Today I decided to share some photos of Sadie in her Tootsie Roll Halloween costume. After all, isn’t Tongue Out Tuesday the perfect day for finding out how many licks it takes to get to the center?

One of the most important safety rules to follow on Halloween is the buddy system. Always pair up with at least one person and stick with that person at all times, especially when trick or treating. This ensures that no one gets lost or left behind. This helpful system can also be used to make sure your pets have a safe and Happy Halloween. In these photos Sadie is posing with her Halloween buddy. Although Sadie and her buddy will not go out trick or treating together, they will both hang out with me on the front porch to give out the candy.

Halloween can be a scary time for children and pets alike. There are so many strange sights and sounds and smells. There are costumes and candy everywhere and doorbells ringing constantly. All of these factors add up to a stressful holiday for cats and dogs. Your pets may try to hide, run out the front door, bark obsessively, steal candy, etc. This is when the buddy system comes in handy. Assign a friend, family member, or even yourself the job of being the animal buddy. That person must know where the pets are at all times, making sure all animals are safe and accounted for. For example, when the doorbell rings, the animal buddy can grab the dog or cat to make sure no one escapes through the open door or takes some dropped candy. If you don’t want to miss out on all of the Halloween fun, you can take turns being animal buddy throughout the festivities.

A trick or treat buddy is absolutely necessary if you will be taking your dog out with you on Halloween. Someone must hold the dog’s leash at all times to keep your pet safe. You never know when a costume or decoration will scare your dog or maybe some excited children will run by and your dog will want to chase them. There may be candy on the ground that you may not notice in the dark, but your dog probably will. If your dog has a buddy, that person will notice your dog’s interest in the candy and can keep your dog away. If no one is really paying attention to your dog, it takes only a second for your dog to chow down on that candy.

Unfortunately it’s also a concern that your pet could bite or scratch someone on Halloween if not watched carefully. You may have the most friendly pet on the planet that loves all babies, children and adults. But it’s entirely possible that your friendly pet may not feel friendly towards a vampire or a skeleton or a witch. People tend to speak differently in costume and may even smell differently because of heavy makeup, causing confusion and possibly fear in your pet. If your pet has a buddy, he or she can watch your pet’s reaction and remove your pet from the situation if it’s causing too much anxiety.

So if you want your pets to join in on the Halloween fun, I suggest trying out the buddy system and hopefully everyone will have a safe and Happy Halloween!

This post is part of the Thoughtless Thursday blog hop hosted by Ruckus the Eskie, Love is Being Owned By a Husky, and M.K. Clinton.

  This post is also part of the Thursday Barks and Bytes blog hop hosted by 2 Brown Dawgs and Heart Like A Dog.

Halloween can be a fun and exciting day for both humans and pets. But Halloween also brings many potential dangers for your pets. So today I’m sharing my top five tips on how to keep your pets safe so everyone can enjoy a Happy Halloween!

Tip #1

Keep your dog on a leash, even inside the house. For your feline family members, I suggest keeping your cat confined to his or her favorite room for the evening. When you’re constantly opening and closing the door, dealing with trick-or-treaters, looking for where you put the candy, going crazy from the doorbell sound, it can get very hectic. It only takes a second for your precious pup or cherished cat to slip out the door in all that chaos. With your cat safely tucked away behind closed doors, you won’t need to worry about him or her. And with your dog on his or her leash, you can easily hold onto them when the door is open, making sure no one escapes or runs too enthusiastically to greet children who may be afraid of dogs.

Tip #2

If you want your dog to tag along on the Trick or Treating route, make sure your dog is secure on the leash, has proper ID tags, and is as visible as possible. With all the kids and parents running around wearing awkward costumes and masks, someone could easily trip over a dog or leash and injure themselves, you, or your dog. Check out my post on Night Walk Safety for tips about keeping your dog visible when out after dark.

Tip #3

Keep all candy out of reach, preferably in a container that paws can’t open. As I talked about in Tuesday’s post, I Want Candy, many types of candy contain foods like peanut butter or coconut that your dog already knows and loves, so he or she may go to great lengths to get at that yummy smelling candy. Make sure you keep an eye on all the candy in your household to ensure that none of it ends up where your pet can get it.

Tip #4

Be careful with your jack-o-lanterns and pumpkins. If you put them on a ledge or stand for display purposes, make sure they are secure. You don’t want a pumpkin to fall on your pet if he or she bumps into the stand. Also if you use real candles in your jack-o-lanterns, make sure your curious cat or dog can’t put a paw or snout inside and get burned.

Tip #5

Speaking of jack-o-lanterns, make sure you keep those sharp knives and little saws and pokers out of reach of your pets. They may be generally safe enough for children to handle, but not pets. When you carve your pumpkin and switch from one tool to another, remember that those tools have very tasty smelling pumpkin guts on them. Your pets may try to lick the pumpkin off the tools, not realizing they have sharp edges. So make sure you pay attention and keep your pets away from those sharp tools.

Hope you and your pets have a fun and safe Halloween!

This post is part of the Thursday Barks and Bytes blog hop hosted by 2 Brown Dawgs and Heart Like A Dog.

    This post is also part of the Thoughtless Thursday blog hop hosted by Ruckus the Eskie, Love is Being Owned By a Husky, and M.K. Clinton.

Like most dogs, Sadie always comes to investigate the smell of food. But unlike most dogs, Sadie often rejects what she’s smelling as something she doesn’t want to eat. For example, Sadie knows and is not interested in the smell of chocolate. That is one quirk I’m very thankful for, especially at this time of year. Sadie will hear me opening a bag and unwrapping something and come to investigate. As soon as she smells that all I’ve got is boring old chocolate, she goes back to whatever she was doing. But if the chocolate is mixed with other smells, like candy with peanut butter or coconut, that is a different story. It always takes some convincing for Sadie to understand that even though it smells like peanut butter, it is still not for dogs.

I had to do a lot of convincing yesterday as I was preparing the house for trick-or-treaters. I always give out candy from one of the traditional jack-o-lantern pails. As I got mine out of storage last night, Sadie came running over to see what I had. I guess the pail smells like all of the candy I’ve given out over the years, so Sadie got very excited. She was running around my legs, jumping up, even barking, trying to get me to give her the pail. I kept telling her it’s “not for Sadie,” a command that usually works to make her understand when something is not for dogs. But this time Sadie would not give up. She was just too excited. So finally I lowered the empty pail down for her to look inside and her confusion was priceless. Sadie just couldn’t understand how it could smell like so many good treats, but be completely empty. Every time Sadie sees that jack-o-lantern pail, she wants to look inside to find the candy that makes it smell so tantalizing.

The moral of my story today is that you need to be careful with candy at this time of year. You probably have more candy around the house than usual, and in different locations. If my picky dog is interested enough to investigate the candy pails, I’m betting your pets are interested as well. Make sure you keep candy well out of reach of your animals, especially if you leave them home unattended. At my house I keep our candy pail on the floor by the door on Halloween so it’s easy to grab when the doorbell rings. I don’t have to worry about the candy on the floor since Sadie won’t go down the stairs needed to reach the area by the front door. But during the hectic doorbell ringing, trick-or-treating hours, don’t forget about putting your candy away out of your pets’ reach. Make sure you look around the house for any candy that may have fallen or been forgotten. I know when I was a kid I dumped out all my candy on the floor to go through it, and I’m guessing I’m not the only one. One lonely, forgotten piece of chocolate on the floor can be dangerous for your pets. Even if that small amount of chocolate doesn’t cause immediate harm, it may give your pet a taste for chocolate that could lead to disaster later. So keep a careful watch over candy this Halloween season and make sure your furry family members stay safe and healthy.