{"id":242990,"date":"2009-10-31T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2009-10-31T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sdnews.com\/taking-care-of-your-pet-on-halloween\/"},"modified":"2009-10-31T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2009-10-31T07:00:00","slug":"taking-care-of-your-pet-on-halloween","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/taking-care-of-your-pet-on-halloween\/","title":{"rendered":"Taking Care of Your Pet on Halloween"},"content":{"rendered":"

por Peggy Scott<\/p>\n

\"Puncked<\/a>
Punked Out Pooch at the Hotel Indigo San Diego\u2019s Canine Cocktails \u201cHowl\u201doween Edition<\/figcaption><\/figure> All Hallow\u2019s Eve, the day on which everything goes bump in the night, is the time for spooky, kooky fun. However, since few kitties and canines consult the calendar on a regular basis, all the October 31st ghoulish goings-on can be fur-raisingly frightening. So in the interest of limiting the Halloween mayhem to the make-believe variety, here are a few tips to keeping pets safe.<\/p>\n

One of the scariest things about Halloween is chocolate — when it falls into the wrong hands, er, paws. According to the ASPCA, chocolate, especially dark or baking chocolate, can be very dangerous for cats and dogs, potentially causing symptoms ranging from vomiting to seizures. That kibosh applies to other sweets as well, particularly candies made with the artificial sweetener xylitol, which, even in small amounts, can poison dogs — even to the point of liver failure. And it\u2019s not just the treat that\u2019s a trick — the wrappings, foil, cellophane, etc., can be choking hazards or cause intestinal blockage. So unless you choose to dress as a frantic pet parent at the veterinary emergency clinic this year, keep the goodies out of reach.<\/p>\n

For some pets, the stream of unusual-looking \u201cvisitors\u201d can be upsetting. Keep shy or territorial critters away from the front door during trick-or-treating times. Not only does a quiet back room increase calm, it also decreases the likelihood of a dash out the open door. Just in case, make sure all four-legged family members have I.D. tags to help them return home should they escape and become lost.<\/p>\n

Items such as jack-o-lanterns and decorative corn help set the seasonally spooky mood. Just keep in mind that while relatively nontoxic, notes the ASPCA, they can cause gastrointestinal distress, which can mean unexpected \u201cdecorations\u201d on your carpet. Keep an eye on other adornments that have wires or cords — curious little teeth may find them and the result can be \u201cshocking.\u201d You might want to reconsider the candles as well, if there\u2019s any chance they can be knocked over or unintentionally ignite whiskers or tails.<\/p>\n

Many people like to include Fido or Fluffy when dressing up, but make sure participation is voluntary. Some pets really enjoy hamming it up — for others, the process is stressful. Even if your Maltese has her heart set on being Minnie Mouse, make sure the costume doesn\u2019t limit movement or impede sight or the ability to bark (or meow). And no matter what their disguise, no pet\u2019s costume is complete without a leash — lost on Halloween is a horror story for everyone. Make sure your day has a happy ending.<\/p>\n

Peggy Scott is a freelance pet writer. She can be contacted at pscott.pets@yahoo.com<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Peggy Scott All Hallow\u2019s Eve, the day on which everything goes bump in the night, is the time for spooky, kooky fun. However, since few kitties and canines consult the calendar on a regular basis, all the October 31st ghoulish goings-on can be fur-raisingly frightening. So in the interest of limiting the Halloween mayhem […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1298,"featured_media":242991,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"11555","_seopress_titles_title":"Taking Care of Your Pet on Halloween","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[11551,11555],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-242990","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-uptown-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/242990","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1298"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=242990"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/242990\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/242991"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=242990"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=242990"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=242990"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}