Grantham pet expert Sara Barnes on dressing your dog in fancy dress for Halloween
As people are preparing their own Halloween outfits, you may also be thinking about whether you can put the dog in fancy dress as well, writes Grantham dog expert Sara Barnes.
This craze started in America and like many things has transitioned over to here in the UK. Many dog trainers and behaviourists are advising against dressing your dog up in fancy Halloween outfits because they feel many dogs show signs of stress and distress when put in fancy dress.
Many dog owners think that their dog looks cute and don’t necessarily understand the signs and body language the dogs are giving off to show that they are uncomfortable, stressed or distressed by this. With this in mind I thought we’d use this month’s article to highlight a couple of easy to identify signs that your dog is distressed in a situation.
Leading academic and vet in the arena of low stress handling of pets (particularly dogs) highlights the following as subtle signs that your dog is suffering from fear or anxiety:
* Licking lips – especially if there are no treats around
* Panting – when they haven’t been exercising
* Brows furrowed and ears pointing out to the sides
* Moving in slow motion
* Acting sleepy or yawning
* Hypervigilant – head on a swivel
* Moving away
* Not eating
* Pacing
So knowing that it can be a cause of stress for many dogs think carefully if you decide to put your dog in fancy dress for Halloween and consider how long you are going to leave them in it. Some people may feel it is acceptable just to do a quick posed photo and then take the fancy dress off the dog while others may feel it’s not appropriate at all.
As the dogs owner and carer it is your decision and responsibility to protect your dog.
We will be holding a doggy Halloween party at the Dog Adventure Centre at the end of the month, but it will be up to owners as to if they want to dress their dog up to attend. We will also remove any fancy dress from dogs we feel are being caused stress by their outfits. Every dog is an individual and while some may thrive in fancy dress, others will not.
Some staff will also be in fancy dress for part of the day.