Halloween is almost upon us! And although this spooky night of treats and frights is a fun holiday looked forward to by many, it can quickly turn into a nightmare for your dog. Almost everything about this night are things that can often set even the calmest canines on edge.
Think about it for a minute: Halloween is a night full of large numbers of people walking up and down your street, the doorbell is going off every few minutes with strangers on the other side, there’s more noise and commotion outside than usual, and the normal nightly routine is most likely disrupted.
Not to mention the fact that people, potentially including their owner, are all dressed up in strange or scary costumes. All of these things combine to make the evening a scary one indeed for your little furry friend. In addition to making your dog feel uncomfortable, the problem with all of these stressors is that they can cause them to try and hide or escape. With the door constantly opening and closing, this means that dogs may get out of the house and run away.
The question is, what can you do about it to make sure Halloween isn’t a horrible night for your pet and you.
Common Ways to Reduce Dog Stress during Halloween
There are several steps you can take to help keep your pet calm on October 31st:
- Create a quiet environment – If your dog is an anxious type, then it might be a good idea to put them in a separate room or blocked off area away from the front door. It’s also helpful to put on some soothing music or the TV to make it harder for them to hear and react to the doorbell. Give them their favorite toy to help distract them!
- Use a crate – Similar to using a quiet room or area in your home, if your dog associates their crate with being calm and sleeping, then you may want to put them in it. However, ensure the crate itself is in a quiet room, or else being locked up with constant doorbell ringing could lead to further stress.
- Don’t dress them up – Although it can be exceptionally cute to dress up your pup, if they are already anxious and stressed on Halloween, then it’s probably best to forego a costume. Putting them in unfamiliar or potentially restricting outfits will only serve to stress them out even more.
- Always have their leash handy – If you choose to not confine your anxious pet to a room or crate, then be sure to leash them. As we mentioned, the constant doorbell ringing, stream of trick or treaters, and door opening and closing can lead to behaviors of fear, aggression, and potentially running away. Using a leash will help you restrain them.
As you may have guessed, CBD might also be able to help your pup stay calm this Halloween. If you do try CBD, we recommend combining it with the methods above to cover all your bases.
How CBD May Help Dogs on Halloween
More and more pet owners are turning to CBD to try and help their dogs in a variety of situations. From separation anxiety to inflammation caused by arthritis, CBD has possible far reaching positive effects for our pets. Your dog has an endocannabinoid system (ECS) just like you do, which allows CBD to interact with their bodies in similar ways that it does with our own.
The potential benefits of CBD and other cannabinoids result from these substances tapping into the endocannabinoid system and triggering cannabinoid receptors existing within the body. These receptors then stimulate changes; many of which may result in positive health effects, like possibly reduced anxiety.
Although there hasn’t been much research looking into CBD for dog anxiety, because we have similar body systems to our pets, we can assume that CBD will likely affect us and our pets in similar ways when it comes to anxiety. If you’re interested in seeing the data and evidence we have for CBD’s ability to fight anxiety in humans, check out another article of ours, New to Cannabidiol: How to Use CBD for Anxiety.
How to Give CBD to Your Pet on Halloween
Giving CBD to your pet is simple. If you’re using a tincture product, then simply place a few drops on their food or directly in their mouth. If you’re using the salmon oil infused with CBD that we offer at Urban Roots, then just add a few pumps onto their meals. We recommend splitting the daily dosage up between their morning and evening meals so their food keeps the same delicious taste that they love.
It’s important to remember that CBD does not work over night. It needs time to build up in your pet’s system. For that reason, it would be best to start giving them CBD now so that they are more likely to experience its effects by Halloween. When it comes to dosage, start off small and slowly increase the amount you give them until it produces the desired outcome.
If you want to try CBD for your dog this Halloween, then check out our selection of pet CBD products today!