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Trick-or-Treating With Your Dog

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Trick-or-Treating Safety Tips for Dog

Dog Costume
liukov/Deposit Photos

As Halloween festivities begin to pick up, it’s time to decide if your dog will be attending these festivities too. Should you bring your dog along on Halloween trick or treating? Should your dog take part in answering the ringing doorbell for monster and goblin trick or treaters? Let’s discuss simple Halloween safety tips for dogs.

It’s best to keep dogs at home. Dogs can react to small children wearing odd costumes and masks or children and adults stumbling around in the darkness. If your dog is fearful and has any type of anxiety, it’s best to leave him at home. If you’re leaving your dog alone at home, I recommend reading this article. If you do decide to bring your dog along, take a few precautions.

Dog wears a collar with a current ID tag

I know you’ve heard this before, but make sure your dog is wearing a flat buckle collar with a current ID tag attached to the collar. You never know what can happen. If your dog is frightened, his ID tag will identify him when found.

Always leashed, and a parent is holding the leash

Keep your dog leashed at all times, and a parent should hold the other end of the leash not a child. This will prevent your dog from bolting if he becomes afraid, such as when children walk up really fast in strange costumes.

Keep a safe distance

When trick or treaters knock on neighbors’ doors, keep a safe distance with your dog. Sometimes, the door will open with several loud people wearing costumes or your neighbor will try to scare the children. Other times, neighbors will open the door and their pets may not be friendly. When in doubt, keep your leashed dog about 6 feet from the front door.

Simple is best for costumes

Dogs have a difficult time walking in many costumes, either store bought or homemade. If you insist on dressing up your dog, keep it simple, such as a festive Halloween bandana with reflective tape (a black dog is hard to see at night). They want to have fun too so keep the lavish Halloween costumes for you and the children. 🙂

Happy Halloween!

Best Halloween Dog Toy Filling Recipe

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Kong Stuffing Recipe for Halloween

Kong Stuffing Recipe
kozzi2/Deposit Photos

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

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