Halloween's coming; keep your pets safe

The ghoulish holiday is still a few weeks away, but store aisles are filled with candy and decorations now. This most likely means many pet owners are buying the stuff now, and so it's time for the annual halloween advisory.

Keep holiday treats and candies out of your pet's reach as they can make your pet quite sick. Candy wrappers cause an upset stomach. Chocolate, particularly unsweetened, dark, bittersweet and baking chocolate, can be toxic to pets, especially dogs, who are more prone to eat it. If your dog eats chocolate, call your veterinarian or an animal poison control center, as treatment may be needed immediately. Symptoms of toxicity include excitement, nervousness, trembling, vomiting, diarrhea, excessive thirst or urination, muscle spasms and seizures.

Keep gum, candy or breath fresheners containing the sweetener xylitol away from your dog. When a dog eats even a small amount of xylitol, it causes a surge of insulin, and the animal's blood sugar may drop quickly and dangerously. Cases of liver damage have also been associated with ingestion of xylitol. If your dog ingest xylitol, contact your veterinarian or an animal poison control center immediately.

If you plan to partake in Halloween festivities, such as answering your door to trick-or-treaters, keep pets in a quiet part of the house. Pets can become overexcited, confused or frightened by trick-or-treaters in costume. Watch for open doors and make sure your pets have ID tags and/or microchips in case they do get out. Remind your guests that your normally friendly pet may want to be left alone. Young trick-or-treaters may be scared of dogs who run excitedly toward them when the owner answers the door. Outdoor pets, especially black cats, should be kept indoors on Halloween. Halloween decorations such as fake cobwebs should be kept out of reach of pets. Glow sticks can be hazardous if chewed or ingested. Light strands, loose wires and electric cords can be a serious hazard to your pet, especially puppies, who may chew them.

Never leave candles, such as those in jack-o-lanterns, unattended, especially around puppies and kittens.

Never allow your pets to eat a leftover jack-o-lantern, as a rotted, moldy pumpkin can make them seriously ill.

Some pets might not mind dressing up for Halloween, but for others it could be a stressful experience. Costumes should fit properly and not hinder your pet's movement, vision or breathing.Have your pet try out the costume several times before Halloween so it can get used to wearing it.