Who’s excited for Halloween at the end of this month? If Halloween is one of your favorite holidays, but you’ve never celebrated the spooktacular festivities with a puppy before, you might be wondering how you should approach the day. Let’s start by saying that puppy games should be at the top of your priority list!
Your usual Halloween activities, especially night time parties, are likely to overwhelm your puppy. But there’s still plenty of fun to be had this October 31st!
This article will lay out fun Halloween-inspired puppy games to play with your furry friend this Halloween, such as hide & seek, “treat” treasure hunt, pet-safe bubbles, dog friendly parks and pumpkin patches, Halloween costume photo shoots, festive games of fetch, and more.
HIDE & SEEK
The classic children’s game, hide and seek, provides a world of fun for puppies! You can play this puppy game inside or outside. And if you want to give your puppy a fun thrill, dress yourself up in your Halloween costume. The costume’s scents, masking your own, and your disguised appearance will throw your fur baby for a loop!
The great thing about playing hide and seek with your puppy is that it’s also an opportunity for basic command training. Start off by commanding your puppy to “sit” and then tell him to “stay.” He might be squirmy, depending on how far he’s gotten in his puppy training. Be sure that your puppy is in the “stay” position, and then sneak off and hide.
During the first round, don’t go too far or hide too well. You may want to keep your head visible. Then from your “hiding place,” call your puppy by name. When he finds you, be sure to reward him with lots of love and a small treat!
This game can be extra fun on Halloween if you’ve decorated your home and outside yard with pumpkins, skeletons, and other spooky decorations!
TREASURE HUNT
This game can also be played inside or outside. It’s one of our favorite puppy games! All you need are doggy treats, and if your puppy has a few favorite toys or stuffed animals, you can use those, too.
While your puppy waits in a separate area or room, strategically hide the dog treats, toys, and stuffed animals behind your pet-friendly Halloween decorations like gourds, pumpkins, jack-o-lanterns (without lit candles), scarecrows, etc. , furniture (if inside), and lawn fixtures (if outside).
Once you’ve set up the treasure hunt, bring your puppy to the hunt. This is another chance to use basic commands and also to teach your puppy new words like “treat” and “toy.” Tell your puppy to “find the treat” and encourage him by walking alongside him to help him. He’ll soon catch on and have a blast.
BUBBLES
Playing with bubbles can be great fun for puppies and their owners. Seeing your new puppy marvel and play in bubbles as you blow them is a heart-warming bonding activity! That’s why it made it onto our list of Halloween puppy games.
Be sure to use non-toxic, pet friendly bubbles. Our favorite is IncrediBubbles, a non-toxic pet friendly bubble solution. IncrediBubbles create sturdy bubbles that can stack, roll on the ground, and generally float and last longer than the average bubble. These bubbles also come in fun flavors for dogs, like peanut butter!
Blowing bubbles for your puppy outside in the refreshing autumn air will add a seasonal daytime activity to your Halloween. Best of all, you can bring your puppy’s bubbles just about anywhere to offer more fun to your adventures, whether it be around the block for a walk or at the local dog park.
PUMPKIN PATCHES
Exposing your puppy to new places and people is the cornerstone of puppy socialization. Autumn time, and especially Halloween, offers so many new settings and experiences for people and puppies alike! A great experience that your puppy will love is a trip to a local pumpkin patch!
Pumpkin patches, hayrides, and even mid-autumn apple picking are a fun way to get in the Halloween spirit this October leading up to the holiday. Check your local parks, farms, and wildlife preserves for special autumn activities. You’ll be surprised to discover that many pumpkin patches are pet friendly, especially at “pick and buy” farms.
A great resource to check out if you and your puppy live in the Kansas City area is Visit Kansas City’s Pumpkin Patch webpage! This web page lists all the local pumpkin patchy and Halloweeny goings-on in and around Kansas City. But even if you don’t live in K.C., with a little internet research, you can find pet-friendly autumn activities for you and your puppy in your town or city.
PHOTO SHOOTS
Your puppy won’t be a puppy forever, sadly. In fact, a year from now, your puppy will be fully grown on Halloween. Capture the cuteness this Halloween by planning photoshoots for you and your fur baby!
You can organize a full blown selfie shoot with your doggo, featuring the spooktacular puppy Halloween costume you either bought or made for him. Don’t forget to get dressed up yourself in your scariest costume.
Plus, every activity and outing with your puppy this October, whether it’s to a local pumpkin patch, playing with bubbles at the dog park, or even just snuggling on the couch with cinnamon-spiced tea, is a chance to take a photo to remember the memory!
FETCH
Far from frightening, fetch is the game that no dog has ever gotten sick of! Fetch is also a great way to tired your puppy out before you leave him at home to go to a Halloween party.
You can make the game of fetch extra festive this Halloween with an orange or Halloween-themed frisbee. We love the brand, Chewy, which makes Halloween frisbees for dogs that are both frisbees and soft-material stuffed animals!
The best part about playing fetch with your puppy on Halloween is that it’ll get both of you out in the fresh air for hours, tiring your pooch out yet energizing you for the mysterious night to come!
MOVIE NIGHT
For new puppy parents who can’t bear the thought of leaving their puppies at home on Halloween just to go to a costume party where no dogs are allowed, why not throw a low-key movie night at home?
Whether it’s just you and your puppy, or you invite some friends over, too, there are tons of dog-themed Halloween movies to choose from. Our favorite Halloween flicks with dogs include:
- Scooby Doo the Movie (2002)
- Frankenweenie (2012)
- It’s the Great Pumpkin Patch, Charlie Brown (1966)
- The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
- The Dog Who Saved Halloween (2011)
- Cujo (1983)
PUPPY PARTY
Do you have friends, family members, colleagues, or neighbors who also have puppies or dogs? You might consider organizing a puppy party for Halloween!
This is a great way to add excitement, socialization, and bonding to your puppy’s Halloween. And best of all, you and the other dog owners can easily avoid the usual hazards that dogs face when they go to ordinary parties, like toxic and poisonous foods.
By getting together with friends who have dogs, you can do all the Halloween games and activities we covered in this article! The group dog aspect will make each game all the more enjoyable for your dog.
HAPPY HALLOWEEN FROM PETLAND KANSAS CITY
That wraps up all of our spooktacular puppy games for Halloween! From everyone at Petland Kansas City, we wish you a fun and safe Halloween! Be sure to check out our website and stop in our Overland Park location to learn about our special Halloween promotions!