With Halloween quickly approaching, I just wanted to highlight some safety tips for our pets:
Bring your pets indoors—even if your pet is used to being outdoors, bring your cats and dogs indoors. Unfortunately, animals can be the target of pranks and teasing during Halloween, especially black cats.
Keep your pet in a safe room —little children and energetic teenagers dressed up as goblins, pirates, scarecrows or the Grim Reaper may be a bit too much for our furry friends, especially if they are on the fearful side. Sometimes, it is best to have our pets in a safe room (covered crate, a gated-off area or a back bedroom) with a stuffed Kong or bully stick. With the door constantly opening and closing, we want to make sure our pets do not accidentally run out the door. So, keeping them in a safe room will prevent accidental escapes.
Make sure your dog has an I.D. tag and is microchipped - during the holidays is when a lot of lost pets are turned into shelters. Pets can accidentally run out of the door either because of fear or someone carelessly leaving the door open. Microchipping has saved many pets lives and resulted in many happy returns.
Make sure your dog knows how to "wait" behind the door or keep your dog on a leash - If your dog is going to be loose in your home (I prefer using a safe room), make sure he/she understands the cue for “waiting” behind the door and can handle seeing people in costumes. Keep your dog on a leash to prevent darting out the door. If he/she shows any signs of stress, anxiety, or aggression, put your dog in a safe room. Pet gates are another good option.
Keep your pet at home—Although it is tempting to have your dog go trick or treating with the kids, with so many strange looking people out and about, it can scare your dog. Your dog may panic and get loose or react negatively and nip a costumed stranger trying to pet him/her.
Go on Candy Patrol—often the day after Halloween, I find candy and cellophane wrappers on my porch and front yard. Make sure you check your home and front yard for stray candy so that your pet does not accidentally swallow it. Raisins and chocolate can be toxic to dogs as well as the artificial sweetener, xylitol found in chewing gum and other sugarless candies.
Beware of Jack-O-Lanterns & Candles—sometimes our pets are a little clueless about fire. Happy dogs with big wagging tails or cats jumping on a table can knock over a candle. Also young animals may be overly curious and burn themselves. Keeping your dog in a safe room can prevent these mishaps.
Some dogs hate costumes—while cute, some dogs are not very tolerant of costumes and can get cranky and snappy. If your dog looks stressed, unhappy or uncomfortable, take it off. Here is a primer on dog body language so that you can identify the more common canine stress signals.
A bandana is as much as my dog can handle. A costume would put her in a very foul mood.
During this pandemic sheltering in our homes has become a way of life. Being cooped up in the house can be challenging for both you and your pet. Fear not, this just changes the activities that you and your pet can engage in. Here are some examples: Walking your dog - in cities where it is permitted, you can keep up with your daily neighborhood walks.* Don't forget to wear your face mask and maintain at least 6 feet for social distancing. If you are unsure, consult with your mayor's or governor's websites regarding local guidelines for sheltering in place during this pandemic to make sure walking in your neighborhood is permitted. *If you are a senior citizen or in an "at-risk" or "vulnerable" group, please make sure you follow your doctor's orders and/or city or state's guidelines regarding staying at home. Walking in the neighborhood may not be an option for you if you are at-risk. Training – why not use this time in the house to reinforce some of your dog’s training? Put together a series of behaviors for your dog to perform and reward your dog for the last behavior in the chain. Go to your spot, lie down and stay is an example of a training combination. Or teach your dog a new trick. YouTube and other websites have videos of how to teach your dog to do simple tricks. Just remember to change the order and combinations of your tricks so your dog does not begin to memorize the order or sequence of tricks. My YouTube Channel has some videos you can refer to for training dogs, cats and even birds. Hide and Seek – playing hide and seek games where your dog has to find you in different parts of the house is a great way to reinforce your dog’s recall (coming to you). When training a dog to come when called, always remember that when they find you to reward them with effusive praise, petting and/or treats. Teach them that finding you is a big party. Toys Some toys can be used when the dog is left alone or for times when you need to keep your dog occupied (e.g.when you are on a call, you are busy at the computer, when you are having a meal). These toys must be fairly indestructible and have no small parts. Most people have Kong toys but there are many others you can order online or obtain from most pet stores. Kongs (http://www.kongcompany.com) are great toys that can be stuffed with your dog's kibble, treats, and other foods. Your dog will spend a lot of time trying to get the contents out of the Kong. Think of it like a doggie pacifier. For heavy chewers the Extreme Kong (black version)would be a better choice. The Kong website has instructions on how to use it with recipes and I also posted a blog about the many uses of Kongs which you can read about here. One of my favorite ways to use a Kong is to hide one or more Kongs around the house (I like to use places other than the kitchen or dining room) and ask your dog to find it. My dogs have been taught that the word “find it” means go hunt for the object. An empty Kong makes a great fetch toy as well.
Tug a Jug - This toy, made by Petsafe Pet Products, requires the dog to manipulate the jug and rope to try to get the treats out. If you use smaller treats, it is easier for the dog to get the treats. If the rope is destroyed, you can place balls in the jug for continued play. The other nice thing about this toy is that the jug is see-through so the dogs can see the treats inside. This toy has a high difficulty rating in my book so it may be too difficult for inexperienced dogs like puppies. Here is a video of my two year old Akita, Kiku, who takes a patient and systematic approach to problem solving:
Twist and Treat – this is another similar rubber toy called the Twist and Treat is made by PetSafe. This toy is probably better for smaller dogs and less powerful chewers. This toy has the advantage of being adjustable depending on the size threat you are using so I find it easier for most dogs.
Buster Cube - The Buster Cube has been on the market a long time. This was one of the original toys I used with my 10 year old Shiba Inu when she was a puppy. The Buster Cube dispenses dry treats randomly when the dog moves the toy around. You can also adjust the level of difficulty depending on the skills of your dog.
Kibble Nibble: This is another Premier toy similar to the Buster Cube. The object of the game is to roll the ball around to make the kibble come out.The ball is see-through and the dog can see how much kibble is left. It takes some experimentation to determine what size kibble/treat works best so that it is not too easy or too hard. Here is video of my Shiba Inu, Mitsu, playing with the ball. She is almost 11 years old now and she is going after the ball with gusto. This video is not sped up, this old gal is actually this frenetic. She ended up playing with this ball for about 15 minutes, did a couple of shiba yells at the ball, got a drink of water and came back for another 10 minutes before I took it away from her. During the video you can see a treat flying out of the ball:
Toys Requiring Owner's Participation This category of toys are toys that involve the participation and supervision of the owner. Examples of traditional toys requiring owner participation are balls, fetch toys, tug of war toys and frisbees. There are also toys that involve problem solving skills. Nina Ottoson has created a whole line of toys which help hone your dog's problem-solving skills and at the same time help develop the bond with your dog. These toys require human supervision and they must not be left alone with your dog because of the moving parts and materials that can be chewed up into small pieces if unsupervised. The Dog Brick - this toy requires the dog to remove the bricks and slide the covers to get to the treats. The link provided contains an instructional video on how to use this toy. Below is a video I made showing how my dog solved the brick.
Dog Tornado: This toy has a higher difficulty rating than the Dog Brick and it is definitly more challenging. What is fun about this toy is that you can potentially put your dog's entire meal (especially for small dogs) in the Tornado thereby slowing down their eating and preventing gulping their food. Again, these toys require your supervision because there are small parts. Here is a video of my female akita, who is a little more sophisticated at solving puzzles, using the Tornado at a more advanced setting to make it more difficult to have access to the treats:
Cat Training and Toys And some of these toys are not limited to use for dogs. Even cats can get in on the fun. Here is my cat using the Dog Tornado as a way to keep her occupied and to prevent her from gulping down food too fast.
You can even train your cat to dog the same tricks as your dog!
For more videos on training you can go to my YouTube channel.
Take advantage of this time at home to bond with your pet and most of all, stay safe everyone!
