Raise a Green Dog!: Make it a green Halloween for your pups!

Halloween is almost here!

I love Halloween...it's one of my favorite holidays, because we always get to go to the agility Halloween pawty and run some agility!

We thought it would be fun to share some green Halloween ideas for your pup - for the safest, healthiest Halloween ever.

Costumes

Some pups don't like to be dressed up in costumes. I don't mind, because Mum doesn't ever make them so elaborate that I can't move in them. And they just feel a little like wearing one of my winter coats. The cool thing is that when we wear costumes to our agility pawty, we get to run at a discounted cost, so it's worth it. Saving money is one of our things!

So if you're pup doesn't mind wearing a costume here are some ideas for making your own!

We absolutely love this handmade spider costume that Martha Stewart made for her Sharkey. To make it green, use some old black and orange material that you may have lying around from old jeans, t-shirts or coats!

If you'd like to get some more pawsome ideas for pet costumes at MarthaStewart.com, click here! Be creative and have fun finding reusable materials around your home as substitutes for suggested materials. Like this cute costume dress from an old t-shirt and some lace!

Here are a couple of patterns from McCalls that may help give you some sewing help. And for some other pawsome ideas, check out these:

Now for the good stuff, treats!

Here's a great healthy, natural Halloween dog treat you can make for your pup (courtesy of eHow):

Applesauce Pumpkin Cookies

Ingredients:

Oven cookie sheet 1½ cups whole wheat flour 3 tbsp. (organic) applesauce 2 eggs 3/4 cup pure pumpkin (not pie filling) 1 tbsp. molasses ¼ cup water

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and grease the cookie sheet. 2. Combine all the ingredients in a large-sized bowl, then mix together. The mixed batter should resemble the consistency of cookie dough. 3. Depending on how big you want the cookies to be, use a teaspoon or tablespoon to drop the dough onto the greased cookie sheet. Drop them approximately 1 inch apart. 4. Bake for 14 minutes or until the cookies are firm. 5. For crunchier cookies, turn the oven off and leave the cookies in the oven to cool for one to two hours. This recipe makes approximately two dozen cookies, depending on how big you make them.

If that's not your taste, try these Ginger Spiced Treats and Apple Dog Biscuits!

A dog's gotta have toys!

You can make some pawsome Halloween toys from unused or reused items around your home. Try these!

Make a dog tug toy from recycled jeans and an old orange sweatshirt!
Create a Sock Monkey Dog Toy from old black and orange socks!
Got an old fleece blanket? Make a dog toy!
Make a great dog toy with an old sock and water bottle, cool!
Got some old socks and old tennis balls? You've got even more toys!

Pawty time!!

Halloween is a great time to have a dog party, or as I like to bark, dog pawty! So how do you plan a great green dog party? Check out my lens on Throwing a Great Dog Party, and utilize some of the tips you've learned from Raise A Green Dog to make it green!

Some Halloween safety tips!

Halloween is a fun time, but it can also be a scary time for some pups. And dangers lurk in many more places. Heed these safety tips, so you can have the safest, happiest Halloween ever!

1. Some of us pups just don't like to get dressed up, and that's OK!!! Please, only costume a dog that's agreeable, or has been properly introduced to the idea. And make sure the costume is safe. Sometime those weird outfits can get caught and cause choking or even worse, so be safe!

2. Remember, the bowl of candy for those two-legger trick-or-treaters isn't for us pups! Keep the bowl safely away, so we aren't tempted to get into the chocolate, candy with xylitol or other bad for us stuff.

3. All those guests and visitors can sometimes be overwhelming for us dogs. So if your dog isn't used to all the commotion, secure them safely in a quiet room until the trick-or-treating has passed. And if we do like all the visitors, make sure we are leashed up have our tags on our collars, and don't have an opportunity to escape through an open door. Safety first!

4. Some of those decorations can be tempting if we haven't seen them in a year or so. Make sure we stay safe around electrical cords and lights, and other decorations.

Here's to a safe, happy and green Halloween!!!!