Halloween Pet Safety with Premier Pet Supply

Welcome back. Halloween is today. And while it can be fun to celebrate with our pets, there are also some dangers for them. So here to help us keep our furry friends safe is Mike Palmer from Premier Pet Supply and somebody else. We've got Gino with us today. Good morning, Lori. Oh, Gino, what a cutie. And happy Halloween. And what is Gino? Gino, I've embarrassed him. He is a loofah with a little rubber ducky on top. He'd much rather be some vicious, scary monster, I'm sure. Well, and you're... The Scooby Doo seems to be appropriate. I've been wearing this costume around the stores for 20 years now. And still fits. Hey, kudos to you. What do we have here? What should we think about? Obviously we know chocolate, we shouldn't be giving dogs chocolate, but what else is a danger to them? So there's other things within the candy you have to be careful of. So sugar substitutes like xylitol can be very dangerous. So candy in general, just keep away from our pets today. It's a fun day for the whole family and there's a lot happening, a lot going on. dogs and cats in mind for sure. If we want to treat them, there's a lot of great treats that we offer in our stores or things that I'm sure that you have in the cupboard that you can give them, but none of the candy and keep them away because that could be very dangerous. Keeping them away, you want to do... But what if they snatch a piece anyway? I mean, should you then go into... I wouldn't freak out. I mean, in order for them to really, truly get super sick, they'd have to consume a lot of super dark chocolate. So if they have a piece, I think they'll be okay. But you want to monitor them, make sure that they're still drinking. What would you be looking for? You know, if they're getting lethargic, if they're vomiting and throwing up, of course. You just watch for the signs of them not drinking water. Things like that could be a telltale sign that there is an issue. So we just want to make sure we're looking out for that. So the alternative treats? Tell us what we have. So there's a lot of fun treats that Grandma Lucy's and Give Pet do. Give Pet's great because whenever you buy a treat, they give a treat to rescues, which is good. We have tons and tons and aisles and aisles of treats in our stores, but the Halloween-themed stuff has become more popular more recently, which is great. Oh, so something like, oh, how cute is that? Yeah, so we can keep them, you know, and enjoying part of the festivities for sure. But some of the things we want to keep in mind is the door is opening and closing, the doorbell ringing, strangers coming to the door in costumes. These are scary things that can cause a lot of anxiety. The doorbell. Gino goes off. My poodle is barking away. Right. Same here with Gino. He's always letting us know who's there even though we know it. So doing things in the morning and early on today to wear them out. Go for long walks. We've got beautiful weather out there. Play with them. Wear them out. Maybe keep them in a secluded area of the house. If it's a room or a basement, put on Fox 2 and keep the volume up so they can be entertained while you're doing what you're doing at the front door. But if you do have a dog or a cat that gets super anxious, there are different things that we can give them. Okay. There's all-natural treats. They're not sedatives. They're not going to knock them out. They basically just provide calm. Do you give these to the pets like before you know? Great question. Yes, absolutely. So probably about a half hour to 45 minutes before you know there's going to be activity at the front door. And this will have a lasting time of about three to four hours. Some of these have valerian root and chamomile, there's tryptophan, melatonin, B vitamins, all these things that trigger the brain just to respond to provide calm, nothing that's that's going to knock your pet out at all, but it helps them to deal with the The commotion and everything that's going on. Because it's Halloween and some folks are dressing up their dogs and cats, are there any things that we should watch out for? Like maybe something that might be a choking hazard if you're thinking, hey, I just want them to look cute. Right. So I think what we want to do is have fun but not at the expense of our pets. Making sure that whenever you get something that fits, make sure it fits well and it's not super snug. You can make them very hot. You also want to make sure there's no loose pieces that they can chew and swallow. You just want them to be comfortable. Some pets don't tolerate costumes. One of my bigger dogs does not, and so we put a bandana on her. That's Halloween-themed, and we've got those, too, and that's something that's fun that doesn't really typically bother them. But making sure that, you know, we make sure that they're having fun. If you put something on them and they're not happy with it, it's probably not a great idea. Take that bad boy out. But you also have cute little things to support the Lions. Yeah, so we've got a lot of, like, the Lions-themed jerseys, which are great. We've got Hutchinson, St. Brown, and Gibbs. We've got a Michigan-Michigan State game coming up in a week, so we do have jerseys for all size dogs and cats. That's up to double XL in these, and these are always really popular this time of year. These are nice. They fit snug. They make them feel comfortable. You've got a lot of different costume options. Yeah, what I was going to say is if you're going out and taking them on trick-or-treating, making sure you're visible, so maybe there's people that may not know you have a dog with you, or there's cars, so, you know, having... That's why I'm seeing these things glowing. That's really smart. It is. It's great. Light-up collars, highly reflective leashes and collars we have at the store as well. It's great for this time of year when it's getting darker so much earlier, and staying dark in the morning. Falling back. We're turning the clocks back to night, as a matter of fact. So, I see you have some little plushies here as well. Yeah. I know you have some Halloween-themed ones, but is there anything... Something we should be looking for, like, that's kind of too big for my dog. He does not like that. Size-appropriate toys, things that you know they're not going to choke on again. You know, the toys that are Halloween-themed are a lot of fun. Halloween's become so popular for our pets now, and we want to include them as we humanize our pets. They're part of the family. They're our kids, right? They are. They're our babies. Yeah, so other things, like great toys, like Woof products are excellent. They're enrichment toys that keep them busy. So if you've got a lot going on at the front, maybe you're giving them one of these or a lick mat. I was going to say, something that they have to work for their treat. They work for it, it takes a while, keeps them preoccupied, and it's also very soothing when they do something like that. Oh, okay. So then you want to keep them in something that's familiar. Yes. If somebody's coming to the door asking for candy. What is this right over here I've been looking at? So this is the Woof Pop toy, which is neat because they have these preformed balls that you can put in there. Okay. And it's more of a challenge to get to, so it lasts for a really long time, which is great. They also have these silicone ice trays that you can make your own treat with. Oh, okay. And pop those into that, which is great because if you have a dog that has made Maybe allergies or something. They can't tolerate the treats that they provide. You can make your own, which is really great. What's the biggest takeaway that you want people to have for today? Have fun, but be safe and make sure that we're keeping our pets safe and making sure that they're calm and relaxed because he is right now, he's got a lot of love backstage from everybody here. So he's, he's, he's gotten his fun today, um, and making sure that, you know, they feel Safe, but they're also part of the equation, for sure. And not too late to go out and get treats, some calming treats, maybe some outfits. Yes. Premier Pet Supply everywhere. We are everywhere now. We're working really hard at this. We've been doing this for 34 years now. We've got 15 stores throughout Metro Detroit. Loved for you guys to come visit us. We carry everything imaginable, great prices, and we deliver to you, too, at premierpetsupply.com. Absolutely. Of course, we'll put a link on our website at fox2detroit.com. Be safe with your pets today. Have fun. Thank you so much for coming in. Thank you, Lori. And we'll be right back.