A Happy Halloween For Your Pet: Seasonal Hazards to Avoid

Dogs don’t know any better, so as far as they’re concerned, if you’re eating something then they probably want it. Our puppy pals will beg for the salad you’re eating, spit it out when you offer them a nice healthy piece of lettuce and then continue to beg for the same food they just discovered they don’t like because the next bite might be tastier.

They’re opportunistic and will take a gamble that you have something better to offer them. This is exactly why it’s so important to keep your pup safe this Halloween, as they have no idea what foods to avoid, especially when many things they shouldn’t eat still taste so good. It’s up to you as a pup parent to make sure anything they shouldn’t touch should be out of the way.

It might feel like every season and every single occasion you’re being reminded of this golden rule but chocolate seems to work its way into every one of our events and is the main culprit for having to rush our beloved pets to the vet when they’ve eaten something they shouldn’t. The fact that dogs absolutely love the taste of something that is so toxic to them just makes the lives of all doggy guardians that much harder. It’s sweet, they love the milk content but it also contains theobromine which is highly toxic to our canine companions.

Until you have a dog, you might not notice just how hard it is to avoid chocolate. If your pooch is dead set on getting themselves a bite, you can get them their own chocolate treat! Rosewood Dog Safe Chocolate Drops contain all the goodness of chocolate with none of the cocoa powder, meaning it’s perfectly safe for your pup! If you want to avoid a trip to the vet then keep any human chocolate safely out of the way but they can have their own little treat instead.

Nobody can trick themselves into thinking that bucket loads of sweets on Halloween night is good for them. Our brains are powered by glucose which means we generally love sweet foods and are drawn to them but there is such a thing as too much of a good thing. For our pups, that threshold is much lower as sugar can be the cause of a number of nasty ailments. Just like in humans, it can cause obesity which leads to all kinds of joint issues. Diabetes and pancreatitis are just a few more that too much sugar has been linked to. While we understand the risks, our beloved pets don’t understand that eating sugary food can lead to daily jabs later in life just to manage their insulin levels.

Another risk when it comes to sweet foods are the wrappers. You might not even notice that you have a four-legged thief on your hands until you realise there are sweets missing from the bowl. Considering many Halloween treats come individually wrapped, the wrappers pose a threat too. Dogs won’t often take the time to unwrap any goodies they’ve gotten their paws on, they’ll eat everything including the wrappers which can lead to some nasty blockages that may require surgery to fix.

You might think you’re better off giving your pooch some treats that contain no sugar to avoid all those nasty ailments that can develop as a result but sugar-free doesn’t always mean risk free. Many sugar-free treats are still sweet foods for us and we use sweeteners to give them the sweet taste our brains crave. Sweetener will often contain an artificial sweetener and one that pup parents need to look out for is xylitol. It means fewer calories for us, but it’s toxic to our furry family members so under no circumstances should they be eating anything sugar-free.

If you’re looking for something sweet as a treat for your pup but are worried about any sweeteners then Peamutt Butter for Dogs is an excellent choice and perfectly safe for your pooch!

For those who are trying to be a little healthier this Halloween with the snack boxes of grapes to give out to trick or treaters or just munch on them while you wait, you should never allow your pup to have a raisin, not even one. For the longest time, we were unable to pinpoint what exactly makes grapes and raisins so toxic to our beloved pets but they were found to contain tartaric acid in very high concentrations which canine species have all shown sensitivity to. Just a few grapes can lead to renal failure in our furry family members or even just a single grape if they’re only small.

While raisins might be a healthy alternative for us, they should be kept away from our four-legged friends.

While you could get your pup their own treats for Halloween, there are plenty of treats that you can share together. Pumpkin is a great option and very on theme for Halloween, not only does it taste great and you will more than likely have a few around but they can help with digestive issues. Many diets for dogs with sensitive stomachs can contain it as a key ingredient. Blueberries are a superfood for both dogs and humans as they’re packed with antioxidants that are great for the digestive tract. Dogs will lose it for a piece of boiled chicken so if you want to go all out you can buy some precooked chicken to share with them. Cheese is also safe for them in small amounts but it’s highly calorific so you just need to be careful on that front.

If you’re worried about finding food that is safe for them this Halloween, you can get them their very own treats bundle like the Denzels Pumpkin Tricks & Treats Jack O Lantern for Dogs. For all the treats you need for your pup this season, have a scroll online to see our wide selection for every dog.