Halloween Dangers

With Halloween Coming up, I thought it would be a good idea to address the dangers that Halloween poses to your pets.

Decorations

• Supervise all candles - pets are attracted to the bright "lights" in a darkened room. Not only could they receive serious burns, but they could knock the candles over, spilling hot wax onto furniture and carpeting. Don't leave candles unattended for their sake and for the obvious fire hazards.
• All other decorations should be carefully placed so that the pets can't pull or scratch off any small pieces to swallow.
• Cover or tack down electrical cords.

Candy

• Chocolate: Make sure your kids know to hide their Halloween stash from food-seeking dogs. Ninety-five percent of Pet Poison Help line’s chocolate calls involve dogs getting into chocolate candy. Keep in mind, the less sweet and the darker the chocolate, the more toxic it is to your pet. Baker’s chocolate and dark chocolate pose the biggest problem.
• Other candy: Remember when you felt ill after gorging on too much candy? The same thing can happen to pets. Large ingestions of high-fat, high-sugar foods may lead to a condition called pancreatitis — a painful and potentially fatal inflammation of the pancreas. Signs of pancreatitis typically show up two to four days after ingesting a large high-fat meal. Monitor your pet for a decreased appetite, vomiting, lethargy, diarrhea and other odd behavior.
• Raisins/grapes: While small boxes of raisins are popular and healthy treats for people, keep them away from dogs. Even small numbers of raisins or grapes can cause kidney failure in dogs (and possibly cats). Never offer grapes or raisins as snacks for your pets. Choose carrots, peas, green beans or apples instead.
• Candy wrappers: Not only is candy toxic to pets, but so are the wrappers. Few animals will bother to unwrap Halloween treats before eating them. Ingestion of foil and cellophane wrappers may cause a bowel obstruction when ingested in large quantities.

Costumes

• Glow sticks/jewelry: Pets, especially cats, love to chew on these colorful toys. Though not highly poisonous, the glowing contents can cause pain and irritation in the mouth as well as profuse drooling, nausea and vomiting.
• Costumes: While dressing up our pets can be entertaining, keep in mind that your pet may not enjoy it. Make sure the costume does not impair their vision or movement. Also, beware of costumes containing metallic beads, snaps or other small pieces. If ingested, some metals (especially zinc and lead) can result in serious poisoning. Never dye or apply coloring to your pets’ fur. Even if the dye is labeled non-toxic, many are not meant to be ingested and can potentially cause harm.
Additionally, pets may be afraid of people dressed in costumes and may not even recognize those they typically know. Fear can cause animals to act aggressively or in an unpredictable manner. If your pet seems nervous or afraid, make sure to have a safe area for them to hide or take a “time out.
4. If you have a black cat or dog, you may want to make sure that they are in the house. Kids and adults tend to be a little more mischievous and tend to play pranks that lead to the animals being hurt or even their death. In fact if possible leave them in the house unless supervisor thorough the month of October.

Trick or Treat Visitors

• If you have a pet that is afraid of loud noises, you will be better off leaving them house with noise of radio or television to drown out the noise.
• You will want to keep your pet from the door so that they don’t slip out when you are at the door. Keep them in another room or in a crate for the time that you are having little visitors.
• It is will be better to leave your pet at home if you are going treat or treating, since they can become frightened and end up becoming aggressive, even if they are normally a very docile animal.