Halloween Dangers for Your Furball

With Halloween fast approaching, have you given any thought to the Halloween dangers for your furball? I knew about a couple, but hadn’t even given a passing thought to some of them until I did a little research on the subject. These are very real dangers, so in this article I’ll give you a rundown of what are probably the most common dangers for your dog during this season.

Halloween Dangers for Your Furball

There are several potential dangers that are fairly obvious, and a few not so obvious.

1) Chocolate:  this may be the most serious of all the Halloween dangers for your furball, witth all the candy around to give the ‘trick-or-treaters’. We have featured articles here before on how deadly chocolate can be for a dog. The darker the chocolate, the worse and quicker the effect it has. The main offender is the chemical theobromine, which gives chocolate the qualities we humans all find so endearing. Not so your pup — keep it ALL up and out of reach.

2) All other Halloween candy:  Let’s face it: once you start in on some Halloween candy, can you stop with just one? So don’t expect your poor buddy to do so! Many Halloween candies contain the sweetener xylitol, which can quickly be fatal to a dog. At best, he’ll probably come down with a case of pancreatitis, which may take up to 3 or 4 days to show up, depending on how much he ate. Again, keep it up and out of reach.

3) Lighted candles: Use the battery-driven or plug-in types, NOT a live, burning candle. A swishing tail and and an open flame makes a recipe for disaster for the dog or you, or both.

4) Electric cords: be careful about having these strung out where the dog may be. He or she can easily get tangled in the cords. Also they are a serious electrocution hazard if the dog decides to start chewing!

5) Raisins: (or grapes). These can cause serious kidney damage, and perhaps death even in small amounts. According to an article on VeterinaryBusiness.dvm360.com:

…very small amounts of raisins (or grapes) can cause kidney failure in dogs and cats. Some dogs develop idiosyncratic reactions at any dose—in other words, ingesting any amount can cause serious damage.

6) Frequent Doorbell Ringing: If your dog gets really excited, or the barking normally starts when the bell rings, then place your dog in another room as far from the door as possible. Or perhaps place him in his crate for the duration — that’s what we do with our two dogs, and we don’t have any problems. That’s their “secure cave”, and they quickly settle in.

7) Open Door: As above, keep the dog in a separate room if there’s a chance he’ll bolt through an opening! Even if you don’t think he would do it, make sure he has his ID just in case!

8) Costumes: Unless your dog is one of the rare ones that loves dressing up, don’t try it. He will be miserable, and will probably try to get out of it any way possible.

9) Pumpkin:  One of the not-so-obvious! Pumpkin is normally very healthy for your pup, but if he should happen to get hold of a Jack-O-Lantern and eat the whole thing, you will definitely be cleaning up his messes everywhere for a few days!! (Maybe that’s more of a hazard to YOU!)

Were you aware of all these potential Halloween dangers for your furball?

Please share any others you’re aware of below.