Fall is the season when we all get busy. We're busy thinking about holiday plans, decorating our homes (and pets) and the season brings new complications like those mushrooms popping up everywhere in your yard.
The dry grass is now mud and everything feels messy. My life feels a little out of sorts! Based on years of living with multiple dogs we pulled together our best tips for pet parents. This is in no particular order as they're all super important while you plan out the "most wonderful time of the year" this month.
1. Microchips help find lost dogs
The changing of seasons is great time to check your pet ID tags and microchip.
2. Make holiday arrangements with pet sitters now
If you need a pet sitter you need to start reaching out now. It's amazing how quickly our sitter gets booked starting November 1st and last-minute arrangements are never a good idea. If you need help, check apps like Next Door for recommendations.
3. Be careful with decorations... even costumes!
Many shiny new decorations look like really fun toys to chew on and play with when no one is around watching. Make sure decorations are out of reach because many of them contain toxic metals and can become choking hazards. Also, don't torture your dog with costumes if they hate it.
4. Mushrooms are growing everywhere
https://www.instagram.com/p/B2UpDLQA28n/
We wrote a post on the five most poisonous mushrooms on the trail. Have you seen any of these? This is a big deal 'tip' as our dogs like to dig and we try to pick any mushrooms in the yard we think are toxic.
5. It's time for reflective gear!
Have you noticed how early it gets dark now? Daylight Savings is just around the corner, and I have reflective gear for both dogs so I can see them when I let them out to potty!
One last tip that I love is to clean up your yard of fallen and rotten fruit. I never really thought to do this until I caught our dog eating rotten apples!
Fall safety tips we forgot? Please send us a note so we can add to this list for pet owners. Halloween is my fave holiday but we need to be careful with candy, candles, and folks constantly ringing the doorbell. This may sound awful but it's such an ordeal for our dogs that we no longer invite kids to come up for candy and instead leave a large bowl at the end of the driveway. The barking and management were too much!
Be careful with candy lying around the house too and gum. You don't want the ASPCA animal poison control center to be on speed dial.
Pet safety needs to be a top priority for all of us as it's easy to forget all these tips!
Please leave us a comment, if there is something we missed on this list.
This article was originally published September 13, 2019.
