1 min 57 sec
The Halloween PSA
Two minutes you can share with family, neighbors and anyone bringing children to your door.
Part of the free SAFE program
Keeping dogs and kids safe at Halloween
Costumes, candy, decorations and a doorbell that will not stop — Halloween asks a lot of a dog. Think about the night from your dog’s point of view and it is easy to see why it causes so much anxiety. A little planning turns a night of barking and stress into one your dog sleeps through.
4.5Mpeople bitten by dogs in the US every year
Halfof all dog-related injuries involve children
2.8Mdogs entering US shelters and rescues each year
320Kof those dogs are euthanized
Bite figures: American Veterinary Medical Association. Shelter figures: ASPCA, 2025 data from Shelter Animals Count.
Keep your dog stress and fear free on the spookiest night of the year.
Dog bites can be prevented
Most bites to children come from the family dog, or from a dog the child already knows — and more than half of all dog-related injuries in the US involve children. Almost all of it is preventable with a few small changes that make your dog less frightened and less crowded on the spookiest night of the year.
Think about Halloween from your dog’s point of view. Costumes, candy, decorations, the doorbell ringing again and again and again — it is enough to give any dog a great deal of anxiety. With a little planning ahead, your dog can have a stress-free night at home instead of a frantic one spent barking at the door, and possibly biting someone.
Our Be SAFE for Halloween videos can help take the scary out of October 31st for your dog.
Watch together
Two short videos for Halloween
Both under two minutes. Watch them with your children, and send the PSA to whoever is coming over.
2 min 1 sec
Tips and tricks for Halloween
What to do before the first trick-or-treater arrives, and what to do when the doorbell starts.
Simple steps that make a difference
What to do to keep children and dogs safe on the spookiest night of the year
Keep pets indoors
Children in costume can be genuinely frightening to a dog. Indoors is safer for everyone, and quieter for your dog.
Post a sign on your door
If your dog reacts to the doorbell or to knocking, put a sign up asking people not to ring, or wait outside to greet trick-or-treaters yourself.
Keep your dog away from the front door
With the door opening and closing all evening, settle your dog in another room. Give them a food-dispensing toy and play soft music to mask the sound of visitors.
Skip the costume photos
Your dog may be frightened of children in costume — family members in masks and face paint often aren’t recognizable to a dog at all.
Costumes are optional on dogs
Most dogs don’t enjoy being dressed up. Don’t force an unwanted costume on your dog.
Candles can be dangerous
Carved pumpkins with tea lights, and candles along a walkway, are a fire risk around a moving dog.
Chocolate is toxic to dogs
Keep the treat bowl, and anything the children bring home, well out of your dog’s reach.
Keep decorations out of reach
Inside and outside the house — decorations get chewed, pulled down and swallowed.
With a few simple precautions, and knowing what stresses your dog out, you can make Halloween an enjoyable day for the whole family.
Thanks to Cathy Reisfield of Dependable Dogs for these tips.
Free printable
A sign for your door
If the doorbell is your dog’s trigger, this is the simplest fix on the list. Print it, tape it up, and greet trick-or-treaters outside.
The rest of the year
SAFE is not just for Halloween
The same four steps work on an ordinary Tuesday. The free SAFE program teaches children what to do with a dog they live with, and what to do with a dog they have never met.
The free SAFE programBoth videos, the four steps, and a free kit
of children’s eBooks, wall charts and coloring pages.
SAFE around a dog you knowYour own dog, grandma’s dog, the
dog at the sleepover — where most bites to young children happen.
SAFE around a dog you don’t knowWhat to teach a child to
do with their body when an unfamiliar dog comes toward them.
Dog body language posterThe Go / Caution / Stop signals chart,
printed for a wall where your children will actually see it.
Dog body language postcardsThe same chart as a pack of 50
double-sided postcards, for handing out.
Dog Smart card game108 cards, 27 ways
to play. Children learn to read a dog without being lectured at.
Why this matters
Take a stand against dog bites
Dog safety education for adults and children is the whole job.
Any dog can bite — whatever their age or breed, however long you have had your furry friend, however well you think you know him. Many dog bites end with a dog being surrendered to an animal shelter, and according to the ASPCA, about 2.8 million dogs entered US shelters and rescues last year. Roughly 320,000 of them were euthanized.
Help stop the growing number of dog bites, and the number of dogs left at shelters because of them. Teach yourself and your children how to behave around dogs, how to greet a dog, and how to respect a dog’s body and a dog’s space.
Get the free SAFE kit for kids
Children’s eBooks, printable wall charts and coloring pages, plus both SAFE videos. Nothing to buy — it works on the spookiest night of the year and every other day of the year.
