Surviving Halloween with your Scaredy Dog

Let’s face it, Halloween is scary: Strangers knock on your door, screaming “trick or treat!”, dressed up in strange, sometimes gruesome, outfits. Children and fearful dogs are a dangerous combination to begin with, but Halloween can be frightening for even the most well-adjusted dog – and scared dogs bite! If you take the kids out trick-or-treating, please leave your dog at home and make sure he cannot get out of the house. Make sure your dog is wearing his tags, and this is a good time to update your microchip information if chipped. If you are unsure of anything in this guide, have trouble recognizing your dog’s signs of stress, or your dog fear-bites or lashes out, make sure to consult with your vet and/or a professional trainer or behaviorist.

Passing out candy? Here are some tips:

• Wear him out: Take your dog for a long walk or an extra-long play session before the festivities start. He’ll sleep right through it.
• Confine your dog securely: The last thing you want is to have your dog attack the children knocking on your door, nor do you want to push your dog out of the way every time you hand out candy. Tether your dog where you can watch him, put your dog in his kennel, or lock him in a small back room like a bathroom or a closet. Play music and provide them with long lasting distractions, such as a bone, a food puzzle, or a Kong stuffed with food. If your dog isn’t easily distracted by food, have another person with them to cuddle or play.
• Prevent the commotion: If your dog goes ballistic every time your doorbell rings, sit outside and pass out candy on the porch.
• Use it as training exercise: If your dog cowers at the thought of strangers, kennel or tether them by door. Take a high value treat, such as ham, cheese or a hot dog, and give them a piece every time the doorbell rings. They’ll start looking forward to guests instead of shying away.
• Distract him: Play a game with your dog, give him a stuffed Kong or another toy to keep him entertained, or go through his repertoire of tricks. Puzzle toys and other problem-solving activities in particular have been found to reduce fear. It’s thought that this is because the dog learns to control some aspect of his environment.
• Make use of natural anti anxieties: Give your dog turkey for dinner; put a drop of lavender oil on his ear tips; raid the calming aisle of your pet store for calming treats; use pheromone sprays, diffusers, or collars; or do all of the above. You can also use Benadryl, melatonin, CBD treats, or prescription anti-anxieties such as Adaptil, but talk to your vet first. If your dog has a severe fear issue, ask your vet and/or consult a professional trainer or behaviorist.

Going out for the night? Here are some additional tips:

Depending on your plans for Halloween, you might want to consider boarding your dog for the night. Having children excitedly ringing your doorbell and squealing in excitement might be more than your pet can take. Other great options are to plan ahead and confine your dog securely, find a way to muffle the noise to help ease their anxiety, distraction with a long-lasting toy, or even investing in a harness. For a more in depth description of these helpful planning items, you can learn more by reading ‘Options for your dog when going out for the night’.

**Note that these are survival tips, not training. This will not make your dog less afraid next year.**

Be sure to put your candy up high:

As an additional tip, please remember to lock up your candy where your dog can’t get it! Chocolate is well known for being toxic and even lethal to dogs, but did you know a common sweetener called Xylitol is also poisonous? Not to mention dogs don’t have opposable thumbs and candy wrappers can cause gastric blockages. If your dog has eaten something they shouldn’t have, call your vet and/or poison control immediately!

Have children? Make sure you teach them these rules:

Whether you live with a scaredy dog or you frequently interact with pets outside of your home, it’s important for your children to know how to respectfully interact with all dogs. You never know which one will be a scaredy dog or how a dog will react. It is important to always give animals space and even more important to ask before petting. To learn more on how to prepare your children to be around dogs, or how to prepare for your dog to be around children, you can read more here. 

Do you want to keep up with our training guides?

For more helpful tips on handling your scaredy dog, please take a look at our Training Guides. We also have our FAQ page and you can also find Scaredy Dog on Facebook.