Top Four Halloween Pet Safety Tips From Ennis Veterinary Clinic
If you plan to integrate your pet into the evening’s festivities, be aware of the following four safety hazards:
Costumes – Some animals don’t mind, and even possibly enjoy, the fun of getting dressed up. If your pet falls into this camp, make sure he or she can breathe, see, bark or meow, hear, and move comfortably. If your pet appears agitated, frustrated, or tired, it’s time to free them from the costume. Also be sure to monitor your pet’s temperature and hydration, and always keep an eye on costume parts that could be chewed off or choked on.
Treats – Please keep all treats out of your pet’s reach. This includes the treats you are offering trick-or-treaters and any that might come back to your house in a treat bag. Treats made with any chocolate or Xylitol (a popular alternative sweetener) are strictly off-limits, as are any treats containing raisins or macadamia nuts.
A possible preventative measure would be to store all treats in a lidded container that your pet cannot break into. Be aware of candy wrappers left strewn about. These can cause major digestive issues –including choking – and should never be left out.
Decor – Decorations that involve electricity should be used sparingly around your pets. They can easily become entangled in power cords that could result in a life-threatening electric shock. Some flashing, moving, or talking special effects can be scary or disorienting to animals. Keep your pumpkin outside because a lit candle inside could be dangerous around inquisitive or accident-prone pets. If you decorate with glow sticks, be advised that, if chewed on, a dangerous chemical can leach out causing gagging, vomiting and drooling.
Identification – We recommend keeping your pet inside at night at least a few days prior to Halloween. However, it’s better to be safe than sorry, be sure to check your pet’s tags and update microchip information. Pets who are stressed may behave in a way that is unsafe which could easily result in your pet darting out the door. Fastening a reflective collar is also a great idea to keep your pet visible at night.
Hide Out – While some pets react extremely well to a change in routine, strange smells and noises, and a constant barrage of unfamiliar and costumed people at the door, they are generally the exception. If you are unsure of how your pet may fair, or you absolutely know for certain that their anxiety and stress will rule the night, make appropriate preparations to mitigate their discomfort. Create a safe space away from all the action that is a pet’s paradise: soft cushions, blankets, water, litter box (if needed), music or television to mask the noise at the door, and even special pet treats will round out this cozy scene for him or her. When the last trick-or-treater retreats, bring your pet back out and offer lots of snuggles and affection.
If you are concerned about how your pet will cope at Halloween, consider using either Feliway or Adaptil.
Adaptil collars, sprays & diffusers are excellent for relaxing your dog. These products release natural
calming pheromones which help calm your pet during stressful situations. Plugging in an Adaptil difusser close to your dogs den, or attaching an Adaptil collar to your dog or spraying the diffuser in the room will all help to settle and relax your dog. We recommend you use these products in the run up to Halloween, ideally you should start to use them 3 or 4 weeks prior to Halloween. Adaptil helps both puppies & adult dogs cope better in stressful situations such as fireworks and loud noises around this season.
Feliway is recommended for your cats. Feliway helps cats feel safe & secure in their own environment. This special scent (odourless to people and other animals) that Feliway utilizes is a replication of the pheromone that cats leave naturally when they are feeling comfortable in their environment. Every time a cat rubs its nose against objects in the home, it leaves behind this pheromone to mark its territory. Feliway comes in a plug in diffuser pack or as a spray & reduces stress which will make your cat more relaxed.
Contact us on 065 67 97 444 for more information
Halloween Pet Photo Competition
We invite you to enter your pet’s Halloween photo to our photo competition on Facebook. Read on for full details of how to enter and the €200 of prizes available!
1) Photos must be submitted via Facebook message. There can be multiple pets in the photo, but please only ONE photo per account. (Come to our page and click the “message” button. Type a message that includes the names of the pet(s) in the photo Tap the camera button below the message to take a photo, or the photo button to include an existing one). Click here to view our Facebook page.
2) This contest is limited to the first 40 entries; so enter fast for your pet’s chance to win! Entries must be submitted BEFORE 27/10/2015
3) This contest will be a series of mini photo contests. As photos are submitted, we will post your pet’s pics in a single post to our page where they’ll go “head to head” with 1-4 other pet’s photos. Votes will be tallied based on the comments on OUR FACEBOOK PAGE’S post! (No need to share the post on your timeline, as we can’t see votes there!) There will be 48 hours to vote on each post.
4) Pet(s) with the most votes on their “head to head” photo in each post will receive a treat worth approximately €10 (dental chew or flea treatment) and go on to THE FINALS. This will all be announced on Facebook.
5) THE FINALS: All pets that make it to the finals will be entered to win a fantastic prize of consisting of flea and worm treatment, a 1.5kg bag of Hill’s Vet Essentials food, and a toy for your pet. This winner will be chosen at random and announced on Facebook on 30/10/2015
6) HAVE FUN! We are SO excited to see your pets’ adorable (but safe & comfy!) costumes.
This contest is open to all pet owners capable of coming to Ennis Veterinary Clinic to redeem their prize. (You can be a new or existing client!) Only ONE photo entry per client. Prizes are non-transferable and not redeemable for cash or unrelated services. Prizes must be picked up/redeemed by December 1st 2015
Special offer on worm and flea treatments
Fleas are the single most common cause of skin disease in dogs and cats. Dogs and cats get infested with fleas through contact with other animals or contact with fleas in the environment. The flea’s strong back legs enable it to jump from host to host or from the environment onto the host. The flea bites cause itching, but for a sensitive or flea-allergic animal, this itching can be quite severe and lead to hair-loss, inflammation and secondary skin infections. Some pets, hypersensitive to the flea’s saliva, will itch all over from the bite of even a single flea! These small dark brown insects breed when the environment is warm. They are therefore just as happy to breed in a warm house in winter as they are in the summer. We recommend monthly flea treatment all year round with Pestigon spot on treatment, which is simply applied to the back of your pet’s neck. We are pleased to offer you BUY ONE GET ONE FREE on Pestigon until 15/11/2015.
To keep your pet free of worms, we recommend using Milbemax tablets. The advantage of using veterinary de-worming medication is that one dose kills all common worm types. The worm life-cycles can be as short as 2 weeks, which means that frequent de-worming is necessary, with some worm eggs remaining viable in the environment for 2-4 years. Speak to us today about the best de-worming schedule for your pet, just give us a call. We can even give your pet the tablet if you prefer, as a FREE of charge service that we offer.
The majority of worm eggs ingested by your pet are from self grooming as worm eggs are attached on their coat due to the animal licking their bottoms then grooming themselves. Cats will also pick up tapeworms from eating their hunted prey, these worms can be recognised as flat whitish motile segments, generally around your pet’s bottom.
Vigilance should be taken in households with young children as worms from pets can infect people and cause serious illness. Ocular larval migrans is when roundworms are ingested by humans and these worms migrate behind the eyes and can cause partial blindness. Remember that good hygiene is the best way to protect yourself and your pets from worm infestations, whilst encouraging children to wash their hands after playing with animals, especially when they’ve been outside. Remove your pet’s faeces as soon as they have been passed, especially in public places.
We currently have a special offer on Milbemax of BUY 3 GET 1 FREE.
Any questions just give us a call on 065 67 97 444 or email reception@ennisvetclinic.ie
We look forward to seeing you soon