Halloween Tips For Dogs: Helping Reactive Dogs Cope + Our Free Friendly Printable
How does your dog cope with Halloween…?
If the steady stream of noisy children passing by your front window coupled with perpetual doorbell ringing sends your dog into a frenzy every October 31st… have no fear. You’re not the only one… and there’s plenty you can do to make it easier on your dog, and yourself.
Halloween is a nightmare for reactive dogs, but can be pretty stressful for all dogs. Check out our top tips for a successful Halloween below, and download our free poster to help keep the night as terrifyingly tranquil as possible…!
Top Tips For A Stressless Halloween with Your Dog
Download our free & friendly Halloween poster
If you haven’t already, click here to download our free & friendly Halloween poster and pop it in your front window or porch. This is something we do each year, alongside leaving a bowl of treats on the front step… Yes, I was worried the first trick or treater would empty it and run, but clearly I underestimated the well-mannered ghouls and goblins of my local neighbourhood, because there were plenty of treats to go around… and even a few left for me at the end of the night!
Transform your dog’s doorbell response
If you’ve been struggling with your dog’s doorbell behaviour for most of their life, consider tackling it with some positive training. And if you have no idea where to start with that, here’s a free step-by-step video tutorial on combating wildness at the front door. It might be a little too late to perfect in time for this Halloween, but start now and you’ll be a master by October 2024!
@listendogtraining Here’s my step-by-step demo on how to teach a powerful place cue – and exactly how to incorporate arousal into your training to ensure it WORKS in any situation! 👌 #dogtrainingdemo #dogtrainingexercises #puppytraining101
Reduce Your Dog’s Stress
We’re lucky enough to have partnered up with an incredible brand, Petals and Tails, that produces CBD oil products for dogs, designed to help alleviate stress and reduce anxiety related behaviours. Personally I love their CBD peanut butter, because it’s so quick and easy to pop inside a Kong and deliver… you can see how much Nova loves it here!
@listendogtraining Use code LISTENDOG15 for 15% off at Petals and Tails 🌸 #cbdoilfordogs #linkinbio #separationanxiety #reactivedog
If you want to shop their range, you can grab yourself 15% off everything with code: LISTENDOG15
Managing Extreme Reactivity at Halloween
If you think your dog is likely to become increasingly over-aroused or stressed by excessive Hallween activity outside your home, try your best to manage his environment, and any potential triggers, as best you can. If necessary, spend your evening together in a room at the back of the house to prevent the front door or windows becoming points of hyper-vigilance or reactivity, and keep your dog occupied with self-soothing, endorphin-releasing activities, like a long-lasting chew, a frozen licky mat, or snuffle mat packed with hidden treats.
Meanwhile, do your best to mask the sounds from the street outside, with the radio, your dog’s favourite playlist (what do you mean they don’t have one..?!) or the TV.
The Reactivity Rehabilitation Programme
For a complete and in-depth training action-plan to help you work through your dog’s reactivity in any and all situations, my 53-page reactivity training programme costs less than a SINGLE one-to-one session with a qualified professional, and has already helped countless owners achieve incredible results.
In the meantime, I hope you have a Happy Howloween… and you know where I am if you need me!