Top Tips for Animal Care This Halloween

Level 2 Traineeship NI Animal Care students at SERC Bangor, Downpatrick and Lisburn Campuses have been highlighting the dangers to pets and animals during the Halloween festivities. 

This time of year can be very stressful for pets and animals, and SERC Animal Care students are keen to share how everyone can make it a less anxious time for them, with a little bit of planning. As part of their course, the students have been researching the potential harm to pets and animals and want to share their top tips for keeping them out of danger over the holiday. 

Top tips include: 

• Walk your dog early to avoid loud noises from fireworks and keep pets indoors when the festivities start. Lots of animals get lost at Halloween because they get frightened and run away. 
• Check all bonfires well before lighting for small animals such as cats and hedgehogs. 
• Don’t put costumes on pets, cute as it may seem, they can be uncomfortable and cause stress. 
• Keep dogs away from your door, with food and water, so they don’t worry about the flow of people in costumes ‘trick or treating’. 
• Leave the radio or white noise on to cover the sound of fireworks. We recommend classical music or anything else soothing. 
• Reassure them with constant check-ups; enrichment games like stuffed Kongs or sniffing games have been shown to lower heart-rate and reduce stress. 
• Chocolate and grapes can poison dogs – make sure treats for humans are kept away from animals.  

In extreme cases, you can talk to your vet about anxiety medication for your pet.