- Not a substitute for professional veterinary help.
With all the Halloween-themed dog costumes, dog treats, and other accessories the holiday brings, there’s no better way to celebrate the spooky season than with a Halloween dog party!
Throwing a Halloween party for your dog and other dogs in your neighborhood is a great opportunity to bring your community together over your shared love of dogs, food, festivities, and fun.
Just like a dog birthday party, you can plan games and contests, make or serve special treats, decorate, and give out party favors—just as long as you keep the comfort and safety of all dog guests top of mind.
Here’s how to throw the best Halloween dog party ever!
1. Safety First
For many dogs, Halloween can be a stressful time. The night itself is full of unfamiliar sights and unpredictable sounds that can be distressing to some dogs.
“Your dog will not understand why the neighborhood kid he loves so much has suddenly turned into a monster!” says Colleen Demling, owner of Pawtopia Dog Training, in our article, The 3 Most Important Halloween Safety Tips for Dogs.
When planning a dog Halloween party, the first thing to keep in mind is that Halloween night might not be the best time for the gathering—to keep dog guests safe and comfortable, you might want to consider a daytime event a day or two before Halloween.
As for the costumes, if your dog is not used to wearing clothes, this could also contribute to your dog’s stress.
“He won’t understand the appeal of being a pumpkin or ghost for the night,” says Demling. “Plus, if he is already nervous and you put him in clothes that restrict his eyesight or movement on top of it, he is more likely to be reactive to all the other chaos of the Halloween holiday.”
Remember, the goal of the party is for dogs and people to have fun, not to force your dog to stay in situation they find stressful.
With this in mind, let’s move on to the planning!
2. Plan the Menu
All Halloween parties need snacks! Plain air-popped popcorn is a festive snack that dogs can enjoy in moderation, but you can also make or buy all kinds of seasonal, dog-friendly treats. Check out some menu inspiration below.
Make: Spooky Pumpkin Cutout Cookies for Dogs
Buy: Our 13 Favorite Halloween Treats for Dogs
Make: Simply Perfect Pumpkin Pupcakes
Make: Pumpkin Pie For Dogs
Make: Peanut Butter and Sweet Potato Protein Pupcakes
Buy: Fall for These 11 Pumpkin Dog Treats Year-Round
Make: Homemade Soft-Bake Peanut Butter and Pumpkin Dog Treats
Make: Homemade Pumpkin Spice Dog Treats
Remember that most of the treats that people enjoy at Halloween like chocolates and candy are unhealthy, or even fatal to dogs if consumed. If you have candy and other treats at the party, make sure to keep them away from the dogs.
3. Make Your Guest List
Your dog Halloween party is generally going to be best and most suitable for dogs who are comfortable being in close proximity to other dogs and people—this goes for your own dog, too!
If you know a dog who is nervous or uncomfortable around new sights, sounds, dogs, or people, this is an event that they should sit out or perhaps take in from the sidelines, just don’t plan on their participation.
Some dogs are truly dog social and enjoy playing and meeting all dogs, but most adult dogs are dog selective or tolerant and will have more fun at the party without being bombarded with other guests. Remind human guests to ask and get permission before allowing their dogs to approach other canine guests to make sure every dog is comfortable.
Make it clear to your guests it’s always OK to leave the party if the festivities ever stop being fun for their pup.
4. Secure Your Party Location
Dogs being dogs, a large, fenced backyard, or a park work well as locations for dog parties. Of course, if it’s acceptable, your home or a friend’s will work great, too—just as long as everyone knows what doggy mayhem might ensue.
A dog park where dogs are running around and other “uninvited” pups will be a distraction may make it difficult to proceed with any structured activities you have planned.
With that in mind, if you’re planning your party at a regular park, you’ll want to be sure to observe local leash laws—this will help you keep the games on track, the pups safe, and everyone at the park comfortable.
5. Decorate With Dog-Friendly Party Decor
Plastic dog skeletons and pumpkins are a classic way to create a festive puppy party. For extra fun, set up a selfie station or photo area for guests to take pictures to post on their social media or just to have as keepsakes.
A bale of hay, pumpkins, and other festive decor such as a dog-themed garland or bunting as a backdrop work great for setting a spooky scene. Just make sure that any decor at dog height is safe and doesn’t pose a choking hazard in case pups get curious.
Pumpkin-colored and shaped balls are great for kicking around, as are having some Halloween-themed toys on hand!
For a practical, festive touch, you can decorate with orange and black Halloween-themed dog bandanas that each dog can take home as a party favor.
6. Let the Games Begin!
Party games and contests are a fun way to keep dogs and people entertained and engaged at the party. Some fun options include:
Costume Contest: You can’t have a Halloween party without a costume contest! Make sure to tell your guests that there will be a contest for the dog wearing the best and most creative costume at the party. I recommend having the costume contest early on so that dogs whose costumes might be a little cumbersome will be able to take them off before playing any of the other party games.
Offer different categories for prizes: Some options could be a puppy category, a senior category, a spooky category, and a family theme where the dog and their parent dress in complimentary costumes (find inspiration here: 15 Creative Matching Dog and Owner Costumes for Halloween 2021).
Bobbing for Tennis Balls: A canine spin on the classic Halloween party game of bobbing for apples. To play this game, you’ll need a large bowl, tub, bucket, or plastic baby pool. Fill the bucket with water (the more water you add, the more challenging the game will be) and drop tennis balls into the tub. Then, lead dogs one at a time to the tub and encourage them to collect the balls. Set a timer for 3 minutes and see how many balls each dog is able to collect in that period of time! When their turn is up, put the balls back into the bucket and let the next dog take a turn.
To prevent any possessiveness or resource guarding issues related to the balls, it’s best for dogs to play this game one at a time and to keep other pups attending the party away from the tub while a dog is playing. If some of your puppy party guests aren’t quite sure how to play, you can first show them the balls in the pool, and even hand them the first one (this ball doesn’t have to count in the contest) to encourage their dog to pickup the balls from the tub.
Slime Drool Contest: Halloween and slime seem to go together, and for this party game our dogs are going to be providing the slime and the dog with the most drool wins. To play, hand each owner a hot dog and ask them to show it to their dog but don’t give the hot dog to the dog. Set a timer for one or three minutes and see how much each dog will drool with the allotted period of time. When the timer goes off, the dog with the longest/most drool wins the contest—but all the dogs get to eat their hot dogs!
Trick for Treats Contest: A fun way to add some excitement to your dog’s Halloween party is to have a trick for treats contest. For this activity, have all the dogs in attendance show off their best tricks. You can as a group vote on whose tricks are best, ask a human attendee whose dog isn’t entered in the trick contest to judge, or if your party is in a park, to make things interesting, you can ask a random passerby if they would be willing to judge your contest. If you have a lot of dogs in attendance, you can award winners for different categories like best puppy trick, best senior trick dog, best small or large dog trick, and/or best Halloween themed trick.
Pumpkin Painting: Get your human guests into the festivities with a pumpkin decorating activity. Have a selection of small pumpkins setup on a picnic table along with some dog-safe paint and paint brushes. Ask everyone in attendance to pick a pumpkin and then to paint a representation of their dog onto it. Then, vote on whose painted pumpkin looks most like their dog.
7. Award Prizes and Favors
When planning contests and games, don’t forget about prizes! Halloween-themed dog toys work great for this, or, if you want to be a little more fancy, you can even purchase trophies or ribbons to award for each of the contests, including custom designs from companies that make ribbons for dog shows (my personal favorite is Hodges).
Other great ideas for party favors include: Halloween-themed dog collars, Halloween-themed prepackaged treats, or an easy-to-wear dog bandana.
Enjoy a Safe and Fun Halloween Dog Party!
For more about celebrating Halloween safely with your pup, continue reading one of the related articles below.