The internet’s famous 12-foot Halloween skeleton looks like it’s here to stay. It’s great for spooky season fans, but dogs can’t understand why they’re taking over your yard. In fact, your dog doesn’t even know what Halloween is.
Dog owners taking their pets for walks this month should anticipate how their dogs will react to scary decorations, strobe lights, and even neighbors wearing masks and costumes. Veterinarians warn. Gary Richter, a veterinarian in Oakland, Calif., says the spooky stimuli that turn a garden into a man-made horror scene can easily trigger a dog’s “fight-or-flight” response, and even a cat’s fear of opening the window. It is said that there is a possibility that they are frightened by what they see outside.
“The whole Halloween thing is kind of like a theatrical menace, right?” Richter told USA TODAY this month. “But the dog doesn’t know it’s a theater.”
Richter says owners know their dogs best, and dogs that are calm and energetic are likely to be calm around unusual ornaments. But dogs that tend to be protective of their owners should be on a short leash and should stay home on Halloween night, preferably in the back room, Richter said.
Sang Kim, a professor at Cornell University’s College of Veterinary Medicine who specializes in treating dogs with anxiety and fear, says anxious dogs tend to be more susceptible to changes in their environment.
“We have a lot of patients who have more difficulty and difficulty walking during the Halloween decorating season,” Dr. Kim said.
Here’s why dogs and cats don’t mix well with spooky Halloween yard decorations.
Veterinarian says Home Depot skeleton looks human
Since it first went on sale in 2020, Home Depot’s giant skeleton decorations have spread to suburban areas across the United States, often dressed in holiday or election-related costumes and towering over yards. There’s even a Facebook group for 12-foot skeleton owners with nearly 300,000 members.
Some homeowners have more than one skeleton, and Home Depot this year announced “creepy” new add-ons like eyes that move and appear to blink, the retailer said. Ta.
We think skeletons are fun, but most dogs will overlook the fact that they are technically skeletons, Richter said.
“They’ll perceive it as a vaguely human shape of enormous size, and that can be very threatening from the dog’s perspective,” said Richter, who runs Holistic Veterinary Care in Oakland, California. “This 12-foot giant is looming over them,” said Richter, who runs a holistic veterinary care practice in Oakland, California. .
Home Depot told USA TODAY in a statement that its giant skeletons are intended to appeal to people who want to decorate their gardens in the fall.
“Our Halloween collection is designed to bring fear and joy to our customers’ yards during the fall season, and is designed to bring fear and joy to our customers’ yards during the fall season, and is sure to appeal to Halloween enthusiasts just like us,” Home Depot spokeswoman Madison Stevens said in an email. “We want our pets to enjoy these products as well.”
fight or flight response
If the decorations are overwhelming, such as flashing lights or jump scares, dogs will naturally react to a real threat by fleeing or attacking, Richter said.
“What’s really important here is that people are aware of what’s going on in their neighborhoods and don’t just put their dogs in situations that are dangerous, but they also don’t put their dogs in situations that are dangerous to other people. Don’t, people,” Richter said.
In one instance, Richter’s acquaintance’s dog attacked a neighbor who jumped out from behind a bush to scare the dog’s family.
“The dog was completely insane, because obviously it didn’t know,” Richter said, explaining that dogs have an instinct to protect their owners from threats.
“Dogs are pack animals and protect the pack,” he says.
Animals are accustomed to their normal environment, Kim said, and fearful behavior around unfamiliar objects can be especially pronounced if the dog hasn’t been exposed to the environment early in life.
For example, intensive puppy socialization classes held in the summer include sessions in which human participants huddle together wearing fluffy coats, winter hats and gloves, Kim said. Ta. That way, your anxious young dog won’t panic when the weather turns cold and all the humans start wearing thick winter clothes.
I’m scared of cats too
Richter said Oakland cat owners who let their cats outside have told him that their cats run away “with some frequency” for several days after encountering Halloween decorations.
“Cats aren’t on leashes, so they run away and avoid things,” Kim said.
When dogs go trick-or-treating on Halloween night, if something startles or frightens them, they may run out the front door.
“Especially if the door is left ajar and there’s a loud noise and the dog runs out and someone spends the next day or two running around the neighborhood looking for the dog,” Richter said. Ta. “I’ve heard that story many times.”
Masks and costumes obscure body language
Halloween masks and costumes are not only scary, but they can also prevent your dog from socializing with humans, such as making eye contact or smiling. Large costumes that cover a person’s body make it difficult for dogs to detect human movements, Richter said.
“A lot of their behavior is reading body language and facial expressions, and they can’t do that anymore,” said Richter, who also owns the pet food company Ultimate Pet Nutrition.
Although it can be frustrating, the best thing to do is to keep your dog at home, Richter says.
If you take your dog for a walk around your neighborhood during Halloween, keep it on a short leash, he cautioned.
In the case of an Oakland neighbor who jumped from behind a bush, Richter said the man survived unharmed, “but if the owner hadn’t been on the leash properly, it probably would have turned out differently.”
