is comfortable for your pup. Even friendly dogs can get snappy when their site is hindered. Most importantly, only dress them up if they enjoy it!
If you’re unsure if your dog will enjoy costumes, ask a friend if you can borrow one. If they aren’t fighting to get it off or writhing in discomfort, give lots of praise and be sure to take some photos immediately. Then take the outfit right off. Try this for few days in a row, consecutively adding more time in the costume each day. If on any day your doggo whines or runs away, they are probably done with dressing up. Just like people, some dogs simply don’t like costumes. If this is the case, you can still be festive by buying them a fun new collar or Halloween-themed bandana.
Halloween Food Safety Tips for your Dog
Let’s remember food safety too! As we all know, chocolate is dangerous for dogs and popular for Halloween. But other scary things lurk in human treats too. People of all ages get excited for pumpkin spice anything. But did you know it can be harmful to our dogs? A common part of pumpkin spice is nutmeg. In small amounts, nutmeg causes an upset stomach and in large amounts is toxic.
Another commonly used ingredient dangerous to dogs is xylitol. Used as a sugar substitute, you can find it in sugar free peanut butter, candy, toothpaste, mints, gum, and jam/jelly. Be sure to keep an eye on candy wrappers as well. Both cellophane and aluminum foil can get stuck in a dog’s airway or cause intestinal problems. There are a lot of dog-friendly Halloween treats out there, so be sure to ask your veterinarian if you have any questions.
Exercise Your Pup
On Halloween, be sure to keep your dog inside. There have been too many stories of dognapping and cruel pranks involving injured pups (and bites to pranksters, understandably). If your costumed pooch enjoys visitors, be sure to have a walk while it’s light. Then let them hang out near the door and be ready to rescue them if they get stressed. After all, too many new visitors in costumes and masks can be nerve-wracking. For any dog that is less comfortable with visitors or generally nervous, provide them a quieter environment so they don’t get overwhelmed. After all, you know your dog best and a dog bite on Halloween is less than fun for those involved.
In general, one of the best ways to prevent anxiety, especially on a busy holiday, is simply by ensuring that your pup receives adequate exercise. A 1-hour walk or 30-minutes of vigorous play in the morning will help tire them out. You can also provide chew toys to keep your dog occupied and distracted. If you require help providing structured exercise or social interaction for your dog, you can enroll your pup in daily Socialization Walks.
Buster and Whiskers is The #1 Dog Walking Service in Astoria, NY. If your dog needs more exercise or social interaction, enroll your pup in daily Socialization Walks with us. Contact us for a professional and reliable Dog Walker in Astoria!
