Have you ever thought about having a Halloween Scavenger Hunt and involving your dog in the fun?
Just follow our easy steps below and your family (humans and canines) will thank you for it!
And don’t miss out on downloading our Scavenger Hunt guide at the end of this blog post.
PAWsome Halloween Scavenger Hunt: For Dogs and Children
Preparation For The Scavenger Hunt
You will need to collect about 10 items for your dog and 10 items for the children to search for. It really depends on the age group you are entertaining and how long you think their concentration will last for, on the hunt.
These can be items you already have around the house, as well as keeping aside some old Halloween decorations that may have been on their way to the bin.
Remember dusty, old, and tattered works well for a Halloween scavenger hunt!
Items for Your Dog
As dogs are ruled by their nose, items they can sniff out as belonging to them already, will create the most interest:
- What is your dog’s favourite squeaky toy?
- Does your dog have a blanket they love to snuggle up in?
- What about the chew toy your dog is obsessed with?
Get the children involved to help give the dogs items a more Halloween feel.
They can use washable crayons or markers to draw spooky eyes or vampire fangs onto your pets tennis ball or dog toys, so they can join in the ghostly fun … and the great thing is, that as these washable products are non-toxic, they are safe for children and your pets.
Items for Children
Children are more visual so anything that has a hint of SPOOKtacular will create the most interest:
Old Halloween decorations or bits off old Halloween costumes
- A broken pumpkin decoration or an old ghost costume missing its head can create more spine-chilling fun the second time around.
- Old items around the house that you were going to throw away … broken dolls as zombies, a cracked sweeping brush can be the witches broomstick, or an old set of keys can be Frankenstein’s Jailer keys.
Hide all your items away until you are ready to start the Scavenger Hunt to maximise the scary fun and jaw-dropping Halloween surprises.
The Scavenger Hunt
What is brilliant about this PAWsome Halloween Scavenger Hunt is that you can have it inside or outside, depending on the weather on the day.
Shared fun strengthens the bond your dog will have with your children.
Hide & Seek for Dogs
Ask the children to help hide your dog’s scavenger hunt items … the more involved they are the more fun they will have!
Then when the dog’s items are hidden, let your pet out to the back garden or indoors, to whatever rooms their dog toys are hiding.
Importantly make sure to reward the children when your dog finds an item, so they are invested and want to help your pet … creating human and canine teamwork from an early age is so enriching for both.
If your dog is not picking up on the scent of their favourite toys, children can help by luring them in the right direction with a dog treat and then pointing and saying “look” towards where the hidden toy is.
Clues for the Children’s Hunt
To make it a DOGtastic “hoomans” and canine challenge, give your children clues that are dog related…
So, for example for the Children’s list of items to find:
- If it is the Witches Broom (your clue could be that it is beside where we keep the dog’s food…if you store your dog food in the broom cupboard).
- Or for the Vampire Fangs (your clue could be it is somewhere that rhymes with “bark”…if you hide them somewhere dark).
Prizes for Dogs and Children
When the DogFANG Hunt is over the children can help their dog count the items sniffed out and then they can give a little doggy treat to their furry pal, for each item their Halloween Pup Detective found.
When the children’s scavenger hunt is over the best thing of all, is that they still get to empty out all the items they collected and get a yummy goody treat for each item they found.
So, it is like the excitement of looking at all the treats they have collected after the traditional “trick or treat”.
Here’s to a Howling Hair-Raising Fun-Filled Halloween 2020 for all.
And we have included a PAWsome SPOOKtacular Scavenger List to help get you started.
Click to Download Your Scavenger List
