Living in an apartment with pets, how to spend Halloween night?

How to get through Halloween night when you live in an apartment with pets

The doorbell rings once and the dog starts barking, it rings again and the dog starts shaking, by the tenth ring the dog has hidden under the bed and will not come out

This is not your dog being too timid, this is the reality every apartment pet owner faces on Halloween night: the doorbell ringing nonstop, the hallway full of strangers' footsteps, the neighbor's party music coming through the wall, the elevator doors opening and closing over and over, what your dog hears is a three-hour-long invasion alarm, what your cat sees is its territory being repeatedly invaded by a group of people in strange costumes

But Halloween night should not be a night of mutual torture for you and your pet, the plan below, from managing the doorbell to giving your pet something to do, is designed entirely for the apartment scene

First thing: kill the doorbell

This is the most important change for the whole Halloween night, the doorbell is the number one trigger for apartment pet anxiety, bar none

Option one: turn off the doorbell and use a motion sensor instead, unplug or mute the doorbell, install a motion sensor light at the door, when kids walk up to the door the light turns on, you see it through the peephole or the smart doorbell on the door (in silent mode watching the video) and go out to hand out candy, your pet never hears any doorbell sound the whole time

Option two: move the candy station to the hallway or outside the building, bring a chair and sit in the hallway or the first-floor lobby, holding the candy bowl to hand out candy, you do not need to open the door at all, and your pet at home has no idea what is happening outside, the official AAHA recommendation is exactly this: sit at the end of the driveway with a candy bowl instead of waiting inside for trick-or-treaters

Option three: put a self-serve candy box at the door, put a sealed box outside the door with a note: take one each, thank you, there is a noise-sensitive pet at home, the doorbell does not ring, the door does not open, and both your pet and the trick-or-treaters are happy

If you do not want to make any changes, at least put a note on the door: please knock, do not ring the doorbell, knocking is much quieter than the doorbell and will not ring over and over

Second thing: give your pet a safe haven

Apartment space is small, you cannot send your pet to the other end of the yard, but you can use the apartment layout to create a quiet area far from the door

Choose the room farthest from the front door, a bedroom, a study, or even a bathroom, this room needs to meet these conditions: close the windows, draw the curtains (the hallway noise and outside fireworks are filtered out), put your pet's bed and blanket in it, put one of your worn shirts in it (your scent is the strongest calming signal), and turn on white noise or a TV

For dogs: if your dog is used to a crate, put the crate in this room with the door open, a crate feels like a cave to a dog, and an enclosed space can bring a sense of safety, if your dog is not used to a crate, lay its favorite blanket in a corner and put in a chew toy (a Kong stuffed with frozen peanut butter, Yak Cheese), chewing is a natural stress-relief behavior for dogs, and giving your dog a task can shift its attention away from the doorbell

For cats: a cat's anxiety looks completely different from a dog's, dogs bark, shake, and hide behind your legs, cats disappear, a covered cat bed, a cardboard box, or a corner on top of a wardrobe is its safe haven, do not force it out, put food, water, and the litter box near its hiding place, and let it decide when to come out

Key detail: get your pet familiar with the space a few days in advance. Don't wait until Halloween night to shut the dog in the bedroom for the first time. A few days ahead, feed treats and play with toys in the room so your pet associates the room with good things

Third thing: give your pet a job

A bored dog plus a doorbell that won't stop ringing is a disaster. Giving your pet something to do is a hundred times more useful than trying to get it to calm down

Treat hide-and-seek: hide a few pet treats in corners of the room, under pillows, under paper cups. Dogs are born to find things with their noses. This isn't a game, it's a job. And the satisfaction from a job is stronger than any toy

DIY puzzle toy: an empty toilet paper tube with a few treats inside, folded at both ends. Your dog will spend ten minutes trying to tear the tube open and get the treats out. For cats, crumple up paper, sprinkle some catnip inside, and it can play all afternoon

Lick mat: spread a layer of canned food or peanut butter (must be xylitol-free), freeze it, and let your cat or dog lick it slowly. Licking is a self-soothing behavior for both cats and dogs

Fourth thing: decoration should be pet-safe, not just pretty

Apartment space is small, and decoration overlaps heavily with your pet's activity area. The following things should never appear in a pet-friendly apartment

Real candles: one swipe of a cat's tail or a wag of a dog's tail and the candle falls over. Switch them all to battery candles. No room for negotiation

Fake spider web: fake spider web is extremely attractive to cats because it looks like string, rope, or yarn. If swallowed, it doesn't digest and can tangle in the intestines, causing a blockage. In a small apartment, cats are more likely to reach it. Either don't use it, or hang it at ceiling height

Small-part decoration: plastic eyeballs, small skulls, glow bracelet fragments. These things are exactly the size that falls between can chew and can swallow. For decoration in a pet-friendly apartment, only use large pieces with no detachable parts

Electrical cord: wrap the cords from Halloween string lights with cord management tubing, or secure them along the baseboard, and don't let them dangle. A dangling cord is a cat wand to a cat

What you can use: fabric pillow covers (swap out your usual sofa cushion covers), LED candles, cardboard bat silhouettes (tape them high on the wall out of reach), battery-powered jack-o'-lantern. Your pet can touch these and be fine

Fifth thing: should you take your dog out trick-or-treating?

In most cases: no

Apartment building hallways, elevators, and lobbies are not comfortable environments for dogs to begin with. On Halloween night these places are packed with people in strange costumes, screaming kids, and flashing decorations. Chewy's expert put it this way: not all dogs are suited for trick-or-treating. Before deciding to take your dog out, consider its personality and comfort level

If your dog meets these three conditions: loves strangers, isn't nervous in crowds, and isn't sensitive to strange costumes. Then you can take it on quiet streets and avoid areas with giant decorations and crowds of kids. Keep it on a leash the whole time, put on a reflective collar, and carry high-value treats to redirect its attention

If your dog doesn't meet them: its best spot on Halloween night is a safe room at home, not the hallway. This isn't taking away its rights, it's respecting its limits

Last line

Living in an apartment with a pet, the core conflict of Halloween night comes down to one thing: the world outside is partying while the pet inside is terrified

You don't need your pet to "take part" in Halloween night; you just need to keep it from knowing Halloween night is happening; turn off the doorbell, close the curtains, put on white noise, give it a chew toy, and then head out to hand out candy

A dog quietly chewing its toy in a bomb shelter had a better Halloween than a dog that got petted by strangers all night in the hallway