Halloween Anxiety in Pets

The ringing of the doorbell and the sound of little people coming up to the house on Halloween night is lots of fun for the most of us, however, can cause your pet to be quite anxious or even look for ways to escape.

As the “trick or treaters” come up to the house, we need to be aware of where our pets are and what they are doing. In some cases, it may be best to keep them separated in the home – perhaps in a bedroom or downstairs away from the traffic. We have had many a worried pet parent phone on the day after Halloween to let us know that their pet has escaped and run off the night before, from the door opening multiple times. Even the costumes can make some pets worried. They are not used to seeing these sort of “animals” come to their home and may be looking to protect you.

We also need to think about those pets that are concerned with visitors; either too excited and may run off or nip at hands to those really worried pets that could bark or bite at all the new people to the home. To these pets just keeping them safely away can keep everyone’s anxiety down. For those pets that get very upset, we can consider using calming measures or even medication to get “over the hump” of that night. It may be the kindest thing to lower the stress even a few days before to have everything run smoothly.

So to avoid a “scary” situation on Halloween, consider how it is from your pets point of view.

Written by Lisa, RVT