Halloween & all things spooky
The stuff humans do can be unsettling or down right strange to our dogs. Some dogs are more nervous of strange experiences than others but even the most confident dog can get spooked at some point by something out of the ordinary. If you have a puppy there are things you can do in the first few months of life to build resilience getting the ground work right is so important. If you have an older dog recognising the signs of stress means you can help them out when things get weird for them. Don’t assume your puppy or dog will find Halloween and dress ups as fun as the humans in their life.
Our dogs resilience and confidence in the world can be influenced by a variety of factors. Genetics; the mothers stress during pregnancy; the environment in which they are raised from birth to 8 weeks; their socialisation before 14 weeks, how experiences which they find startling were handled as they grow, single event learning (one frightening experience which affects how they perceive future events); age and health. It won’t always be obvious to us in advance what our dog might find weird. Take Wolfie, my seven year old Irish Wolfhound, we recently had powered blinds added to our velux windows. Whenever we press the button to lower them there is a quiet mechanical noise and as they slowly close. Wolfie looks sideways at the closing blinds and gives a low woof. Whether its the noise, movement or simply a new thing he doesn’t understand means no harm, he doesn’t like it.
Reading our dogs body language is key to understanding when they are uncomfortable. Dogs are master communicators we’re just not always on top of translation. Some nervous / stress signals to look for in your dog are:
Backing away /leaning away
Turning head / looking away
Ears going back
Lip licking
Exaggerated yawn
Random intense sniffing or scratching
Halloween is a typical occasion where our dogs might be a little more cautious than normal. People get dressed up so look totally different, our dogs might just be seeing an odd shaped silhouette and aren’t even convinced they are human at all. Then there are decorations appearing outside people’s home. If trick or treating is big in your area then there will be more noise, more children around, more door knocks.
To dress up your dog or not? While it may be a very cute photo opportunity, forcing your dog into a costume can be stressful for them. If you have done work with your dog to help them feel happy about dress ups and they enjoy it…. great. But don’t suddenly put clothes on your dog. Our dogs tolerate a lot from their trusted caregivers but just because they do doesn’t mean they are willing participants. As with anything new you introduce to your dog you need to do it slowly, in small steps, paired with a great reinforcer and respond when they show discomfort.
So what can we do when the witches of Halloween come out:
Be aware of what your dog is saying, check out this neat little graphic to understand dog body language a little better.
If dressing up in the house help your dog out if they seem unsure, for us part of the fun is being a little scared, but we can’t explain that to our dogs, avoid deliberately scaring your dog. If they do get spooked try some of the suggestions below.
Provide your dog with a safe space in the house away from increased activity and potentially scary costumes
Give them licking, chewing or sniffing projects. All of these are calming behaviours.
Play some calming music.
Avoid a walk when trick or treaters are likely to be out and about.
If your dog reacts to door knocks or people approaching the house place a bucket of sweets (I’m Scottish!) outside with a sign asking people not to knock but to help themselves.
So remember our dogs don’t understand why their world goes a little crazier for a night but we can help them through it and not judge them for their reluctance to join in.
You can include your dog in Halloween fun in a dog appropriate way with our Halloween toy box
