Halloween Weekend: what should pet owners know, and what should they do?

With Halloween approaching, this week on the Pat Kenny Show on Newstalk, we discussed issues to do with fear of fireworks in pets as well as other safety issues for pets.

To listen click on the podcast at the foot of this post.

Here are some simple tips to make life easier for animals.

• Keep all pets indoors in hours of darkness this weekend
• This includes small pets like rabbits and guinea pigs in hutches: they can be terrified of loud fireworks noises
• Create cosy dens indoors, with radio playing, beds, toys etc
• If your dog gets hyper agitated by fireworks, ask your vet for calming medication
• Adaptil Diffusers and collars produce pheromones that help dogs stay calm
• Tightly fitting clothes (like Thundershirt or Karmawrap) can also help keep dogs calm
• All pets should have clear ID tags as well as microchips. Many pets run off in panic over Halloween.
• The long term answer for fireworks-sensitive dogs is sound therapy. You can download sound tracks of fireworks to play quietly in the background, starting much earlier in the year,  to gradually get them used to the sounds. The Dogs Trust websites allow you to download these sound tracks for free.
  

  
  This week’s Queries from Pat Kenny Show listeners

• I have four Organic hens. 2 have lice. What is the best thing to get rid of them? I have tried with the diatomaceous earth in the coop and dusted them with louse powder, to no avail.
• Garry here I have 14 week old miniature pomeranian can I still give him his 7 in 1 injection
• My dog keeps eating his feet any advice
• I like cats, We have neighbours cats that come and poop in our garden. Is there a humane way to stop this as I have young kids
• I have two dogs. They both get diarrhoea frequently. But it never seems to affect their overall health and mood. They are on a good quality food and spend days on rice and egg following bouts. I recently tried a course of parazole to rule out a parasite and it seemed to work however again today my female dog has diarrhoea again. Any advice much appreciated.
  

  for answers, Listen to the podcast by clicking on the link below

• Also, read about Ruby’s story on the Allianz website from the link below