Pets and Halloween

Do you like to dress up your pets for howl-o-ween? In year’s past we’ve shared our 5 Halloween Pet Safety Tips as well as some Pet Costume Safety Tips, and we’ve copied below for easy reference. Thinking of pet costumes? In our experience, most pets don’t really like wearing costumes. So we only ask that our pets wear them for a few seconds while we take a photo, then quickly reward them and take it off! That kind of costume experience also opens up the possibilities since it isn’t something your pet has to actually be able to wear and move around in, which opens up the door to a lot more creative fun!

PET COSTUME SAFTEY TIPS

  1. Use costumes that can be taken off quickly, like those with velcro straps. (Examples of ones you can purchase: FootballShark FinAngel Wings.) Let your pet smell the costume, and give them treats so they associate the costume with good things. For dogs, ask them to sit and stay, and reward them as you put the costume on.
  2. The first time you put the costume on your pet, have them wear it for just a few seconds. Gradually increase the amount of time your pet wears the costume.
  3. Never leave your pet unsupervised wearing a costume, for any length of time. If your pet continues to struggle or seem unhappy or scared after one or more short sessions, wearing a costume might not be fun for them, and of course never something you should force them to wear. Costumes are meant to be fun!
  4. If you have an active dog, playing with a toy or taking them for a walk after you put the costume on can distract them from wanting to get the costume off, and get them used to the feeling of it being on, so they ignore it like they do their collar.
  5. Most cats and dogs love to be admired and told how cute they look, so don’t forget to lavish them with compliments about how adorable they in their costume.