Be careful about all the candy and decorations.
Make sure bags of candy that children bring home get put far away from animals — who will find them.
Check 4 times to make sure dogs/cats aren’t able to get to candy on Halloween.
Check 1) when kids come home from trick-or-treating,
Check 2) when kids go to bed,
Check 3) first thing in the morning after
Check 4) keep checking until the candy’s gone AND make sure to talk to the kids in the house about this.
Also make sure that the candy bowl that you use to give out candy is not left in reach of pets at any time. Decide on a safe place to keep it in between visitors and then also where you’ll put it at the end of the night.
Xylitol Is super toxic and can be deadly in less than 30 minutes in some cases.
It precipitously drops the blood sugar in an animal. If it’s caught early, hospitalization, medications and treatments like an IV drip of glucose In some cases can be life-saving. Xylitol is in many sugar-free candies and gums, and is even in some things that are not sugar-free. Check candy that is brought into the house for xylitol (sugar-free candies and gums, and sometimes in peanut butter items).
NOTE: Other things that have xylitol in them – –
- breath mints
- some baked goods
- cough syrups
- sugar-free drinks/drink powders
- children’s & adult chewable vitamins
- mouthwashes
- toothpastes
- some peanut & nut butters
- some over-the-counter medicines
You’ll also want to make sure you know if there’s any dark chocolate or raisins.
Remove these items – preferably to a secure garbage if you have any concerns your pet will get to them.
Candy wrappers are also a threat to dogs so if they eat candy that’s not necessarily toxic, but they eat a lot of candy wrappers, there could be a problem depending on the type of rapper and how much. Foils can create metal toxicities and plastic wrappers can become an an obstructive foreign body.
In addition, be careful with candles, electric cords, and Halloween decorations that can become foreign bodies or hazards for animals.
Be sure to properly manage your pets’ access to the front door if you’re front door is opening and closing for trick-or-treaters so pets don’t escape or feel they have to protect against children on your porch…
Be careful if you’re using scented candles or plug-ins or essential oil diffusers for holiday scents (even pumpkin type scents) – – as these can be overwhelming for an animal and could trigger different immune or hormonal reactions that might cause health issues, allergies, asthma, itching, etc.