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Health & Fitness

Keeping Pets Safe this Halloween

Tips for keeping your pets (and kids) safe this Halloween

Playful kids and curious dogs are in one another's orbit on Halloween night.  To keep both safe, it's often wise for owners to keep their dogs in a back room of the house for the trick-or-treat portion of Halloween. In some neighborhoods, Trick-or-Treating begins early, so be prepared for that early doorbell ring.As stated in the Halloween Safety by ASPCA: “All but the most social dogs and cats should be kept in a separate room away from the front door during peak trick-or-treating hours. Too many strangers can be scary and stressful for pets.”

Some owners let their dogs accompany them on their Trick-or-Treat routes.  Here we suggest a short tether on your leash.  You'll be running into other kids, and other pets.  After dark, the tether is less for convenience and more for SAFETY: motorists on Halloween are already distracted by new kids and new costumes.  A dog branching onto the street can more easily go unspotted.

We have witnessed dogs on Halloween festooned with glowing attachments.   These glowing strips, pods, or orbs get nice attention, and are fun for kids (and adults) to witness.  But the "glow-dog" adornment gives even more reason for the short leash: Night-time drivers seeing something they've never-seen (green-ish glow-sticks "dancing" across the street without the normal outline of a familiar-shaped pet) get startled.  They will brake, swerve, or be inattentive to other pets or other children in the area.

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Perhaps the least "safe" time for dogs occurs the weekend AFTER Halloween: following a return to "Standard Time".  The sudden one-hour time move can catch late afternoon dog-walkers and motorists by surprise.  Suddenly it's evening, and the late-afternoon routes that dog and car normally take are dark.    Even more dangerous is the next evening, when Monday commuters are on suddenly "dark" roads. 

We at Dogs Best Friends urge you to keep your whole family (including your pets) safe this Halloween.

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For more information on services provided by Dogs Best Friends please contact us at 914-471-7661 or email michelle@dogsbest.us.

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