Halloween Safety Tips For Pet Owners

It's a month of many events and national recognition, but to many people and especially kids, October is the month they don their costumes and head out to gather treats.

When we were kids, we loved coming home and dumping our night's spoils onto the floor or the kitchen table to see what tasty treats awaited us.

However, when it comes to candy and Halloween masks, kids are one thing, but your animals are a completely different story where cute meets safety concerns.

Although your dog or cat might be cool with sporting a cute costume, there are many animals that simply don't dig dressing up.

Newsday highlighted a statistic from the National Retail Federation, stating that Americans spent roughly $440 million on cat and dog costumes during Halloween.

If you must dress up your pet for the event, here are some safety tips that you ought to keep in mind while celebrating the festivities.

• Masks - Don't ever put a mask on a dog or cat. This would include sheets for a ghost costume or an Iron Man plastic mast, to name a few. It can really freak your pet out when they can see what's around them.
• Private Parts - Whether it's a costume or a doggie sweater, be sure that the fabric stays away from their private parts. You never know when your little "Fluffy" might need to go #1 or #2. Unlike your child, your pet won't be able to alert you when they need to go potty.
• Candy - We know that the kiddos get excited and want to dump their sugary spoils on the floor for inventory purposes, but a table or another surface away from the floor is a better option. Chocolate is just plain bad for pets. In part because there is a stimulant in chocolate that can make a dog's heart race. Depending on how much they ingest, a dog can get very sick and in some cases, can prove to be fatal.

Halloween is supposed to be a fun time. I'm sure we'd all like to keep it that way. And we're really sure your pets would to make it through the night alive and stress-free.

If you wish to dress up your animal, there are many dogs and cat appropriate costumes you can buy that are cute, funny and won't harm them.

Have a safe and fun Halloween!