PetSmart® Shares Tips to Celebrate Halloween in Style with Pets; So Many Costume, Accessory and Styling Options for Pet Parents to Create OOTD Every Day in October

Unprecedented Halloween Collection with Costumes, Treats, Toys and Home Décor Helps Pet Parents Put the “We” in Halloween, Party with Their Pets

A fan-favorite Instagram pet celebrity, Manny the Frenchie, looks Monster Cute in PetSmart's Top Paw Pet Halloween Dinosaur Costume -- one of hundreds of costumes, accessory and styling options to give pet parents an #OOTD all of Oct. (Photo: Business Wire)

PHOENIX--()--From Marvel® super heroes and Disney® Frozen characters to on-trend pumpkin-spice flavored treats, classic candy-corn toys, fish tank ornaments and spider-themed pet beds, PetSmart, Inc. is treating pet parents and pets to an unprecedented selection of hundreds of Halloween products this year, along with creative ways to include pets in the fun of the season to put the “we” in Halloween.

Click to Tweet

"Halloween is always a favorite time of ours because of all the funny and adorable costumes. Manny loves wearing costumes – he actually gets excited when we get the costumes out,” explained Jon Huang, pet parent to social media darling Manny the Frenchie. “This year, PetSmart has upped the ante – from rider costumes to adorned harnesses and hats and horns to festive leashes, Manny and I are excited to get in the spooky-fun spirit of Halloween during the entire month of October – why limit ourselves to one day?”

PetSmart shared some useful tips and suggestions to help pet parents and families enjoy the Halloween season with their pet, including styling, activities, treats and safety suggestions.

Pet Styling

  • Dress to Impress. Whether your pet is into dressing up a little or going full-on festive, PetSmart will help you complete your family’s look with a variety of dog and cat costumes and accessories and even an expanded line of costumes for guinea pigs, including a turkey, cowboy and bumblebee. If your dog or cat does not like a costume, a simple witch’s hat for the dog or devil horns for your cat can make an impact. For the full-on festive family, celebrate the popularity of Disney’s Frozen with Elsa and Olaf costumes. Dogs may also enjoy a variety of “rider” costumes, which are a comfortable option for dogs that are unsure about a complete costume and include: surfer girl, caveman, alien and a pink loofa. The Martha Stewart Pets® collection has some great options, too, like chic pumpkin sweaters and pumpkin hoodies, tutu dresses and even a black cat costume for a dog. Celebrate all month – there are so many options, an Outfit of the Day (#OOTD) can be easily achieved for the full month of October.
  • Add More Creativity. Pet Expressions provides temporary, non-toxic, pet-safe chalking, stenciling and feathering services, available in all PetSmart Grooming Salons, giving dogs of all shapes and sizes a delightful dose of Halloween style. Choose from Halloween and seasonal stencils such as a pumpkin, ghost, leaf and turkey or glow-in-the-dark feathers to complete a costumed look or as a solo styling technique for dogs that do not like to wear costumes but still want to join in on the Halloween fun.
  • Show Off with Monster Cute! Costumed creatures are sure to fill up social feeds, but pet parents can show off early this year by participating in PetSmart’s fifth annual Monster Cute contest, Mon., Sept. 28 – Sun., Oct. 25. One winner from each category – most scary, most cute and most #trending – will win $1,000 each. Simply post photos of you and your creatively dressed pets by using #MonsterCute on Instagram and Twitter, or by visiting the Monster Cute page on PetSmart.com. Public voting of the top PetSmart-selected finalists in each category begins at 12:00 a.m. PT on Tues., Oct. 27, and ends at 11:59 p.m. PT on Fri., Oct. 30. Public voting is encouraged over the four days, and those who vote will be entered into a daily contest to win a $50 PetSmart gift card. The three winners will be announced on Halloween day.
  • Show Off in Person. Attend community events like PetSmart’s in-store celebration or a pet parade. There are many opportunities across the nation to attend events and march in parades with your costumed pet – from Los Angeles to New York and points in between. You can also show off your costume and creativity at PetSmart’s Trick or Treat & PhotoBOOth in-store Halloween celebration on Sat., Oct. 24, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. (local time) at the more than 1,400 PetSmart stores. There will be festive experiences for pets and their pet parents including a photo booth, trick-or-treating with treats provided by BLUE Buffalo™ and Natural Balance and discount offers for grooming, training and boarding services.

Entertaining & Décor

  • Treat Your Pets. Halloween is a holiday of treats and indulgence, and that means our pets too! What better way to spoil our beloved animals than with a specialty treat that is yummy and festive like BLUE Buffalo™ Boo Bars or a 22-inch monster-sized, pumpkin spice-flavored chew bone featuring the “it” flavor of the season. Or your pet can have its own version of candy corn with the Grreat Choice® Pet Halloween Candy Corn Dog Toy with a squeaker.
  • Deck Out the Home. Halloween decorations should not be reserved for only the outside – bring it inside for everyone to enjoy the entire season. PetSmart has Halloween-themed dog bowls and beds from the exclusive Martha Stewart Pets® line to add a special touch to your home, like the spider web dog bed or the pumpkin hut dog bed. Don’t forget to decorate the fish tank with ornaments like the Venus flytrap or RIP grave.
  • Prep Your Pet to Host a Pet Party. Round up your pets’ friends (and their owners) and throw a pet party to celebrate their cute faces and hilarious Halloween antics. For entertainment, set up an obstacle course, Frisbee toss or play hide-and-seek with treat-filled toys. Send your guests home with a goody bag of treats.
  • Halloween Play. Take some time to play with your dog with creepy toys like a witch’s hand or a plush ugly doll or a rope pumpkin. Cats will enjoy Martha Stewart Pets cat nip-infused Halloween mice and feather door dangler.

Safety/Calming

  • Stop the Door Bell. As much fun as the spookiness of the season can be for many pets, it can be unnerving for some. For dogs that are agitated by the constantly ringing doorbell, pet parents can sit outside to hand out candy to the trick-or-treaters.
  • Calming Tips. A quick stroll outside for dogs to investigate the festivities for themselves can ease anxiety. Be sure to use a light-up collar, light-up harness or light-up leash for added safety. For dogs that need a little extra comforting, the Sentry® line of products features calming solutions with pheromones that help calm pets, or try the Thundershirt, which delivers calming effects for dogs that might need added security on Halloween night. Pick up health and Halloween Pet Safety Tips at all the Banfield clinics inside PetSmart stores.

PetSmart’s Halloween Collection is available now in all stores in the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico and online at its Halloween Shop at petsmart.com/halloween. Take a look at PetSmart’s Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and YouTube pages for more inspiration.

About PetSmart

PetSmart, Inc. is the largest specialty pet retailer of services and solutions for the lifetime needs of pets. At PetSmart, we love pets, and we believe pets make us better people. Every day with every connection, PetSmart’s passionate associates help bring pet parents closer to their pets so they can live more fulfilled lives. This mission impacts everything we do for our customers, the way we support our associates, and how we give back to our communities. We employ approximately 53,000 associates, operate approximately 1,433 pet stores in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico and approximately 202 in-store PetSmart PetsHotel® dog and cat boarding facilities. PetSmart provides a broad range of competitively priced pet food and pet products and offers dog training, pet grooming, pet boarding, PetSmart Doggie Day Camp day care services and pet adoption services in-store. Our portfolio of digital resources for pet parents – including PetSmart.com, PetFoodDirect.com, Pet360.com, OnlyNaturalPet.com and petMD.com – offers the most comprehensive online pet supplies and pet care information in the U.S. Through our in-store pet adoption partnerships with independent nonprofit organizations, PetSmart Charities™ and PetSmart Charities™ of Canada, PetSmart helps to save the lives of more than 450,000 homeless pets each year. In addition, PetSmart supports organizations that make communities a better place to call home through our philanthropy program, PetSmart Gives Back. By giving back to the communities where we live and work, PetSmart not only celebrates the power of pets to enrich people's lives—we live it.

Follow PetSmart on Twitter: @PetSmart
Find PetSmart on Facebook: www.facebook.com/PetSmart
Watch PetSmart on YouTube: www.YouTube.com/PetSmart
See PetSmart on Instagram: https://instagram.com/PetSmart/

Contacts

Golin for PetSmart
Danielle Bickelmann, 972-341-2503
dbickelmann@golin.com
or
PetSmart Media Line, 623-587-2177

Contacts

Golin for PetSmart
Danielle Bickelmann, 972-341-2503
dbickelmann@golin.com
or
PetSmart Media Line, 623-587-2177