Fun Ideas to Make Your Dogs Howl-o-Ween Happy

Halloween, one of the most fun nights of the year… unless you’re a dog. Imagine sitting in YOUR house and hearing the sounds of wrappers crinkling, the smell of candy is everywhere, there are doorbells and knocks on YOUR door for hours, strangers are talking loudly, and kids in costumes are everywhere looking kooky and spooky, but YOU GET ZILCH! Heck, your Mom & Dad even get weird with their clothing choices, they might sit on the porch or in the driveway and GIVE AWAY stuff that you know you’d eat in a minute… but DOGS GET SHUTOUT ON HALLOWEEN! It’s criminal, cruel, and crummy to be a canine on this super fun night! What’s a doggie to do?

Well, Freddie has had it up to his collar with his furry friends being left out of the Spooky Season fun, so he sent the #FreddieSez research team out to the internet to find the fun that is lacking and help YOU create the perfect HOWL-o-WEEN for your fur kids. We focus on three very important segments that create a happy Halloween experience for children, and we flip the script to fit the world of your dogs.  So… let’s get crackin’, Jackson! There are only so many days left till the big night and your dog needs to be the #1 focus of your fun.

Treats OR Treats

That’s right, there’s no TRICKS here, just yummy treats for your dog with one simple recipe, maybe some special add on’s and your imagination. Take the following recipe and create a treat-a-topia for your best buddy that can last for days, not just one night.

Easy Pumpkin Treats

• 15oz can of pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling… puree is unflavored, canned, pumpkin meat)
• ½ cup of peanut butter (use all natural peanut butter or look for Xylitol on the label and avoid it)
• ¼ cup of honey
• 2 celery stalks (cut into three or pieces per stalk, then sliced into thin strips)
• 2 ½ cups of rolled oats
• 1 tsp of cinnamon
• ¼ cups of carob chips (not chocolate)

Mix all ingredients into a mixing bowl and combine, holding back the carob and celery for later use. Spoon out dough into round balls and place on a baking sheet. Take the celery and create “stems” for the top of our individual pumpkin balls (several celery pieces, if desired), then arrange a few carob chips for the pumpkins spooky face (chop the carob chips if they are initially to large)

Place your Poochy Pumpkins in the fridge for about an hour, then place them in an airtight container and keep cool till you’re ready to  BLOW YOUR DOGS MIND with their own Howl-o-Ween candy treats! (recipe found at www.living.greatpetcare.com)

Graveyard Bones Cookies

• 2 eggs
• ½ a 15oz can of pumpkin puree
• ¼ tsp salt
• 2 ½ cups of brown rice flour
• 1 teaspoon chopped dried parsley

Preheat over to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl, combine eggs and pumpkin till smooth. Add in salt and parsley, mix well. SLOWLY add in rice flour ½ cup at a time, mixing to combine with each addition. Kneed the finished dough several times, then place the dough ball out onto a floured surface. Roll to a ¼ inch thickness (you can make these thicker, use your judgment). Using any cookie cutters you choose (bones, witches, bats or scary shapes are great for Halloween) create the cookies and transfer onto greased baking sheets. Bake for 20 minutes, flip cookies, then cook for another 20 minutes or until golden brown. Make around 24 cookies, depending on the chosen thickness. Store in airtight container, if they last more than a couple minutes! (recipe found at www.aimeebroussard.com)

Skeleton Teeth Frozen Yogurt Treats

Keep things cool with a simple, two ingredient, mix for frozen yogurt treats your dog will go mad for. All you need is pumpkin, yogurt, and ice cube trays or silicon scary shape molds.

• 1 cup of plain yogurt
• 1 cup of pumpkin puree

Combine these ingredients in a mixing bowl, then portion into ice cube trays or silicon molds. Freeze for 24 hour or more. Pop out of trays, molds and place in freezer bags. Store in your freezer until you’re ready to give a good dog a great snack! (recipe found at www.popsugar.com)

These great Howl-o-Ween confectioneries should make your dog forget about candy and beg for their own home cooked treats instead.

Cool Costumes

Dressing your dog for the holiday doesn’t have to cost a lot of dollars, and making a DYI costume yourself makes good sense. Most savvy pet parents can find things around their house to transform their dog into a costumed dynamo. If the costume landscape is bleak at your house, you can always turn to a thrift store, Goodwill, or DollarTree for inspiration and cost savings. Here are five DYI ideas for your pets Howl-o-Ween costume debut.

A “Cup of Joe”

A large grocery store brown paper bag with the bottom cut off, or some brown butcher paper wrapped to fit your dogs torso, fitted with a printed or hand drawn label from your favorite coffee company, and a white plastic lid that resembles the lid of a “to go” coffee cup make your dog the best ad on 4-legs. If you get adventurous, print your name on the brown paper in black sharpie to assure people know your dog belongs to you.

Beenie Weenies

Cutting out good sized heart shapes from red poster board, adding on the white “ty” logo, assuring you’ve placed the yellow star in the right spot over the “y”, tying it around your dogs neck with a “not to tight” white string… and your dog is now the perfect replica of a famous Beenie Baby. This costume is simple, fun, easily recognized, and certain to make your dog the talk of the Halloween houses you visit.

Dorothy and Toto

For the Bomb Mom’s looking to make a couples costume with their small dog, dressing Mom as Dorothy (complete with the blue checkered dress, pigtails, white ankle socks, and ruby red shoes), carrying her pint sized pooch in an old fashioned picnic basket will be immediately recognized by anyone you meet on the Yellow Brink Road of your neighborhood. Just remember, after the kids candy is handed out and you turn off the porch light… there’s NO PLACE LIKE HOME.

Ch-Ch-Ch-Chia Dog

Simple, inexpensive, and hilarious, is making your house pet into a CHIA PET. All you’ll need is enough fake grass (available at any home improvement store) top wrap your dogs torso, some well placed plastic flowers attached to the fake grass, and your dog is ready to walk the red carpet. A brown dog would be best to pull off this costume, but any dog would look hilarious wearing this easy to make look. You can even print and add the Chia Pet logo for extra brand recognition.

Where’s Waldo?

Another “low cost/high return” costume is made from a red and white sweater, or scarf wrapped around your dogs neck. Add a red or red and white stocking cap, then either draw on black glasses or use black pipe cleaners to create the round glasses, and your pet is instantly transformed into Waldo. We’re betting people can find your Waldo in a crowd, where ever you go!

Let the limits of your imagination be your guide on finding that right fit DYI look for your dog. Keep in mind your dogs fur color, size, and temperament for wearing clothes or being restricted, before you commit to creating their Howl-o-Ween look.

Walk the Halloween Walk

Even if you buy your dogs costume from an online company, or from one of the Halloween shops that pop up in every empty storefront at this time of year, your dog can be included in the big night of fun. Heck, just putting a sweater, jersey, old winter coat, or their best dress/suit, to help you engage the evening of fun is a good time for your dog. If you’re taking your kids out to trick or treat, trunk or treat, or just to the in-laws or neighbors to make a scary appearance, don’t be afraid to leash up your favorite fur friend for the walk around the block. As long as they can stand the weather, tolerate people dressed up in all kinds of weird attire coming up to them on the street, and can behave for the hour or so out and about… there is no reason why your well tempered best buddy can’t find out what Halloween is really all about. Let’s face it, they would never leave you at home if they were going out, right?

If you consider specific “prepared for pooches” foods, an industry creating scary pet outfits, and the wide open spaces of pet friendly towns, it appears Howl-o-Ween is not just a fad, it’s here to stay. 

The #FreddieSez team has presented you with easy to make dog treats, DYI animal costumes, and ideas of activities your dog can join in on during the spooky season, why shouldn’t your fur buddy find out what Halloween is really all about? 65% of households have at least one animal in their family unit,  so isn’t that evidence that dogs are people too… especially during the Holiday Season.

That’s our time and our Dog Blog for this week. Freddie be back in the upcoming weeks to tickle your interests with pet related topics, spun into a one-of-a-kind review, as see through the eyes of our resident Blogging News Hound. Be sure to keep your ears peeled for what #FreddieSez. Until then, be safe, happy, full of wonder, and always Pet Friendly!