Autumn Safety for Your Four-Legged Friends

By Lauren Means

As we begin to venture out on hikes and adventures with our pets, here are two things to avoid to make those trips safe for everyone.

Mushrooms

Fall is one of the blooming seasons for mushrooms. While, according to the ASPCA, 99% of mushrooms have little or no toxicity, the 1% that are highly toxic can cause life-threatening problems in pets. From upset stomachs to kidney failure, to death, the consequences of consuming a toxic mushroom are wide-reaching.

The easiest way to prevent this is to do your best to avoid your pet ingesting any mushrooms. If you witness your pet eating something poisonous or suspect they have, contact your vet immediately or the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center at (888) 426-4435.

Snakes

Whether you love them, hate them, or tolerate their existence for the greater good, as the weather is cooling down snakes are preparing for hibernation. Be mindful of where you are walking and study up on snakes native to your area. There are many snakes that call Tennessee home, but only four that are poisonous: northern copperhead, western cottonmouth (aka water moccasin), timber rattlesnake, and western pigmy rattlesnake. You can distinguish the venomous from the non-venomous species by their triangular heads and vertical pupils.

Best practices to reduce the likelihood of a snake bite include using a shorter leash on walks, not allowing your dog to explore areas where you cannot see everything clearly, staying on open paths where snakes would be visible, and keeping nighttime walks to a minimum. If your dog does end up with a bite, call your vet immediately.

Fall Events Perfect for Pets!

Bark Bash: A Festival for Dog Lovers
Historic Sam Davis Home and Museum, Smyrna
September 24 from 10am – 1pm
Bring your pup for a full day of fun! Visit local vendor booths and snap up all the things for your furry friends. Local rescues (Music City Animal Rescue, Big Fluffy Dog Rescue, Dobie Defenders, Proverbs 12:10 Animal Rescue, Volunteer State Doberman Rescue & Middle Tennessee Boxer Rescue) will also be onsite with adoptable dogs. Enter your pooch in the pooch parade and the costume contest to win a prize!

Fall-a-PAWloosa
Hop Springs, Murfreesboro
September 25 at 10am
A fun-filled day with music, games, face-painting, good food, and booths to shop. Bring your pooch and spend the day supporting Tree of Life Animal Sanctuary at Hop Springs Brewery.

Pups & Pints
oneC1TY, Nashville
October 1 from 2pm – 6pm
Bring your canine companions out to oneC1TY for an afternoon of dog-centric activities and local pet vendors, food trucks, a beer garden, craft cocktails and more. The event will feature tasty treats for both humans and pups and will have an off-leash area, so you can both cut loose.

Bark in the Boro!
MTSU Student Union Courtyard, Murfreesboro
October 8 from 10am – 4pm
Join us for the inaugural Bark in the Boro! Free Family Fun! Featuring: Vendors, Adoptable Animals, Music and MORE!

Nashville Humane Association’s Dog Day Presented by Mars Petcare
Centennial Park, Nashville
October 15
There’s fun for the whole family with Tito’s Doggie Fun Zone, our famous Kids Zone with carnival games and inflatable fun, bring your pup, your kids, and the whole crew. There’s even some beer and Tito’s cocktail refreshment fun in our Beverage Garden. Plus, you absolutely can not miss out on entering your pooch in one or more of our costume contests! There’s live music, there’s food trucks, there’s a whole bunch of doggie and people vendors in our vendor village. $10 – General Admission.

Tricks for Treats
Hop Springs Beer Park, Murfreesboro
October 16 from 12pm – 4pm
Come out to Hop Springs Beer Park on October 16 to Trick or Treat with your dog! There will be lots of vendors to visit and each one will have treats available for your dog. Other fun activities will include a Tricks Contest with prize baskets sponsored by Wag It Better Dog Training, an opportunity for your dog to paint a picture with their paws, live music, food truck, trivia and a chance to win a raffle for $1,000!!!

Halloween Pooch Parade
Cheekwood, Nashville
October 22 & 23 from 9am-5pm
Calling all costumed canines! Whether your dog is ‘paws’itively frightening or ear-scratchingly adorable, we love to see them all. Vendors will delight your furry friends with special treats and photo opportunities abound in the Pumpkin Houses. Each day we will have food trucks, doggie vendors, live music, and a costume contest! More details coming soon.

Pet Treats You Can Make at Home

Pumpkin Oatmeal Dog Treats

1 cup pumpkin puree
1/4 cup peanut butter
2 1/2 cups rolled oats
1/4 cup water

Add pumpkin, peanut butter, oats, and water to a large bowl and stir to combine.
Form mixture into 1-inch balls and roll each ball through additional oats.
Place treats onto a baking sheet and refrigerate until firm, about an hour.

Pumpkin Cat Treats

5 ounce can tuna in water
2 tbsp pumpkin puree, canned pure 1/4 cup our
1 teaspoon dried catnip (if desired)

Preheat the oven to 350 ̊ F.
In a bowl, mix all the ingredients until a dough forms.
Pinch off bite-size pieces of dough and place on lightly greased cookie sheets.
Bake about 20 minutes, until crisp.
Refrigerate in an airtight container until ready to use.

This article first appeared in Focus Middle Tennessee in September 2019