Howling Good Times!

If you want to get into the ‘spirit’ of halloween with your dog, try doing some redecorating on your course, and inviting your agility class over!  Below are some ideas to get you started.

• Haunt your course: Not literally, of course! that’s not suggested.  Hang out a halloween themed flag by your jump, or from the underside of a dogwalk. Drape your jumps in toilet paper or ‘webbing’, and make pumpkin wings for your jumps- or, better yet, a pumpkin jump! Just set up a row of biggish pumpkins or Jack-o-Lanterns (unlit is recommended, fire and dogs don’t get along real well) and use them as an extra jump.
• Movers, shakers, and Screamers!: Put your motion sensor halloween decorations to good use on your agility course, as proofers.  Can your dog keep running as the witch waves and cackles, or the ghoul cries?  I’ll bet he can!
• Trick and Treat Jumps: Hang trick or treat bowls (or bags) from your equipment, and treat each dog over the obstacle from them.  It gets the ‘door to door’ feeling of trick or treating!
• Is that my Handler?: Everyone can dress up in a costume for the party, and see how your dog reacts to bobbing bee headgear! Or your fluttering vampire cape.
• Pot Luck (or else, not so lucky…): Remember to have edibles for the humans, too. Potluck works great, and it might be fun to mix treats up, too, provided no ones’ dogs are food sensitive.  It’s also a good idea to have multiple bowls of water around.
• Costumes are Grand!: Costumes are okay for the dogs, too, but don’t do agility and costumes at the same time.  It can be unsafe, so have the costumes after the course, or the course after the costumes.  If you do decide to do a costume contest, make up fun little prizes, like a treat bag for the person and dog- a new rope toy or clicker, and candies or cookies.

Remember to have a big enough area for all the dogs you want to have, and also, have lots and lots of plastic bags for poops.  Nobody minds a party pooper, if they clean it up!

Does any one else have other ideas? Share in a comment!