Halloween Pet Safety: Essential Tips for a Safe Night

Halloween can be a lot of fun for families, but it can also bring some dangers for pets. To help keep your dog or cat safe, here are some key Halloween pet safety tips, with some help from Trusty Pet Food. From avoiding harmful treats to making sure costumes are comfortable, these tips will help you and your pets trick and treating without any stress or trouble.

Keep Dangerous Treats Away

Halloween candy might be a treat for people, but it’s dangerous for pets. Chocolate, especially dark chocolate, is toxic to dogs and cats. Also, some sugar-free candies contain xylitol, which is pretty toxic. Make sure all candy and wrappers are out of reach to prevent choking or poisoning.

Keep this in mind if you have any counter surfers that love to steal food from the table when nobody’s looking!

Pick Safe Costumes

If you plan to dress your pet in a costume, make sure it fits well and doesn’t restrict movement or breathing. Costumes with small parts that can be chewed off are a bad idea because your pet could swallow them. Also, keep an eye on your pet’s behavior—if they seem stressed, take off the costume right away. Out four-legged buddies don’t all enjoy a good costume as much as we do.

Create a Quiet Space for Your Pet

With doorbells ringing and trick-or-treaters coming and going, Halloween can be loud and overwhelming for dogs and cats (as well as other pets). Set up a quiet room where your pet can relax away from all the excitement. You can add their bed, toys, and some water to keep them comfortable.  We will take a deeper look at dealing with anxious animals below.

Watch the Doors and Prevent Escapes

With the door opening so often, it’s easy for pets to slip outside. Keep them in a room away from the front door or use a gate to block them from getting near the entrance. Also, make sure your pet has updated ID tags, and if they aren’t microchipped yet, now’s a good time to consider it.

If your dog or cat isn’t a part of the festivities, there’s no harm in giving them some playtime and exercise in the afternoon, and putting them in a crate during the evening. This makes sure they’re safe and you can enjoy your Halloween.

Keep Decorations Safe

Pets are curious and might play with Halloween decorations, which can be risky. If you use candles or jack-o’-lanterns, make sure they’re out of reach to avoid burns or fire hazards. Battery-operated candles are a safer option.

Be careful with glow sticks, too. Although they’re not toxic, the liquid inside can cause your pet to drool and act uncomfortably if they chew on them.

Stick to a Routine

Pets thrive on routine, so try to keep their day as normal as possible on Halloween. Give them toys or engage them in activities to distract them from all the noise. Trusty Pet Food offers safe, healthy treats that can keep your pet busy while the trick-or-treaters visit.

Limit the Noise Exposure

If your dog or cat gets anxious with all the doorbell rings or noises from outside, consider putting them in a quieter part of the house. Playing soft music or using white noise can help reduce the sound and keep them calm.

Avoid Sharing Human Snacks

It can be tempting to share Halloween snacks with your pet, but it’s safer to stick to pet-friendly treats. Chocolate, nuts, and other ingredients in Halloween treats can be harmful. Instead, you can offer safe snacks from Trusty Pet Food, so they don’t miss out on the fun.

Help Your Dog Or Cat With Anxiety

Pets can get anxious with all the doorbell rings, trick-or-treaters, and even the weather. Here are some simple ways to help calm your anxious pet during Halloween:

Create a Safe Space

Set up a quiet spot in your home where your dog or cat can feel secure. Add their favorite bed, toys, and some water. This gives them a place to escape the noise and feel more relaxed.

Play Background Noise

Try turning on some soft music, white noise, or even a fan to help drown out the doorbell, loud music, or the sound of kids outside. It can make the sudden noises less intense for your dog.

Noise Training

To help your dog or cat handle loud sounds, use noise training. Play recordings of sounds that scare them at a low volume. Slowly increase the sound, pairing it with treats or toys, so your dog starts to associate the noise with something positive. Keep the sessions short, about 5-10 minutes each time, so you don’t overwhelm them.

Use Positive Reinforcement

Whenever there’s a loud noise, like thunder or the doorbell, give your dog their favorite treat or toy. This helps them link the noise with something they enjoy, making them less scared over time.

Try Calming Products

You can also use products like Adaptil diffusers, Trusty Catnip Toys, or Thundershirts, which mimic natural calming signals or provide gentle pressure to help your dog feel more secure.

Prepare a Pet Safety Plan

Having a Halloween safety checklist for all your pets is a smart idea. This means making sure they have a safe space, keep harmful treats and decorations out of reach, and double-check their ID tags. Planning ahead can give you peace of mind that your pet will be safe.

By following these tips and using Trusty Pet Food’s safe treats, you can make sure Halloween is fun and safe for your dogs and cats. With a little preparation, you can make sure all your family members, including the four-legged ones, enjoy Halloween with you.

How to train your dog with treats

Blog by dog owner, Kate

Positive reinforcement can create behavioural change in your dog, and one of the best ways of rewarding your dog is by using dog treats. This blog tells you how.

With an embarrassing track record of two badly behaved dogs, I finally think it is time to train our anxious and aggressive 2-year-old mutt (she is also very loving by the way, which is why it is worth the effort).

In this short blog, I spoke to friends, looked up professional advice and have put together the following top tips for training a dog using treats:

  • Rewards are better than punishment. Many of us have learnt through bitter experience that the carrot is always better than the stick. Punishment teaches fear and inhibition, whilst rewards instil confidence and pleasure.
  • Use tasty, high-quality treats as a reward. It may seem obvious, but a dog must really value a treat for it to be effective. So, when you initiate the training for a particular task always start off with food morsels that your dog really likes.
  • Use small treats, so they can be used repetitively. Treats should only account for a small part of what your dog eats each day, otherwise they can lead to obesity, or affect the consumption of main meals. If you are going through an intensive training period, you may need to temporarily adjust your dog’s regular feedings to account for any treats they get during the day.
  • Hand out treats in moderation when a task has been completed. If your dog sees you holding a treat, it may tell them that a treat is going to happen if they do what you want. In other words, you may be teaching your dog to only react when they know a treat is coming. It is best to conceal the treats and only show them when your dog has completed the required behaviour.
  • Practice the task in an environment where there aren’t a lot of distractions. To reinforce a behaviour, it is good to first practice at home, for example by asking your dog to come to you and then rewarding them. Later, when you are at the park and there are a lot of distractions, get them to come, and thanks to all the previous repetition, they will know that you really value that behaviour.
  • Use concise and clear language. When asking your dog to complete an activity, do not use complete sentences, but simple short verbal instructions. Words like “sit”, “stay”, “down”, “heel” or “come”. Be consistent in the words used and the tone.
  • Give the treat immediately once the task has been completed. It is very important to reward your dog immediately, not 10 seconds later! Otherwise, your dog will struggle to associate the good behaviour with the reward.
  • Reward the dog in the exact position you’re rewarding them for. For example, don’t make them sit to receive the reward, or they may think they are being rewarded for sitting rather than the good behaviour. This can be confusing for your pet!
  • Do not reward bad behaviour. If your dog does something bad, never give them a treat or a reward for backtracking on that bad mistake. You will be rewarding bad behaviour. For example, if you dog runs after a cat, only to finally return to you after much cajoling, do not reward your dog.
  • Do not rely entirely on dog treats. Incorporate other positive reinforcements, such as praise or petting into your training routine, not just small, edible treats.
  • Reward completion of unpleasant events. Regularly reward your dog for having unpleasant things done to them, such as washing, grooming, or clipping of toenails. That way, an unpleasant task, becomes a little bit more bearable for everyone concerned!

Trusty knows that dog treats are an important part of your training toolkit. Here are a few recommendations for the perfect doggie training reward:

 

 

Trusty Treats: your dog’s safety and wellbeing

This blog provides information about the compliance of Trusty products to Australian standards, and information about how Trusty bones are manfactured. There is also general information about good practice associated with feeding bones to dogs.

Compliance to Australian standards

Trusty Pet Food is compliant to Australian standards and is made here in Australia, to give you peace of mind.

In 2011, the voluntary industry code of practice was replaced with the Australian Standard for the Manufacturing and Marketing of Pet Food (AS 5812–2011), which has since been updated to the Australian Standard (AS 5812-2017) for the Manufacturing and Marketing of Pet Food.

Several pet food product safety incidents over the previous years had raised some concerns about pet food safety.

The Australian Standard for Manufactured Pet Food AS 5812, contains clauses that address health concerns regarding the use of sulphates by including a mandatory requirement that any product containing sulphur dioxide, sulphite or potassium sulphites must contain sufficient thiamine according to AAFCO guidelines, for the entire shelf-life of the product. This will help to prevent thiamine deficiency in relation to pet food/pet meat that complies with AS 5812.

Should I feed my dog bones?

Ultimately, it comes down to personal choice and the presence of appropriate supervision and due care with your dog. At Trusty, we recommend getting veterinary advice if you are unsure.

Standard cooked bones (whether fried or roasted, such as bones from a cooked chicken or bones from a cooked roast) can splinter and shatter in a dog’s mouth.  This is because the traditional cooking process involves a high cooking temperature (over a short period of time), which can cause bones to dry out and become more brittle.

Raw bones should be avoided as they can splinter in a dog’s mouth and possibly cause obstructions in the digestive track.

How are Trusty bones dried?

In manufacturing the Trusty range of dried bones, we use an air-dried process (not fried or cooked) which is undertaken at a much lower temperature and over a longer period of time (when compared to a fired or cooked product).

The Trusty bone drying process is done in purpose-built driers with a computer controlled drying program that ensures that all Trusty products (including the Trusty 1 Piece Pork Bone product) are dried to achieve shelf stability and commercial sterility under ambient conditions, as is required by our auditing authorities. Records of our processes are retained to validate operating compliance.

Always play it safe when it come to your dog

Like humans, young and old, some dogs can have sensitivities to different foods. Always get veterinary advice is you are unsure what is best for your dog.

It is strongly advised that all treats must be fed under supervision, because some dogs (and certain dog breeds) can tend to chomp and gulp the product down without fully crunching or chewing up the product before swallowing. If a particular dog (or a particular dog breed) is prone to this, then the owner should consider feeding an alternate or a softer treat from the Trusty range to their dog.

It is your responsibility to know what treats and foods are suitable for your dog. Always get veterinary advice if you are unsure.

References RSPCA, AS5812, AAFCO

Trusty brand is launched in Australia

The Trusty brand of treats for dogs and cats has just been launched and is available at Bunnings Warehouse throughout Australia.

Trusty Dog and Cat Treats Now Available at Bunnings Warehouse

As part of Garth Group, Trusty benefits from decades of experience working with partners to offer great value, top-quality products to our customers across the world. Trusty will be no exception, with an initial product portfolio of treats and dental care products for cats and dogs which offer ethically-sourced natural ingredients and simple yet delicious recipes to make sure your furry friend is happy and healthy, all at an affordable price.

Decades of Experience Backing Trusty Dog and Cat Treats

Gavin Hill, Garth’s Chief Executive Officer, and brand owner of Trusty said: “We all want the best for our pets, so it is a source of great delight to launch Trusty – a modern Aussie brand which puts the health and well-being of our pets at the heart of everything we do.”

CEO Gavin Hill on the Launch of Trusty Dog and Cat Treats

“Since COVID-19, the pet market has grown and changed. Amazingly, pet ownership is up by 8% in Australia from two years ago. There are now 30 million pets in Australia, and we are spending more time with them than ever before. It is a great time for us to get involved and demonstrate the respect we have for animals – both for our pets and the animals that are used in the supply chain.

A Growing Pet Market Perfect for Trusty Dog and Cat Treats

“At Trusty, we source from the best suppliers we can find and operate a sustainable business in terms of growth and environmental impact. We aim to be transparent in everything we do, making sure our packaging is clear and our marketing describes the benefits our products bring to your pooch or kitty.

Sustainability and Transparency at the Heart of Trusty Dog and Cat Treats

“The key thing we always remember is that every pet is different – so our range of treats aims to cater to your pet’s own needs, whether they require options that are vegan, grain free, breath freshening, or just something delicious to chew on!”

Catering to Every Pet’s Needs with Trusty Dog and Cat Treats

So, what next? Please stay informed and involved by following our Instagram and Facebook pages, which will be full of top tips and 101 different ways of celebrating our furry friends. Links below in the footer.

Stay Updated with Trusty Dog and Cat Treats via Social Media and Newsletters

Sign up to our newsletter in the footer below – which will be coming later this year.
Please try our products and tell us what you think by sending us a message here.

Try Trusty Dog and Cat Treats and Share Your Feedback

Watch out for competitions coming soon and bag yourself a box of pet treats and accessories

More of us are having pets than ever before

A recent study from the RSPCA states that Australia has a pet population of over 29 million, with 61% of Australians households having pets. Aussies prefer owning dogs over cats, similar to the profiles of pet owners in the United States and the United Kingdom. Although not maintaining as large a cat and dog population as China and the United States, Australia does have the 4th largest population of pet fish and birds in the world.

The same study shows 64% of Australian pet owners are women, with 70% of those owners being Gen Z, followed by Gen X and then Baby Boomers. Dog owners love to splurge on their pooches, spending an average of AU$1627.00 every year, compared to feline owners with an annual spend of AU $962.00. According to research by the University of Sydney, owners are opting for smaller pedigree breeds such as pugs and bulldogs, over larger canines.

As 65% of Aussie households with children aged 6 and up consider their furry friends an integral part of their family, 76% of cat owners and 92% of dog owners choose to integrate their pets within their home and keep them indoors. The most common reasons for owning pets include love, companionship, and a positive impact upon mental health.

If you also enjoy spoiling your best friend, make sure to check our great selection of treats for cats and dogs!

Sources

How many pets are there is Australia?

12 Australia Pet Industry Statistics to Know In 2023: Trends, Market Size, and More

The 17th Annual Statistical Report of the HILDA Survey

A guide to worldwide pet ownership

Man’s best friend is getting smaller

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