Most dogs run and bark to greet the intruder at the door as soon as the doorbell rings.
Halloween can be quite stressful on your four-legged friend with the non-stop dinging of the doorbell every few minutes, if not seconds.
While you may not be able to break the conditioned behavior of running and barking when the doorbell rings, there are preventative measures you can take to make Halloween a little bit more enjoyable for your pooch.
Keep the Sweets Out of Reach
Humans can tolerate a decent amount of candy and chocolate. Sure, we’ll experience a sugar rush accompanied by a fast crash, but we’ll manage.
Your dog, on the other hand, may not be so lucky. Be sure to keep your candy stash for the trick-or-treaters out of reach so your dog doesn’t get into any Hallows Eve mischief and hurt themselves!
No Pets on the Porch
If you intend to keep your candy inside and open the front door every time trick-or-treaters come by, you give your dog numerous opportunities to escape.
A good idea is to set up a gate or simply block off the hallway so your dog can’t walk up to the front door in a fast, barking frenzy.
Make a Safe Spot for Your Dog
Better yet, get your dog comfortable in a separate room. Make sure they have a soft blanket folded up for support for the long night of laying on the floor.
Trick-or-treating doesn’t start until four in the afternoon, so if you’re able to, take your dog on a run or walk beforehand so they’re fast asleep by the time dressed-up strangers roam the streets.
Let a fan oscillate or use a white noise machine to mask the noise of strangers. If possible, let the radio play or hook your phone up to a Bluetooth speaker set to a relaxing, sleep-aid playlist.
Heck, National Public Radio can make anyone fall asleep. Don’t forget to give them plenty of toys to choose from if they aren’t able to sleep through the entire duration of trick-or-treating.
Beat the Trick-or-Treaters to the Punch
The best method is to simply designate someone to stand watch on the porch.
Depending on where you live, you may need water or hot chocolate and bug spray, or a jacket. This way, you can remove the doorbell from the equation altogether.
It may be fun to have a little bonfire and a speaker so that way you can have a good time hanging outside.
