Ghoulies, Ghosties, & Long-Haired Beasties...

Halloween is almost here again and along with it are the unique precautions you should take to ensure a day full of treats and not tricks.

Keep pets restrained on your neighborhood's designated Trick or Treat night. Not just in your yard, but preferably crated or locked in a back room. Costumed kids coming up to the door may freak out skittish pets. If you plan on taking your pet out with you on your family's rounds, make sure ahead of time that he is calm enough to make the trip. Don't force him to go if his disposition is not one to tolerate costumed children running around in the dark. And if you decide to costume your pet as well, give them plenty of time to get used to it and to make necessary alterations so that it's safe to wear. (Adding reflective tape to a pet's costume as well as a child's is a very smart idea and is available at most fabric/craft stores.)

If you do make your pet part of the festivities, make sure to have fun with it. One year we dressed my son Joey up as Blue from Blue's Clues, and I found Scudder, our black Lab, a yellow and green rugby shirt at Goodwill. So we had Blue and Steve. All the kids got it -- most of the adults didn't. But we had fun.

And around Halloween time you should keep pets indoors. There are still enough sick individuals out there who enjoy torturing animals that you should take all precautions to protect your pets. Most animal shelters put a moratorium on adopting out not only black cats, but any cats around Halloween, and for good reason.

While the treats are fun for us two-legged folk, remember that chocolate can be deadly to animals and make sure to keep it high out of animal reach. Educate your children about how sick candy can make an animal, and keep pet-appropriate treats handy for your children to share with them.

Don't forget those jackolanterns. While they are a wonderful holiday tradition, if you are using a candle make sure to take appropriate precautions to keep a tragic incident from occurring.

While we're on the subject, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and other winter holidays are just around the corner. Many people are planning their holiday decorations now, so keep your pets in mind while doing so to prevent not only injury to your pets but damage to your decorations as well. Forgo "icicles" in lieu of strands of garland type tinsel to help prevent ingestion and a trip to the emergency vet clinic. Keep fragile ornaments towards the top of the tree, and make sure display ornaments are high out of reach of sweeping doggy tails on sturdy tables and shelves. Plan electrical cord routings to minimize wiring and use moveable cord conduit (sold in office supply stores) to prevent chewing by pets and tripping by humans.

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