Knock Knock -- who's there?

Halloween is coming up, you guys, with spooky fun for all ages, and candy and trick-or-treating and costumes and -- think about how weird that has to look to your dog. Not only is the doorbell going crazy ever two minutes  (ARF ARF ARF ARF!) but when it's opened -- what the heck, who is THAT? 

Masks? Brooms? Pirate swords? And then they holler "Trick or Treat!!" It's enough to make any dog a little nervous. 

Halloween can be a challenging time to be a good dog. 

Some dogs seem to figure it out as a non-threat pretty quickly, and that is probably a mixture of an everyday good temperament and good socialization and training. Other dogs think every footstep on the threshold is an immediate reason to sound the alarm! A small treat for the dog each time you give one to children at the door might help -- or it might just make the dog more excited when that knock comes.  A dimly-lit quiet room at the back of the house, with a radio playing moderately to help mask the noise of knocking, and a Kong or other long-lasting treat is probably the best answer for everyone. 

Some dogs are perfectly fine with the hubbub, and their acceptance of the human weirdness going on around them makes them targets for even more weirdness: 

I'm not a fan of pet costumes, but some people swear up and down that their pet likes to dress up. If it's no more restricting than a usual coat or sweater would be, then I suppose it's up to the owner. But please be careful with props that are sharp or can break/splinter, things that can poke eyes or ears or interfere with seeing, items that make eating, drinking, or pee/pooping difficult.  You know -- just like you would do for your own costume. And if your pet is obviously uncomfortable or distressed, take it off. 

Keep your pets out of the treat bowl, and remind your children and guests that feeding candy to pets is a no-no. Chocolate and Xylitol (an artificial sweetener in some candies) are both poisonous to pets, and can lead to big vet bills, or worse, death. 

Keep your pets indoors and watch to make sure they don't escape. Be sure all of your animals have sturdy collars on with identification tags attached in case they manage to get lost in all the activity. For years I've read warnings that black cats are especially at risk this time of year, but I'm not sure if that's true or just scary urban legend. I do know that any black pet is hard to see at night, so it just makes sense to keep all the critters at home where they are safe and secure.

 And most importantly of all, please remember to take all the KitKats from your Halloween stash and leave them as a treat for your friendly neighborhood petsitter. Yum!