[dane82]

my wife and i just moved into a new house, and we inherited tucker, a ~1 year old boxer/husky mix. (he's an outside dog and the previous owners were moving to a place that couldn't have outside dogs due to HOA restrictions.)

tucker is very friendly, and other than cats, he doesn't really bark at much, but we also haven't exposed him to a crowd yet. i'm hoping to have a cookout before the summer is over that would be more people than he's used to but not as many as the halloween party will be, but not sure yet whether that'll happen as planned.

does anyone have any ideas for how to keep him calm during the party when the time comes? my thinking is to leave him to his normal routine and crate him if he has problems with the crowd, but i'd really prefer not to have to do that if there are good ways to put him at ease.

 

[Halloweenutter]

We crate our dog during the party because of all the crazy costumes is a tall order for a dog to deal with. Once you factor in kids and/or some alcoholic beverages for adults during party, I think it's safer to just not have your dog around. As things calm towards end of evening with only a few guests and kids watching movie, I let our friendly dog back out.

 

[theric85]

I honestly don't believe in the phrase "outside dog" since that dog is now a part of your family, it needs to be inside like what a normal family member would be. On the other side of things, we don't crate (although we have them, when they were being crate trained) our dogs when we have people over. They are aware we have 3 dogs that weight over 200 pounds combined, and if they don't want to deal with them, then they just don't come over. The dog needs social interaction to be normal and know its okay to be around humans, leaving it away from the action will not be good for the dog. The pup will eventually calm down and find a place to lay down away from everyone when he is worn out.

 

[Therewolf]

I have a 8 month old Mastiff 'puppy', who LOVES people. so I understand keeping him calm in crowds. here are a few tips.
#1 - take him out, walk him in crowds, get him used to being around people. keep him on a short leash until he learns to behave. REWARD good behavior often!
#2 - before your party make sure his is well fed, and play with him ALOT! this may help with any begging, and hopefully expend some extra energy.
#3 - Obedience Training! can not say how much this helps
#4 - make sure he has a safe/quiet place to get away from everybody when he wants.
#5 - Be sure your guests know about him, and how he may behave. remember, they are invading his space, not the the other way around
#6 - let your guests know if they can feed him or not, and if so what. consider having dog treats for him so they don't feed him tons of their food.

I have a pumpkin carving party before Halloween with friends and children. So we'll see how my guy does as well.

 

[DogRedScottie]

Honest reply here .... I dont go to parties where people have unruly animals.

Its a deal breaker.

That being said I have a dog and she gets a quiet spot in the back room to chill during large gatherings.

She is family, so small gatherings she is out and around.

 

[theric85]

Wow!! Great lookin pup!

 

[Skeletoncrew]

This is one of those situations where you have to know your dogs temperament. Some dogs would be fine, some really fearful, confused and uncormfortable with the loudness of the party and people in costume. We have a very social Corgi, he loves people and people him .. Costumes freak him right the heck out though, so for his sake I'd make sure he had a quiet, safe place to go .. since the party would not be enjoyable to him. Since you're not sure how your dog will react, I'd put him a leash at first, see how comfortable he is with the situation, then play it from there. Just have a safe spot set up for him in case.

 

[dbruner]

I let my dog mingle, with instructions to guests not to give her any food. She is fine with all of the people, but a lot of furniture moving seems to bother her, so i try to minimize that and keep things the way she is used to. food and play time before are a must

 

[tinafromidaho]

Bottom line, since the dog is new to you and you don't know all of it's quirks yet about what will and won't freak him out, I'd find a nice doggy daycare and let him spend the night there. Then you don't have to worry about him.
You don't want to be the person on the news saying "We just got the dog and didn't think it was dangerous...."

 

[Cirrus]

I tend to agree with tinafromidaho (ha, ha - I lived in Boise once!). I would send the pup to an overnight doggie day care. That would take the pressure of you, your guests, and the dog. Since he's new to you, he might be an unknown quantity. Our dog is a rescue of unknown circumstance, but we have learned that even though he's VERY affectionate with us and people he knows well --- he gets spooked at the darnedest things, and can be a basket-case if he's frightened. Taking him out of the picture for a night, might just let everyone, including him, relax and enjoy the evening. Better safe, than sorry. JMHO.

 

[pmpknqueen]

I don't know about dogs, but with my cat, I just have her spend the night over at my mom's the night of the party. Just because she tends to run out every time the door is open and although I would love her being at the party (her being a black cat and all) I don't want to have to worry about her all night so that's what I do.

 

[QueenHalloween]

In an attempt to socialize our cat, we will keep him at the party and just leave our bedroom door open so he can come and go as he pleases. He usually hides away for a bit and then comes out. Plus, he's an amazing Halloween prop, being that he's a giant black cat.

 

[Pumpkin215]

A third vote for doggie daycare.

I'm another black cat owner. She normally stays hidden away upstairs and will come out later in the evening when things quiet down.

"Mom? Is there any shrimp leftover?"

 

[acutermints]

WE have 6 yr old wieners. we will crate them as the costumes and activity will be too much

 

[Stochey]

My Manchester terrier is a basket case. We got him from a shelter in 2012. We actually have to have him put under sleepy gas at the vets office so he can have his nails trimmed.

He gets crated in my bedroom with a benedryl so he doesn't bark and stress himself to death.

 

[MikeinMunich]

She may be a tremendous help for setting up but during the party we move all of her things/litter box into our bedroom and leave the door shut with police tape covering the door and a sign that reads "Killer ***** - DO NOT ENTER". The first year we had her and had the party I was nervous but she surprisingly just sleeps the whole time and even in her tree not even under the bed. It's great!

 

[Rowsdower]

I think it's good to gauge the dog's personality first before making a decision. See what he's like when you have a couple of strangers over (if you can ask some of your acquaintances to help you) and go from there. I recently went to a party that had animals who had every sort of reaction you could expect. One dog barked in fear constantly, one couldn't stop jumping on people and loved attention, one was very shy and stuck close to their master, one completely hid upstairs, and one just sat on a chair nearby and didn't have anything to do with anyone (yep, that one was the cat). I think it's good for pets to have an "escape route" in case they get overwhelmed. Leave the door open to a room that the dog can retreat to.

Based on the breed, though, my worry would be more about the dog being a bit too rambunctious and jumping on people. Some people might not mind, others might be a little annoyed or even frightened. If you think that's the case, I would keep the dog in the backyard so they won't get too crazy when the guests come in the front door. Or, instruct your guests to ignore the dog until he calms down. And definitely take him on a long walk and give him lots of play time beforehand. He'll be happy, less jittery, and a little more sleepy by the time the party rolls around!

 

[Muffy]

After reading this thread I began thinking....since we have no help this year my poor hubby will have to pitch in. He is a Vietnam Vet that hates being around loud crowds. Usually we put him in the master bedroom with a well stocked little fridge of diet pepsi, a bunch of munch food and an easily accessible bath room. He watches the upstairs animals.

Unfortunately not this year, so a couple of days ago Big Lots had those large cages for pets. I bought one and a nice soft bed to go in it. Animals gonna have to be on their own this year so one dog in cage, 2 running free in the bedroom, and the tiny one in a kennel. 2 cats in the laundry room and the other 2 in the master bedroom bathroom. Other 7 in the basement. You ask why as to separation>>>>>>>kids don't like to behave sometimes all together....oh yes and then there's Sammy, she is the garage cat....gonna probably kennel her too.

Set up the big cage in our bedroom tonight, gonna start putting treats in there for Baby to get her use to sleeping in there so she won't be afraid.

We are not throwing a party but this is for Halloween night when people come through the house.

 

[Beware of the Fright]

This sounds terrible bit my dogs like extremely frightened of storms and one thing that helps ease him is calming treats. He loves them too.
It might be something you want to look into if they freak out while in the cage or is likely too. Or like a previous thread stated exhausting them with play even if you are just putting them in a kennel.

 

[Creepy Mom]

We also have a new puppy, 5 months old, and he is terrified of the Halloween props around the house. We will be taking him to a local kennel for the night and picking him up the next day. There are too many opportunities for him to get out in our unfenced yard and bolt into the woods we bump up to. Not to mention we live in coyote land. It wouldn't be a Happy Halloween for any of us!