Halloween safety tips for your puppy
Depending on your puppy, Halloween might be super fun or completely terrifying so in this video you’ll get some Halloween safety tips for your puppy and you’ll learn how to teach your dog to enjoy wearing their Halloween outfit.
Photo Credit: Clare_O’Conner
Should your dog wear clothes?
If you’re not convinced that your dog needs a Halloween costume, or even a raincoat, that’s all good. You can follow these steps to get your pup used to wearing their collar or harness too.
But some dogs do need clothes.
Greyhounds for example, usually have a fairly extensive wardrobe, and sometimes putting clothes on your dog makes your life easier. For example, clothes come in handy if your dog:
Is prone to sunburn (they may benefit from wearing t-shirts to protect their skin)
Has a coat that soaks up rain like a sponge (put them into a raincoat & then you’ll only have to clean their feet and head when you get home)
Has just been spayed (you can put her into a onesie to prevent her from licking her stitches, and avoid using the cone of shame).
If you want to dress your dog up for Halloween, or for any other reason, you want to make the training fun for your dog.
They will love the attention and treats they get as part of the training process and with enough repetition they will start associating the clothes with treats and will therefore start loving the clothes!
How do you make training fun for your dog?
To make training fun and to help build up a positive association to their outfit, use treats and keep the training sessions up-beat and short.
The training method
In this example, we’ll teach your dog to enjoy wearing a jacket that has a strap around the neck and belly. It’s a basic design.
If you’re teaching your dog to wear something more complex, use my steps as a guide only and before you start, break down each part of the dressing process into your own steps, so your dog is successful at each step and enjoys the process.
Pro tip - when I’m working with a new outfit, I practice putting it onto a soft toy first because then I can figure out each of the separate training steps without getting the dog in a tangle and potentially ruining the experience for them.
Show the jacket to your dog and when they sniff it, give them a treat.
Lay the jacket over their back, then remove it and treat.
Increase the amount of time the jacket is laid on their back before removing it and treating.
Lay the jacket on their back and do up the neck strap. Undo, remove jacket and treat.
Increase the amount of time the jacket and neck strap are on, before removing and treating.
Lay the jacket on their back, do up the neck and belly straps. Undo, remove and treat.
Increase the amount of time the jacket, neck strap & belly strap are on, before removing and treating.
When your dog can comfortably wear the jacket for five minutes, take them out on a walk. That way they’ll get used to wearing the jacket in different settings.
You can treat pup throughout the walk and don’t forget that the walk itself is a treat.
Safety tips for Halloween
Halloween can be a stressful time for dogs. People (and dogs) in costumes, scary decorations, chaos and Trick or Treaters knocking on the door.
If your dog isn’t overly confident, aside from dressing them up and having some fun with them, and of course taking some photos!!! it’s probably best to keep them in a quiet, relaxed place away from trick or treaters.
1. Set your dog up in a comfortable place away from the front door, with some music to cover the sounds of chaos in the streets and people ringing the doorbell.
2. Keep them away from trick or treaters as they may find the costumes very frightening, and they may bite your visitor.
3. Don’t let them eat candy or chocolate as some can be toxic to dogs.
4. Don’t let them swallow any candy packaging or eat their own costume.
5. Be aware that when costumed dogs are playing together or with costumed kids, they will find it difficult to read and exhibit body language, so issues could escalate quickly. Watch them closely.
For more puppy raising tactics, save your seat in my free masterclass
“3 Simple Tactics for Raising a Well-Behaved Dog”
