Howl-o-Ween Pet Safety Tips

 #1: Keep your Pet away from the front door.





Keeping your Pet in a separate room during the trick-or-treating
hours is best. At an open door, dogs in particular, may feel the need to
protect their home & humans and may bite your bizarre-looking
visitors. Your Pet may also become frightened and dart out through the
open door.





 #2: Be careful of Pets around candles and lit pumpkins.





Pets are attracted to bright lights in a darkened room. Candles can
be easily knocked over, spilling hot wax onto furniture and carpet, and
potentially causing a fire. Curious kittens especially run the risk of
getting badly burned.





 #3: Keep your Pet inside.





There are plenty of stories of vicious pranksters who have teased,
injured, even stolen Pets that are left in their yards or allowed to
roam outside on this night.







#4: Do not give your Pet candy.

Chocolate contains theobromine, a substance that can be poisonous to your Pet. Dark, semi-sweet or Baker's chocolate can be lethal if ingested. •Sticks on caramel apples can be swallowed and cause damage to internal organs or choking. •Candy can upset the stomach, resulting in diarrhea or vomiting. •Packaging can cause choking or intestinal blockage. Foil wrappers can become as dangerous as razors when swallowed.  #5: Do not take your cat or dog with you in the car while your kids go trick-or-treating. It can be very frightening to a Pet to sit in a dark car while scary creatures of every size and shape walk by. Furthermore, your normally friendly Pet can become aggressive & protective and lash out at a friendly ghost or witch. For the safety of your Pets, leave them at home, inside where they are safe.  #6: Ensure decorations cannot be pulled down. An item that is pulled off could seriously hurt your Pet if the decoration was pulled down on top of them. And with some decorations they could become entangled. Source

When a dog bites a crawling baby or excited toddler, whose fault is it?

There are almost five million dog bites every year in the United
Statesand nearly one million require medical attention, according to the
Centers for Disease Control.  There were 31 fatal dog attacks in the
United States in 2011, including a 15-day-old infant.  You can read their
stories at www.dogsbite.org.



Most dogs bites are from dogs known to the victim, owned either by the victim’s family or neighbor.



 When a dog bites a crawling baby or excited toddler, whose fault is it? 



Dog owners are quick to say it wasn’t the dog’s fault, and they are right. It wasn’t the dog’s fault. The dog was being a dog,
and the toddler was being a toddler.  Was it the owner’s fault for not
controlling their dog, or the parent’s fault for not supervising the
child?



 Dr. Kathleen Berchelmann, a pediatrician with St. Louis Children’s Hospital, says there are key things you can do to prevent dog bites:



1)      Never, ever put an infant or toddler on the floor with a dog.




2)      Be sure that dogs cannot access children, especially infants, while they are sleeping.




3)      Even if you do not own a dog, teach children age-appropriate
interactions with dogs.  When teaching children how to approach a dog,
always be sure a dog is leashed and under an adult’s full control.




4)      Teach children never to put their face at a dog’s level.




5)      Do not approach an unfamiliar dog, even if it looks friendly.




6)      Do not run from a dog or scream.




7)      Remain motionless (e.g., “be still like a tree”) when approached by an unfamiliar dog.




8)      If knocked over by a dog, roll into a ball and lie still (e.g., “be still like a log”).




9)      Do not play with a dog unless supervised by an adult.




10)  Immediately report stray dogs or dogs displaying unusual behavior to an adult.




11)  Avoid direct eye contact with a dog.




12)  Do not disturb a dog that is sleeping, eating, or caring for puppies.




13)  Do not pet a dog without allowing it to see and sniff you first.

Play it safe

Learn how to read dogs' body language. Be safe before you approach an unknown dog.



Not sure you know dog body language? We found this helpful poster at Doggone Safe.



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