# Ep 99 Top 5 Tips for a Happier Halloween with Your Dog

An episode of [Help! My Dog: The Podcast. Dog Behaviour & Training Strategies that Work!](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1721245241), 22 Oct 2025, 12 min.

Audio: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2287608/episodes/17970574-ep-99-top-5-tips-for-a-happier-halloween-with-your-dog.mp3

Halloween might be fun for us, but for our dogs, it can be a whole world of weird sights, sounds, and spooky surprises! In this episode, we dive into our top 5 tips to help your dog not just cope, but thrive during this time of year. From handling unexpected changes on your walks to creating calm at home when the doorbell won’t stop ringing, we’ve got you covered. You’ll learn how to turn “Halloween chaos” into an opportunity to grow your dog’s confidence and optimism. Whether your pup is a seasoned pro or a sensitive soul, these tips will help you safeguard their wellbeing this year and for many Halloweens to come! ................ Whether your dog is unpredictable with other dogs or predictably bad… Whether it looks like freezing, barking, lunging or running away… Whether you are just starting out on your dog-owning journey or your dog has been labelled as having a “behaviour problem”… … this episode is for you and is going to give you huge insights! Want to join the Help! My Dog Online HUB? Here's the link: www.helpmydog.com/hub Dr Tom Mitchell is a world-renowned veterinarian, behaviourist and dog trainer and director of the Behavet behaviour clinic (rated Excellent on Trustpilot), which sees over 400 pet behaviour consultations each and every month no matter where you are in the world. In 2023, he founded Help! My Dog, an online dog behaviour learning platform to help even more owners all over the world and show that dog behaviour transformation is not only possible but it's FUN, with the right know-how! Make sure to subscribe/follow the podcast for the free weekly episodes! Useful Links: Follow Help! My Dog on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/helpmydogofficial/ Schedule a Consultation with Behavet: https://www.beha.vet/ Follow Behavet on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/behavet

## Transcript

[0:00] SPEAKER_00: You can't assume that one pumpkin is the same as every pumpkin because if it's a pumpkin that in a space that isn't normally doesn't normally have a pumpkin on the wall, then it's novel.
[0:10] SPEAKER_00: So what we have to do is tune into it.
[0:12] SPEAKER_00: Before we dive in, a warning.
[0:15] SPEAKER_00: The content of this podcast may not be appropriate for some young listeners.
[0:21] SPEAKER_00: This is real life, and that means that sometimes it can be a little bit graphic.
[0:25] SPEAKER_00: So listen on at your own peril.
[0:28] SPEAKER_00: As a veterinarian, dog behaviourist, best-selling author and trainer over the past decade, I've had an obsession with transforming the behaviour of dogs.
[0:37] SPEAKER_00: Understanding their brains and creating practical strategies that you can implement easily at home.
[0:43] SPEAKER_00: I know all too well when the dream you imagined when you first got your dog is far from your daily reality.
[0:50] SPEAKER_00: In fact, out of the blue, a few months ago, my little dog Gorse was bitten by a dog 20 times her size.
[0:56] SPEAKER_00: And suddenly our life of stress-free walks, a calm and cuddly household, and being teammates was replaced with reactivity, anxiety, and worrying about what's around the next corner.
[1:07] SPEAKER_00: I'm Dr.
[1:08] SPEAKER_00: Tom.
[1:09] SPEAKER_00: This is the Help My Dog Podcast, and this is me documenting that journey of transformation, sharing my knowledge and experience with you and having a few laughs along the way.
[1:19] SPEAKER_00: Hello and welcome to this episode of the Help My Dog Podcast.
[1:24] SPEAKER_00: And in this episode, I'm going to be sharing my top five tips for Halloween success.
[1:29] SPEAKER_00: And I'm not talking how to, I don't know, carve the best pumpkin because I am uh I'm useless at that kind of thing.
[1:37] SPEAKER_00: Madeline thinks it's hilarious.
[1:38] SPEAKER_00: Like I can manage like two like round eyes and then a lying nose.
[1:45] SPEAKER_00: So I'm no longer invited into the pump household pumpkin carving because I seems I'm just not creative.
[1:52] SPEAKER_00: Um, so Halloween success when it comes to your dog.
[1:56] SPEAKER_00: So um, top five tips to it's almost like safeguard your dog, have your dog thrive in this in this um kind of time of year, and ultimately for you to be able to enjoy the fact that it is Halloween and not be like, oh no, it's Halloween again.
[2:14] SPEAKER_00: Um so tip number one: we have to be aware that even in the lead up to Halloween, there is going to be novelty all around.
[2:22] SPEAKER_00: Yeah, there is gonna be potentially weird decorations and stuff in people's gardens on your walks.
[2:28] SPEAKER_00: There might be changes in in your daily, you know, walk route that um that are gonna be a bit unusual for your dog.
[2:37] SPEAKER_00: And really we can look at those as opportunities.
[2:40] SPEAKER_00: Opportunities to say, oh, I spot that novelty too, here is uh some of your daily food allowance, right?
[2:47] SPEAKER_00: I spot that novelty too, here's pot here's a positive outcome.
[2:50] SPEAKER_00: I spot that novelty too, here's a positive outcome.
[2:53] SPEAKER_00: What I think that my main tip here, guys, is that we have to tune into the novelty.
[2:59] SPEAKER_00: Yeah, the novelty isn't really that novel for us, right?
[3:03] SPEAKER_00: Think about it, we become accustomed to things really quickly.
[3:07] SPEAKER_00: Gets to September every year, yeah, that Christmas things start appearing in the shops, and for one day you're like, oh my goodness, it's got earlier this year, and then it's just normal, right?
[3:18] SPEAKER_00: Has anybody discovered that?
[3:19] SPEAKER_00: You hear your first Christmas song and it's like, oh, Christmas song, and it's just normal, right?
[3:25] SPEAKER_00: From that point on, you just yeah, of course it's Christmas song.
[3:27] SPEAKER_00: Whereas, you know, because we we get the meaning around it and we get the we get the the context.
[3:34] SPEAKER_00: Whereas our dogs, when it comes to Halloween, they're not gonna get the context, yeah?
[3:37] SPEAKER_00: You can't assume that one pumpkin is the same as every pumpkin because if it's a pumpkin that in a space that isn't normally doesn't normally have a pumpkin on the walk, then it's novel.
[3:47] SPEAKER_00: So what we have to do is tune into it, have our you know, daily food allowance, high value, low-value treats, whatever, on our walks.
[3:56] SPEAKER_00: And as you're spotting this stuff, feed your dogs.
[3:59] SPEAKER_00: One, it stops them from worrying about it and it being a worrying experience.
[4:04] SPEAKER_00: Two, it's actually an opportunity to grow their long-term optimism, and which is gonna help with pretty much every behavior struggle out there, right?
[4:12] SPEAKER_00: So that's the first one.
[4:13] SPEAKER_00: So that's more of an opportunity than a than kind of a problem to resolve.
[4:18] SPEAKER_00: Um, next tip that I've got for you is actively this is the time of year where there is plenty of cheap novelty that you can buy to incorporate into your training if you want, right?
[4:36] SPEAKER_00: Like if you're part of the Help My Dog Hub or you've been following this podcast for, you know, even just a couple of episodes, you probably heard me talk about two feet up as a game that has all of these different um different implementations and um and applications.
[4:53] SPEAKER_00: Well, what about if it's two feet up on a pumpkin and it's two feet up on a witch's face?
[5:00] SPEAKER_00: Just like, you know, thinking about actually, well, we've got you know, potentially access to stuff that's very novel that we can start to like infiltrate into our training a little bit more to grow our dog's optimism generally.
[5:13] SPEAKER_00: Again, it's kind of just another opportunity.
[5:16] SPEAKER_00: Third thing is if you have a routine um of walking your dog on an evening leading up to Halloween, at least I'd say do it, definitely do it a week before.
[5:32] SPEAKER_00: Start to vary that time earlier, yeah?
[5:36] SPEAKER_00: Or skip that time ideally.
[5:38] SPEAKER_00: One, because a routine's not good, yeah.
[5:42] SPEAKER_00: You need that flexibility in the sequence of events of the day.
[5:46] SPEAKER_00: It's it's good for your dog to not not be not have such a static routine.
[5:51] SPEAKER_00: But two, hey guys, I just want to take a moment to answer a question that has been coming in in literally 10 emails a day, and that is how can we help you with your dog's behavior struggle, whether that be reactivity, separation, anxiety, resource guarding, maybe you've got a multi-dog household struggle right now, maybe your dog's just so over aroused on a walk that they just can't listen to you and they're chasing everything inside.
[6:15] SPEAKER_00: Like, can I get Tom's help?
[6:17] SPEAKER_00: Um, and the answer is that actually you can, and you can do that by booking a behavet behavior consultation.
[6:25] SPEAKER_00: That's where literally my team give you the plan on how to transform your struggle and get you to that dream that that made you get a dog in the first place, right?
[6:35] SPEAKER_00: Your world's got smaller and smaller and smaller, and actually it doesn't need to be that way.
[6:39] SPEAKER_00: You just need to reach out for help.
[6:41] SPEAKER_00: Now, a couple of things to say on that.
[6:43] SPEAKER_00: First of all, if you're insured, if your dog's insured with Pet Plan, Kennel Club, Agria, or many pets, we actually do direct claims with them, which means that that's covered by your insurance.
[6:53] SPEAKER_00: So you don't pay out of your pocket, your insurance covers that.
[6:58] SPEAKER_00: And the second thing to say is that we have loads of options if you're insured with another provider, or if your dog's not insured at all, that's also totally fine.
[7:06] SPEAKER_00: We have loads of options that we've developed to make this so accessible for you.
[7:10] SPEAKER_00: And because we're aware that you've already invested a load of time and a load of money in getting your dog, looking after your dog, caring for your dog.
[7:17] SPEAKER_00: But the last thing we want is for you to have done all that and still not be living the life that you deserve with your dog.
[7:22] SPEAKER_00: And we know we can get you there.
[7:23] SPEAKER_00: So all you need to do is go to the Behave Vet website, and the way to do that is go B-E-H-A.V-E-T.
[7:33] SPEAKER_00: That's beh and it will take you there.
[7:37] SPEAKER_00: Or just Google Behave Vet, right?
[7:39] SPEAKER_00: Um, and you can get scheduled in and we can literally get you booked in for a consultation as soon as possible.
[7:46] SPEAKER_00: We normally can accommodate it within a week, right?
[7:48] SPEAKER_00: So that you can be getting to your dream ASAP.
[7:52] SPEAKER_00: But two, putting your walking your dog on Halloween, like the evening, or even the evenings around that, because you know what it's like, you do with, I don't know, especially if you live in a very like populated area, you can't assume it's just gonna be on Halloween.
[8:09] SPEAKER_00: Because I don't know, Sandy down the road might have swimming club on Halloween, so she's got to go trick or treat in like the day before or the day after.
[8:19] SPEAKER_00: And so you probably want to avoid walking your dogs in in the evening in this period, because while your dog, while you think your dog might be fine, it's kind of putting them in a vulnerable situation that we don't need to be in.
[8:31] SPEAKER_00: And there are some situations that are challenging to our dogs that are unavoidable, right?
[8:36] SPEAKER_00: But this isn't one of them, and so I would be a big advocate for actually just not walking your dog on an evening from about, I don't know, 4 p.m.
[8:45] SPEAKER_00: at this time of year.
[8:46] SPEAKER_00: Um, and I say 4 p.m.
[8:48] SPEAKER_00: because like younger kids, it's gonna be earlier, isn't it?
[8:52] SPEAKER_00: They've got to go to sleep, and and so just you know, make if if you can pick it.
[8:59] SPEAKER_00: There are some battles you can't pick.
[9:01] SPEAKER_00: This is a battle you can pick, so pick it, right?
[9:04] SPEAKER_00: Just don't do it.
[9:05] SPEAKER_00: Um so um that would be my third tip.
[9:09] SPEAKER_00: Fourth tip: the week of Halloween, you've got to be aware that it's not just one day for that reason that I gave you of, you know, Sandy's swimming lesson.
[9:19] SPEAKER_00: Um make sure that you are prepared, especially if your dog doesn't get very stimulated or worried by people knocking on the door.
[9:27] SPEAKER_00: Well, put a sign on the door, yeah?
[9:30] SPEAKER_00: And that sign on the door says, um, if you're a trick or treater, you will find your treats in the bucket at the end of the drive.
[9:39] SPEAKER_00: And you're going to place what whatever the the treat dispenser is, you're gonna place it away from your front door because that's quite a worrying experience to have constant flow of people and traffic wearing weird and wonderful things and you know, weird noises and stuff, um, approaching your dog's home.
[10:02] SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
[10:02] SPEAKER_00: If you look at it like that, it's like, oh yeah, that's really tough.
[10:05] SPEAKER_00: They don't know, they don't know the meaning behind it or the context.
[10:08] SPEAKER_00: They're just like there's a witch outside.
[10:10] unknown: Yeah.
[10:11] SPEAKER_00: Um, and so that would be my fourth tip.
[10:14] SPEAKER_00: You know, again, pick your battles, create a setup that safeguards um safeguards your dog.
[10:21] SPEAKER_00: Um, and then my fifth and final tip would be see this as, you know, how can your dog be involved?
[10:27] SPEAKER_00: Well, your dog could be involved by when there are all kinds of spooky noises going on outside, you're inside playing with your dog and having fun.
[10:35] SPEAKER_00: Yeah?
[10:36] SPEAKER_00: And it looks a little bit different for your dog.
[10:38] SPEAKER_00: You're they're not dressing up, you're not dressing up, but instead you're taking the opportunity to grow their confidence, build their joy, and just them have a lovely evening in, you know, with witches and ghosts and weird noises outside.
[10:54] SPEAKER_00: Um, and one that's great for them long term, but you know, sometimes it's not worth if you've got a dog that can't be involved in Halloween, that's not worse.
[11:03] SPEAKER_00: It's just different.
[11:04] SPEAKER_00: Yeah?
[11:05] SPEAKER_00: You're just you're still doing something for Halloween, it's just different to what other people are doing, right?
[11:11] SPEAKER_00: And so sometimes it's about enjoying the journey that you're on and celebrating the journey that you're on and thinking, how funny that that this is what my Halloween look like right now.
[11:20] SPEAKER_00: Whereas, you know, 10 years ago they look like something else entirely.
[11:24] SPEAKER_00: Life is long, it'd be boring if it was all the same, right?
[11:26] SPEAKER_00: So we can celebrate the journeys that we are on.
[11:29] SPEAKER_00: Have an amazing Halloween, guys.
[11:31] SPEAKER_00: Make sure you're setting your dog up to thrive rather than survive, and we will see you next week.

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