Skip to content
Welcome, Boils and Ghouls, to the Halloween edition of the Keep Doggie Safe food series, our recurring series where we present our research into whether or not it is safe for dogs to eat certain foods.
Don’t you just love the Halloween season? It’s my favorite time of year. There’s just something in the air that makes this time of year really magical for me. Ever since childhood, Halloween has been my favorite holiday.
If you’re like me, you’re already gearing up for the big night. You’re probably running around buying candy to pass out to trick or treaters, decorating your house, and most important of all, planning the perfect costume! With all of that it could be easy to forget about your dog in all of this. Your dog deserves to celebrate with you during this spookiest of holidays, but how do you celebrate Halloween safely with your dog? I’ll tell you.
Your dog might like to get in the spirit of Halloween and get a trick over on you. Mischievous dogs have been known to go rooting through hidden stashes of Halloween candy and treats, so here’s some info on treats that you should be careful with when you are around your dog.
You’re probably already saying “I already know candy is not safe for my dog.” However, you may be surprised to know that not all candy is dangerous for your dog. For their health, I would still say to avoid giving your dog any candy, but according to Dr. Gary Richter, an errant Starburst or Skittle won’t kill your dog. In a quantity less than 10 grams, the following candies are not a threat to your dog.
Not harmful in small quantities:
- Candy corn
- Skittles
- Sour candy
- Lemonheads
- Starburst
- Smarties
- Blow Pops
- Jolly ranchers (For reference, a single Jolly Rancher is 6g.)
If you’ve read other entries in this series, you probably already know all about how dangerous chocolate is for your dog to ingest, but I’ll briefly touch on the subject here. Different kinds of chocolate have different levels of toxicity. Milk chocolate has a lower percentage of cacao than dark chocolate does, so it is technically “safer” for your dog, but in high levels of exposure it can still be fatal, and will likely lead to vomiting and diarrhea.
Avoid anything that may contain Xylitol, an artificial sweetener often found in chewing gum, as it is highly poisonous to your dog. Likewise, anything with raisins in it is cause for concern, as raisins are also highly toxic for your dog. For more information on chocolate toxicity, check out this article.
Now here’s something you can do to distract them from your treats. Give them treats of their own! You can’t go wrong with their favorite dog biscuits or whatever your go-to treat for them is. However, if you really want to impress, you should try out one of the recipes in one of these two articles.
For an even easier option, take an apple and slice it up, removing the seeds and the core. Apple slices are an excellent treat for your dog, because they are a fantastic source of Vitamins A, and C and are high in fiber content. In addition they are low in protein and fat. Forgo the peanut butter with your dog’s apple slices if you are trying to keep your dog’s weight down, as peanut butter has a lot of fat in it.
And now you know all about the various dangers that may be lurking in the Halloween candy you may already have hidden around the house. Luckily I don’t have this problem, because I can’t stop myself from eating the candy, so there’s nothing to hide. You could argue that this is another problem unto itself, but I can only solve so many problems at once! Anyway, thanks for reading and Happy Halloween!
Leave a comment