Halloween is only one week away. Did you hear that? One week away! And so, to make sure we’re all prepared for the big day, we thought we would do some trick-or-treating prep today with Simon and Rosee.
Their skills needed to be sharp. I mean, were they really ready? How was their sniffing ability (because they sniff out the treats of course)? Were their eyes on the prizes (or treats in this case)? Were they committed enough? In it to win it?
Their costumes needed to be on point. Were they easy to move in? Did they impede their vision and sniffing ability? Durable enough to withstand their movements? Were they cute enough to get all the treats?
These were all important points to consider, and so we decided to do a trick-or-treating test run in the backyard in order to prepare for the big day.
We laid down some tricks (obstacles), so Simon and Rosee would really have to work for their treats.
But in the end both pups proved their Halloween skills, and quickly found each and every treat hiding in the grass.
Halloween night better watch out because Simon and Rosee are ready and their mighty hungry for treats!
You may have spied in Day 2’s post a picture of a little cat helping us hang Halloween lights out in the front yard. Well, it seems it really wouldn’t be Halloween around here if we weren’t introducing our newest family member. While I know it may seem that we’re introducing a new member of the family practically every year, all I can say is think of the quote by John Lennon, “Life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans.”
Yet it’s always around this time of year that we get adopted by another pet. Even though i often question who really owns who, we’re definitely grateful that they picked us as their humans. And this is definitely the case of a little black and white cat named Socks.
Socks decorating for Halloween.
Socks was a feral, neighborhood cat that we’ve seen around for a little over a year now. Of course, being adopted by George two years ago, Shadow not long after, and then by Binx last year (all of who are pampered inside cats now), and taking care of Fluffy, it’s habit to set out cat food on our porch. So, it was no surprise that the food attracted other neighborhood cats. Yet, then we met Mr. Socks…who decided that he was going to stick around.
Binx, introduced last year, formerly an outside cat.
Believe it or not, Socks officially adopted us after we took him to our vet to get neutered and vaccinated. Once we brought him home after his procedure and released him out front, I guess he decided he loved us even more, and is always around. Weird, I know.
Still, now we have this little black and white cat that is definitely the scariest cat on the block, figuratively of course. He loves accompanying us anywhere we go out front, whether it’s walking to the mailbox, our cars, or just across the lawn when we’re watering the plants.
Socks takes his job very seriously.
What’s especially endearing about Socks though, is his relationship with Rosee. They enjoy talking to each other through our front (metal) screen door (or rather he hisses at her and she lets out a small bark in response). It doesn’t matter that she’s about 75lbs and Socks is about 10lbs, he’s not about to let a silly dog be the boss of him. He really has absolutely no fear when it comes to the pups. To be fair though, I think Rosee actually appreciates Socks acting as a sentinel out front. Really she just lets him think that he has the upper-hand.
He’s also very good at meowing at us to let us know he needs a treat. I think he’s just practicing his trick-or-treating skills for Halloween.
Halloween is practically upon us and in order to prepare for the big day I thought we would do a little Trick-or-Treating… for the dogs, of course.
I decorated the backyard with some spooky Halloween decorations. I set up a small cemetery (complete with a giant spider web), a pumpkin patch, and a patio of undead dogs and cats. Then, I took some treats and left them around the backyard, so the pups would have to “find” the treats by sniffing them out.
In no time at all Simon and Rosee were off trying to locate their treats.
They had to fend off some undead animals, navigate the headstones, and sniff under the pumpkins, but it was all worth it for that treat.
Trick-or-Treating definitely went to the dogs this year!
As October 31st looms closer and closer we thought it was time to try a little trick-or-treating.
Rosee is ready for some trick-or-treating.
It’s an essential part of Halloween and one we made sure to celebrate for our own Howl-oween celebration with Simon and Rosee. Originally, we actually attended a Howl-oween party put on by a (semi)local pet hotel, and it was supposed to include doggie trick-or-treating, a costume contest, and pictures with Cruella de Vil. It seemed like fun and all of the proceeds were donated to an animal shelter or other animal-related cause. Great idea, right? Unfortunately, the event was quite a disappointment. In fact, it was such a disappointing experience, that I don’t think words are quite enough to express just how disappointed I was. So, we ultimately decided to a redo and took Simon and Rosee trick-or-treating in our own spooktacular front yard.
We simply hid some dog treats around our yard and throughout the various Halloween decorations.
Both dogs had fun and got a few extra treats for all of their hard work. Of course, by sniffing out their hidden treats they ended up performing a trick in order to earn their treat!
Even George got in on the trick-or-treating fun and tried to steal some dog treats.
Dust off your Halloween bags and ready the treats because Howl-oween is almost here!
Play Hard, Bark Often 