Opening the Door for Halloween Goblins

October 10, 2014 by Fanna Easter

Halloween Safety Tips for Dogs

You’ve decided not to trick or treat this year, no worries. You’ll be home handing out candy to scary goblins and ghosts–how fun! Should your dog accompany you to the front door of horror? Muahaha. Sorry, I could not resist. 🙂 If so, read these tips before you answer your door.

Put a flat buckle collar with current ID tags on your dog

If your dog runs out the front door, their ID tags will identify him and his address for safe return. Make sure ID tags are current before Halloween night. Many large pet retail chains have ID tag kiosks, which instantly create them while you wait.

Keep your dog leashed

Attach a leash to your dog and make sure you securely hold or step on the other end of the leash. Remember, children are enthusiastically screaming “Trick or treat,” which can startle even the friendliest dog. Also, while handing out candy, you want to prevent your dog from sneaking out the front door.

Keep candy and treats away from your dog

Keep the candy bowl up high so your dog can’t steal bits of Halloween treats. Chocolate and xylitol (very common sugar substitute) can be fatal to dogs so instead provide him with a luscious and festive food stuffed toy. Check out my favorite Halloween food stuffing recipe here.

Keep costumes simple

Yes, it’s adorable seeing a Rottweiler wearing a pumpkin hat or devil horns. I will admit it! But, if your dog is uncomfortable wearing a costume, then remove it. Instead, tie a Halloween bandana around his neck. Some even glow in the dark! There are Halloween flat collars too. Just don’t forget to attach a current ID tag to it. 🙂

Refrain from scaring your dog

If your dog becomes frightened at anytime, give him a place to calm down, such as his crate or back room. Constantly exposing your dog to frightening things will not cause him to get over it. In fact, it will make it much worse.

When in doubt, give your dog a place to chill out

If all the festivities are tiring your dog out, give him a calm and quiet place to relax.

Happy Halloween! Be safe and have tons of fun!

Leaving Your Dog Home

October 9, 2014 by Fanna Easter

Dog Halloween Tips

Many of us have plans for Halloween night either trick or treating with children, handing out candy or attending a party so it’s time to make plans for your dog. Learn one of the most important safety dog Halloween tips if you decide to keep your dog home.

Crate Your Dog

While Halloween is fun, some dogs are uncomfortable with the doorbell ringing constantly, knocks on the door, children running around with strange costumes, loud “Trick or treat” being randomly screamed, and even fireworks. Halloween is a big deal!

To keep your dog safe from all the Halloween shenanigans, it’s best to crate your dog for Halloween night if you intend to partake in all the Halloween fun. Even if you’re hosting a party, it’s nice for dogs to meet and greet everyone, then give them some relaxing time to themselves in their crates. If you prefer not to crate your dog, then at least confine him to one room far away from all the distractions with doors securely closed.

Before the Halloween festivities begin:

Walk your dog for 30 minutes before trick or treating begins (usually before dusk).
Give your dog his evening meal and potty him before festivities begin.
Fill a food stuffed toy. See my favorite Halloween Kong stuffing recipe here. Hint: It’s Halloween Pumpkin Spice!
Choose a classical radio station or CD, and turn the volume to 1/3 of the way up. You should easily be able to hear the music without it being too loud. Dogs have very sensitive hearing so, when in doubt, turn it down a bit 🙂
Turn on a lamp or nightlight so you can peep in and make sure everything is okay without turning on the main lights. This works well too if flashing lights from fireworks frighten your dog.
Give your dog a Halloween food stuffed toy to enjoy inside his securely closed crate. Make sure to crate your dog indoors in a room farthest from the front door so he’s not disturbed by the local trick or treaters ringing the doorbell.
Enjoy Halloween!

When you return home, if Halloween madness is still in full swing, potty your dog on leash. Many pet parents frown at this safety suggestion, as they have an enclosed backyard, but I’ve seen many dogs become spooked by loud fireworks, screams or Halloween toys jumping up and making noises, which has caused numerous dogs to jump over fences or crash through gates.

For Halloween, let’s take a bit more precaution. 🙂

Happy Halloween! Tell me about your Halloween plans. I’d love to hear from you!

You may also like: Halloween Safety Tips for Dogs

Best Halloween Dog Toy Filling Recipe

October 8, 2014 by Fanna Easter

Kong Stuffing Recipe for Halloween

Halloween is my favorite holiday by a landslide so celebrate it with your dog too. Learn my favorite Halloween dog toy filling recipe. Plus it’s healthy too! Get the children involved. They’ll have a blast stirring and filling Kongs.

If you’re as picky about ingredients as I am, let me explain why I carefully chose each item. Pumpkin is rich in potassium, fiber and B vitamins. Blackstrap molasses contains important trace minerals, such as copper and selenium, plus it’s rich in iron. Cinnamon is known for its medicinal properties, especially soothing an upset tummy and digestive issues.

Preferably seek organic pumpkin, whole ground cinnamon and organic unsulfured blackstrap molasses.

Halloween Bark-kin Spice (aka Pumpkin Spice)

1 can of 100% pumpkin (not pie filling, way too much sugar and other stuff)
2 teaspoons blackstrap molasses
½ teaspoon cinnamon

Will fill 2 medium Kongs or 1 large Kong

In a medium bowl, add pumpkin and cinnamon. Lastly, drizzle molasses over mixture and stir slightly. Using a butter knife, push ingredients into toy until completely filled. If pumpkin mixture oozes out either holes, swipe peanut butter over the holes to glue it shut.

If your dog empties his food stuffed toys easily, freeze for 4 hours.

Filling variations:

Add ½ coarsely chopped apples at the bottom of the Kong, then spoon Bark-kin Spice Filling until filled
Substitute canned yams in place of pumpkin
Use 100% maple syrup instead of blackstrap molasses
Add chunks of baked turkey or chicken at the bottom, spoon Bark-in Spice Filling until filled

How to Wash Food Stuffed Toy

Usually, your dog cleans the inside of his Kong toy really well, but sometimes there is stuff still stuck inside. If there is a large amount of food stuffed inside, scrape the large chunks with a round-tipped knife. Then put the Kong toy on the top shelf of your dishwasher and it will come out squeaky clean — ready to be stuffed again!

What are your favorite dog Halloween tips? Share your favorite Halloween dog toy filling recipe in the comments below!

Sweet Potato Kong Stuffing Recipe

Calming A Hyper Dog With A Thundershirt

October 6, 2014 by Fanna Easter

Thundershirt for Hyper Dogs — I need a Thundershirt!

Thundershirt for Dogs

Does your dog have tons of energy? You know what I mean: he bounces off the walls and sometimes off you too! Well, we recommend a product that can calm your hyper dog. Meet the Thundershirt.

Thundershirts for Excited Dogs, Really?

Yes! While Thundershirts for dogs do a great job at calming dogs afraid of storms, they’re fabulous for easily excited or hyper dogs as well. When wrapped correctly, Thundershirts press on acupressure points, which promotes calmness and soothes excited dogs. Think of a swaddled baby when crying. If you swaddle him correctly, it’s very soothing and he usually stops crying and falls asleep.

Of course, Thundershirts for dogs shouldn’t replace daily walks, food puzzles and family interactions. They’re simply a tool that teaches your dog how to calm himself down. It’s fun when adrenaline is pushing through your body, so it’s pretty important to teach our dogs how to bring themselves down and self-soothe.

WATCH: Thundershirt for Dogs

Teaching Your Dog to Wear a Thundershirt

Give your dog yummy treats as he sniffs the Thundershirt.
As you’re putting on the shirt, give him a finger full of peanut butter, as you know it takes awhile for dogs to remove peanut butter from the roof of their mouths.
Give your dog a yummy food stuffed toy when he’s wearing his Thundershirt, so he learns Thundershirt equals yummy food toy.
Follow the fitting instructions correctly. You don’t want it too loose or too tight.

If You’re New to Thundershirts

There seems to be many opinions about the effectiveness of Thundershirts for dogs. As a professional dog trainer of 22 years, they work. As with anything, they must:

Be introduced to the dog positively, so he enjoys wearing them
Fit properly

Now, nothing works 100% for all dogs, but in my classes, we have an 80% success rate with Thundershirts. Once your dog understands the process, you can keep the Thundershirt around for stressful events, such as traveling, visiting the vet, guests visiting or moving to a new home.

Lastly, I wish they made Thundershirts for people. I’d buy one!

What are your thoughts on Thundershirts for dogs? Comment in the section below!

Indoor Games for Dogs

October 3, 2014 by Fanna Easter

The Perfect Dog Chew

It’s raining buckets outside and your excited puppy is bored. What should you do? Provide him with the perfect dog chew, which provides hours of indoor fun during a rainy day — it’s the ultimate game for dogs! 🙂

With all the interactive food puzzles on the market, we’ve forgotten one of the basic games: a good long-lasting dog chew. Don’t be fooled. It takes lots of energy, concentration and exercise to chew on something for hours. Plus, dogs crave chewing, especially puppies — it’s a natural behavior. Also, giving your dog a chew teaches him to happily remain in one spot, which most puppies and adolescent dogs need to learn.

Perfect Dog Chew Size

It’s vital to find the perfect chew size for your dog or puppy. As a general rule, if a chew fits in a dog’s mouth, meaning when he closes his mouth, you can’t see it. It’s too small. When in doubt, choose a larger size. There’s nothing worse when a dog swallows the entire chew toy — yikes!

My Favorite Dog Chews

There are a bunch out there and my dogs have tried them all. When I worked as a vet tech, I assisted in many surgeries to remove large knots of rawhide stuck in the intestinal tract. We called it the zipper surgery (that was scary stuff).

I have three requirements for dog chews:

Easy to digest, will not break into large pieces (will not get caught in the intestinal tract), and dogs must love them.

Before I tell you my fav dog chew, you must understand, my dogs are power chewers. This means they are furry termites and could chew through dry wall if allowed. 🙂

Fanna’s Favorite Chew: Bully Sticks

Yes, those stinky bully sticks are my fav chews for dogs! My dogs love them. They pass through the stomach and intestinal tract with minimal issues (maybe a bit of gas here and there), usually will not cause diarrhea and the stick remains intact even with power chewers. While many rawhides are compressed in stick form, large chunks can be chewed off and swallowed. A bully stick is whole, meaning it’s not compressed and nature made it this way. If you want to know what bully sticks are made of, then Google “What are bully sticks made of?” I won’t discuss that here, as we’re a G-rated blog!

I know there are vegetable-based chews out there, which work the same way as bully sticks. You’re more than welcome to try them. My dogs don’t love them so we stick to bully sticks. 🙂

Don’t forget to always supervise your dog when he’s chewing any type of chew.

In this video, I explain what chew supervision looks like:

I want to hear from you! What’s your dog’s favorite chew toy or indoor game for dogs?