Spooky season is here and we're sharing some of our top tips, tricks and treats for a dog safe howl-o-ween!

Up first are our Top Tips for Howl-o-ween. We feel this is the serious stuff you need to know, so you can have a safe and spooktacular weekend...
Tip One: Don't let your dogs be the first to the door if you have trick or treat visitors. Why? Because some people don't like dogs (We know that's weird right!), some of the visitors may come in fancy dress costumes, which could scare or worry your dogs, also we'd hate for your dogs to get loose and run out into the road!
Tip Two: Make sure you keep the human treats out of your dog's reach! As we all know, chocolate and sweets can be extremely bad for dogs, and some of the Halloween treats for humans can be chocolate/sweet based, so be sure to keep the treat basket up high!
Tip Three: If you have a nervous dog, or you simply do not wish to be bothered on Halloween by trick or treat visitors, we suggest you keep decorations outside your house to a minimum, or even turn lights off, or make a sign to say, 'Please NO Trick or Treat Visitors'.
Now let's talk about tricks that are fun for you and your dogs to do. The first trick is PAW, and not only is it an easy one to teach, it's also super helpful for daily paw checks and cleaning paws down after muddy walks!

How to teach PAW: Ask your dog to sit. Get a treat and pop it into your hand - make sure your dog can't get the treat. When your dog tries to get the treat from your hand, they'll either try to sniff or paw at your hand. As soon as your dog puts their paw on your hand, open your fist and give them the treat! Repeat a few times, until they are getting the hang of it, then add the cue word PAW when your dog does the action.
The second trick is MIDDLE. This is super fun, and it can also be used to assist with recall training. How to teach MIDDLE: You need to be standing for this one. Have your dog in front of you. Throw a dog treat behind you, and let your dog go and get the treat. As they are getting the treat, create a gap between your legs, and with a treat in your hand, call your dog. Give your dog their treat when they are sat in the middle of your legs. Repeat the steps a few times, and then ass the cue word MIDDLE when your dog does the action!
T-R-E-A-T - T-I-M-E... Did you know that Pumpkins are safe for dogs to eat? No, well let me tell you more about the benefits of pumpkin for your dogs! Pumpkins are full of Vitamins and Minerals including Vitamins A, E and C which help your dog's immune system, brain function, eyes and skin health. Pumpkins are a great source of fibre which is good for your dog's digestive health. The fibre from pumpkins can help with your dog's stools by either helping to firm up runny stools if your dog is suffering from diahorrea, and it can also help loosen your dog's stools if they are a little constipated.

Enriching Paws has some fabulous recipes which include pumpkin; as well as many other foods, so it's worth checking out their Facebook and Instagram for some inspiration! Collar Club has some pumpkin themed recipes on this blog. I've linked Jo's blog post here, rather than typing out the recipes again!
Merlin's pumpkin bag is from last year's Halloween box from Jo at Collar Club.
Floss and Merlin have their Halloween dog safe treats and toys ready. We hope you've enjoyed our howl-o-ween blog post, and we hope you have a spooktacular weekend!

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