My dog and children dressed in Halloween costumes; What do I do?

By Essential IT

Michigan Dog Training, Michael Burkey, Halloween, Dog

The above picture is making the rounds on Facebook and the pic is just fine; the dog was painted with a non-toxic paint for dogs. I’m using the picture to add humor to a serious topic, “What should I do with my dog when trick or treaters visit my home on Halloween?.

Halloween is a fun time not only for the children dressing up in various costumes and visiting homes asking for candy but also for the home owners who delight in seeing the costumed children. But, its not so much fun for your dog as explained by Michael Burkey, Dog Behaviorist for Michigan Dog Training in Plymouth, Michigan.

Children / kids and dogs

Many dogs have issues with children in the first place. This is because the faces of small children are at eye level for many dogs and children tend to move, scream and laugh unexpectedly. Compound that with, now the children are dressed up in various costumes in which they only see on Halloween and many of the costumes prevent the dog from seeing the childrens’ faces. Some of the costumes even scare me let alone the dog.  LOL

Let me share a couple of examples to highlight how dogs fail to recognize people due to changes in their appearance. I had a friend, Sheree, for whom I picked out a German Shepherd puppy, Bullet, for her and saw the dog on a weekly basis.  One day I parked my vehicle in the parking lot overlooking the training field where Sheree was practicing obedience skills with Bullet.  I don’t normally wear a baseball cap but that day I did.  As soon as Bullet saw me from 50 yards, he became reactive and barked non-stop until I removed my ball cap. As soon as I did, Bullet recognized me and happily greeted me. Later, Sheree went through a hard time in her life so her other dog, a French Beauceron came to live with me for about three months. When Sheree got her life back on track, he went back to live with her and a week or two later I went to visit the two of them.  That day, I happened to be wearing a business suit and as soon as I exited my vehicle in her driveway, he was instantly spooked, became reactive and would not come to me. I took my business jacket off and with some coaxing, he finally came to me. He was never reluctant to come to me other than that one time when he saw me dressed in a business suit. I share these examples of dogs who knew me well and trusted me to illustrate how dogs are so keen on noticing differences in their environment. A small change in my appearance made a big difference in the dogs’ comfort levels. So consider, how difficult it can be for many dogs to see children whom they don’t know wearing Halloween costumes on one day a year.

On Halloween, there are three potential triggers for the dog:

1. Doorbell

2. Hearing children at the front door

3. Seeing children dressed in Halloween costumes at the front door

You can desensitize your dog to counter-act these triggers. For most dogs, their dog food or special treats are powerful motivators. Prior to people visiting your home, hand feed them their treats at the sound of the doorbell.  You can have a family member ring the bell or purchase a wireless door chime from Home Depot or similar store.  During commercials of your favorite television program, activate the doorbell and give your dog his special treats.  When the sound of the doorbell stops, cease the food treats until the next doorbell sound. It is recommended that you do this exercise with your dog on leash so that he will stay with you to quickly receive the treats rather than running off to the front door. You can desensitize him to hearing and seeing children in the same way by pairing the sounds and sights of children with food treats.  If you don’t have children available to help with the training, tape record children laughing, talking loud, etc. and play it while your dog eats his meals.

Then when the trick or treaters come to the door for real, have a family member or friend that is trusted by your dog to handle your dog’s leash. They can treat the dog when the doorbell rings as well as when the children are heard or seen at the door or you can be the one handling your dog and your friend deliver the treats to the children. If the sight of the children is too much for your dog, then prevent your dog from being able to see the children and just work on the auditory distraction. If even this is too much for your dog on Halloween, then place your dog in a dog crate in an inner room, turn up the music to deaden the noise of the children and give your dog a frozen stuffed Kong so that it will last longer for him to lick out the yummy contents.

Home away from home (dog boarding)

Or, if you know that this Halloween will be too scary for your dog and thus stressful for you, then give Michigan Dog Training a call at 734-634-4152.  We will be happy to board your dog over the holiday so that he doesn’t experience scary costumed children.

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