There are lots of great costumes for small dogs, and if yours is game, it can be fun to dress him or her up.
Maybe a little bit of neighbourhood “trick or biscuit” or an afternoon get-together. Website BuzzFeed features the 57 Greatest Pet Costumes, from an Rob-Bun the rabbit Robin Hood to an actual Chia Pet.
But when it comes to costumes for dogs, it seems you just can’t beat the old standby: the hotdog – #1 in retail sales for the past 8 years.
A close second to hotdogs… the pumpkin!
But Halloween can also be a stressful time for pets
The ASPCA has made a list of some precautionary pet safety tips for all pet parents to heed so that there are no scaredy cats this Halloween.
1. No tricks, no treats: That bowlful of candy is for trick-or-treaters, not for Scruffy and Fluffy.
- Chocolate in all forms—especially dark or baking chocolate—can be very dangerous for dogs and cats. Symptoms of significant chocolate ingestion may include vomiting, diarrhea, hyperactivity, increased thirst, urination and heart rate—and even seizures.
- Candies containing the artificial sweetener xylitol can be poisonous to dogs. Even small amounts of xylitol sweetener can cause a sudden drop in blood sugar, which leads to depression, lack of coordination and seizures. In cases of significantly low blood sugar, liver failure has been known to occur.
- Ingesting tin foil and cellophane candy wrappers can pose a choking hazard or cause intestinal blockage.
Here’s a really fun costume: make a big TY tag and attach it to your Morkie’s collar.
2. Popular Halloween plants such as pumpkins and decorative corn are considered to be relatively nontoxic, yet they can produce gastrointestinal upset should pets ingest them. Intestinal blockage could even occur if large pieces are swallowed.
3. Keep wires and cords away from pets; these wires from electric lights and other decorations out of reach of your pets. If chewed, your pet could experience damage to his mouth from shards of glass or plastic, or receive a possibly life-threatening electrical shock.
4. A carved pumpkin certainly is festive, but do exercise extreme caution if you choose to add a candle. Pets can easily knock a lit pumpkin over and cause a fire. Curious kittens especially run the risk of getting burned or singed by candle flames.
5. Dress-up can be a big mess-up for some pets. Please don’t put your dog or cat in a costume UNLESS you know he or she loves it (yup, a few pets are real hams!). For pets who prefer their “birthday suits,” however, wearing a costume can cause undue stress.
So more than anything, this is what
I want MY dog to be at Halloween:
