Halloween with a Finnish Lapphund: candy, costumes, doorbells and Kekri

The doorbell is the whole problem. A Finnish Lapphund spends eleven months of the year learning that the doorbell means something wonderful. Then one night in October it rings forty times in three hours, and every ring arrives with a small shrieking ghost. I live in Castlegar, BC, where the trick-or-treat traffic is real, so I plan Halloween the way I plan a road trip. Here is that plan, along with the Finnish autumn feast that came long before the plastic pumpkins.

Which Halloween treats are actually dangerous for a dog?

Four things in a trick-or-treat bag can hurt a dog. Chocolate, xylitol, raisins and the packaging itself. A Finnish Lapphund is a clever, food-motivated herding dog with a working nose, so a bowl left at Lappy height will be audited. This section is general information, not veterinary advice, and your vet always gets the final word.

Chocolate is the famous one. The trouble is a pair of stimulants called methylxanthines, theobromine and caffeine, and darker chocolate carries more of both. Cocoa powder and unsweetened baking chocolate sit at the top of the risk list, dark and semisweet chocolate in the middle, and milk chocolate lower again (MSD Veterinary Manual). White chocolate carries a negligible amount. Signs usually turn up within 6 to 12 hours: vomiting, restlessness, heavy thirst, then tremors, an irregular heartbeat and seizures in worse cases. In severe cases the effects can last up to 72 hours.

Xylitol worries me more, because the packet rarely shouts about it. It is a sugar substitute in sugar-free gum, mints, sugar-free candy and some nut butters, and labels also call it birch sugar or wood sugar. The FDA says poisoning can start within 20 minutes of a dog eating it (FDA, Paws Off Xylitol). Vomiting, weakness, staggering, shaking and collapse are the signs, and liver failure is on the list of outcomes. A single stick of gum dropped by a kid at your door is enough to justify a phone call.

Raisins show up on Halloween because well-meaning neighbours hand out those small red boxes. Toxicologists at the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center identified tartaric acid as the likely culprit, which finally explained a mystery vets had lived with for years (ASPCApro). Cornell's Riney Canine Health Center is blunt about the practical part. Nobody knows a safe amount, signs often appear 6 to 24 hours after a dog eats them, and kidney failure is the risk you are trying to avoid (Cornell Riney Canine Health Center).

Then there is everything the candy comes in. Foil, cellophane, lollipop sticks and the little plastic tubs. A dog swallowing wrappers can end up with a blockage, and the BC SPCA also warns that pets choke on hard candies (BC SPCA).

What do I do if my Lappy raids the candy bowl?

Move fast and stay boring about it. Take whatever is left away from the dog, then find the wrapper, because the label tells the vet what they need to know. Note the time and your best honest guess at the amount. Have your dog's real weight ready too, because all that coat hides the actual animal. Lapphunds are commonly 15 to 24 kg (33 to 53 lb) under the floof.

Now call. Your own vet or the nearest emergency clinic comes first. Two poison lines also take owner calls around the clock: the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center at 888-426-4435, and the Pet Poison Helpline at 855-764-7661. Both charge a consultation fee, and both are cheaper than guessing. Save one of those numbers in your phone tonight.

Do not make your dog vomit at home unless a vet on the phone talks you through it. Cornell's advice on raisins applies to the rest of the bowl. Call before symptoms arrive, because a dog can look completely fine for hours and still be in trouble.

The joke on my Candy Inspection Dept tee is that the Lappy audits the haul before anyone else gets a look. The real inspection is the one you do, on the kitchen counter, before the bowl ever reaches the floor.

Can a Finnish Lapphund wear a Halloween costume?

Usually the honest answer is a small costume, worn for a short time. This breed carries a long harsh outer coat over a dense undercoat, built for Lapland winters, so a costume is one more layer on a dog already wearing the warmest thing in the house. The BC SPCA points out that costumes make pets overheat, and that they muffle the body language a dog uses to talk, including tail carriage and ear position. On a Lappy those two signals are most of the conversation.

Three parts of this breed need particular care. The ruff mats fast under anything tight around the neck, so a snug collar-style costume can undo a week of brushing. The plume tail curls up over the back, and elastic across it pulls hair out. The ears sit small and pricked, and a hood that folds them flat makes most Lappies shut down and freeze.

The sheet-ghost costume is the classic failure. Fabric over the eyes takes a dog's sight, and a spitz who cannot see the room will plant their feet or reverse out of it. The ASPCA's rule is a good one. Skip the costume unless your dog genuinely enjoys it, and make sure nothing restricts movement, sight, breathing or barking (ASPCA Halloween safety tips). Check for small chewable pieces, and try the whole thing on days early, indoors, with treats.

My own limit is ten minutes. Costume on, photos taken, costume off, chew delivered. A festive bandana or an orange collar does the same job for the camera. If you want the ghost look without putting a dog in a bedsheet, the Ghost Pup tee does it the other way round. The sheet is on the drawing, with the pointed ears and the curled tail poking out, and you are the one wearing it.

How do I handle the doorbell with a breed that barks?

Start by accepting the animal you have. Finnish Lapphunds were bred to move reindeer with their voices, so a good alert bark is a feature of the breed rather than a fault in your dog. Halloween is the wrong night to fix it. Two weeks of pressure in October will not retrain a herding bark, and punishing it can turn a noisy dog into an anxious one. Manage the evening, then do the training work in January when nothing is at stake.

Here is the running order I use.

• Walk before dusk. A long sniffy walk, finished before the first costumes appear. A tired nose settles a Lappy better than tired legs.
• Feed dinner early. A full dog is a calmer dog, and it clears the kitchen before the rush.
• Set the quiet room first. The room farthest from the front door, their own bed, a radio or fan for cover noise, and a chew that lasts. The BC SPCA recommends the same thing, and it works because you did it before the noise began.
• Silence the doorbell. Tape over it or unplug the chime, and put a bowl of candy on the porch with a sign. The trigger never fires.
• Better still, sit outside. A chair, a blanket, the bowl on your lap. The front door never opens, and you get the best seat on the street.
• Add a baby gate. One gate across the hallway gives you a second barrier.
• Practise the sound. In the week before, ring your own bell and hand over a treat, until the bell earns a hopeful look instead of a chorus.

When your dog does bark, thank them and give them a job. A scatter of treats on the floor puts the nose down and resets the whole animal. If barking is a bigger story in your house than one night, my guide to why Finnish Lapphunds bark goes through the training properly.

How do I stop a door dash on Halloween night?

An open door plus a stream of strangers is how dogs get lost in late October, and a Finnish Lapphund is friendly and sociable with people. A frightened dog hides. A friendly dog goes with the crowd.

The BC SPCA recommends two forms of identification: a collar with tags, plus a tattoo or a microchip registered with the BC Pet Registry. The registration is the part people forget. A microchip only works if the phone number and address attached to it are current, so log in and check yours in September. If you are in another province or in the US, check the registry your chip is filed with the same way.

Three more small things. Take a photo that shows the coat clearly, because a lost dog post needs a picture from this year. Use a gate or an indoor leash as a physical block on the door. If your Lappy is out after dark with you, use a reflective collar and a secure leash, which is the ASPCA's advice as well.

What is Kekri, the original Finnish Halloween?

Long before anyone in Finland carved a pumpkin, there was kekri, the autumn new year of Finnish farming communities. The Jyväskylä University Museum describes it as the equivalent of yuletide and the New Year, held once the harvest was in and the outdoor work was done (Jyväskylä University Museum). It had no fixed date at first. The timing depended on the weather and on how the season's work had gone, so it could fall anywhere from late summer to late autumn. Later it settled near All Saints' Day, and Yle describes the kekri season running from Michaelmas at the end of September to All Saints' (Yle, Elävä arkisto).

The part that will sound familiar is the visiting. At kekri the boundary between the living and the dead was treated as open, and it was considered a good time for the family's own dead to come and look at how the household was doing. A sauna was heated for the ancestral spirits, and the living bathed only after the spirits had finished. A table was set and left in the main room for them (Yle). Reading that the first time rearranged how I think about the season.

There were costumes at the door too. Young people dressed as the kekripukki, the kekri buck, with horns and a coat turned inside out, or as the female kekritär. They went from house to house in ridiculous clothes, asked for food and drink, and threatened mischief if the household turned them away. The Jyväskylä University Museum notes drily that the buck was the terror of children. Yle records that the church regarded kekri as pagan, then absorbed it instead of banning it.

Kekri faded as Christmas grew, and it handed most of its customs over on the way out. The museum's summary is that most Finnish Christmas and New Year traditions come from kekri. It has been coming back in the last few years, with harvest feasts, bonfires and burned straw effigies. One honest note before anyone puts it on a poster. Kekri belonged to Finland's farming communities in the south and west, while the Finnish Lapphund's own people were the Sami reindeer herders further north. They share a country and the same slide into darkness, and no origin story.

We liked kekri enough to draw it. The Kekri tee puts a brown Lappy under the northern lights with a lantern and a straw goat, and it is the one design in the drop that a Finn is most likely to stop and read.

A Halloween plan for a Lapphund household

Everything above, in the order it actually happens.

• Two weeks out. Check the microchip registration and the tag. Practise the doorbell. Try any costume on indoors.
• The week of. Buy the chew. Pick the quiet room, and start feeding meals in it.
• Halloween afternoon. Long sniffy walk. Early dinner. Candy bowl on a high shelf, never a low table.
• Before the first knock. Dog in the quiet room with the chew and the radio on. Doorbell taped. Gate across the hall.
• All evening. Sit outside with the bowl if the weather allows, and check your dog between waves.
• Bedtime. Sweep the porch and the hallway for wrappers before anyone lets a dog out.
• November 1. Candy goes in a closed cupboard, never a bowl on the counter.

Halloween with this breed is mostly a management exercise, and the reward is a dog who sleeps through the loudest night of the year. My complete Finnish Lapphund breed guide covers the coat, the voice and the temperament behind all of this.

The costume I would rather you wore is your own. we drew 31 new designs for this season, printed on a Bella+Canvas 3001 in sizes S to 2XL, made to order in 2 to 5 business days. The Finnish Lapphund Halloween t-shirts hold the ghosts, the tarot card, the pumpkins and Kekri. The Halloween mugs cover the part of October spent holding a hot drink. Order by October 10 and it should reach most of Canada and the US before the 31st. Free Canada and US shipping over $75, and dog bowls ship separately.

Related Finnish Lapphund guides

• Do Finnish Lapphunds bark a lot, and what to do about it
• Finnish Lapphund temperament and personality
• Can a Finnish Lapphund be left alone?
• Homemade treats for Finnish Lapphunds
• Finnish Lapphund colours, every coat explained
• Best gifts for Finnish Lapphund owners

Halloween with a Finnish Lapphund: quick answers

Can Finnish Lapphunds eat Halloween candy?

No. Chocolate carries theobromine and caffeine, and darker chocolate carries more of both. Sugar-free candy and gum often contain xylitol, which the FDA says can start poisoning a dog within 20 minutes. Raisin boxes carry a kidney risk, and wrappers and lollipop sticks cause blockages. Keep the bowl high and hand your Lappy a dog treat instead.

What do I do if my Finnish Lapphund eats chocolate on Halloween?

Take the rest away, find the wrapper, and note the time and your best estimate of the amount. Then call your vet or an emergency clinic. The ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center (888-426-4435) and the Pet Poison Helpline (855-764-7661) are both staffed around the clock for a fee. Do not induce vomiting at home unless a vet talks you through it, and call before symptoms arrive.

Should I put a Halloween costume on a Finnish Lapphund?

Keep it small and keep it short. This breed already wears a long outer coat over a dense undercoat, so a costume adds heat, and the BC SPCA notes that costumes hide the tail and ear signals dogs use to communicate. Avoid anything tight on the ruff, elastic across the curled tail, or fabric over the eyes. A bandana or an orange collar gets you the photo instead.

How do I stop my Finnish Lapphund barking at trick-or-treaters?

Manage the night rather than training through it. Walk your dog before dusk, feed dinner early, and settle them in a quiet room at the back of the house with a long chew and background noise before the first knock. Tape the doorbell and leave the candy bowl outside, or sit on the porch with it so the door never opens. Save the training for a quiet month.

What is Kekri, and is it the Finnish Halloween?

Kekri was the autumn new year of Finnish farming communities, held once the harvest was in. The Jyväskylä University Museum calls it the equivalent of yuletide and the New Year. Families heated a sauna for their dead and left a set table for them, and young people went door to door as the horned kekripukki asking for food and drink. It faded as Christmas absorbed its customs, and it is being revived today.

Sources

• Jyväskylä University Museum, From Kekri to Christmas
• Yle, kekri, the harvest feast the church disliked
• Yle Elävä arkisto, kekri: feasting, magic and the connection to the beyond
• MSD Veterinary Manual, Chocolate Toxicosis in Animals
• US FDA, Paws Off! Xylitol is Toxic to Dogs
• Cornell Riney Canine Health Center, Grape and Raisin Toxicity
• ASPCApro, Toxic Component in Grapes and Raisins Identified
• ASPCA, Halloween Safety Tips
• ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center
• Pet Poison Helpline
• BC SPCA, 4 tips to keep your pet safe on Halloween
• FCI Standard No. 189, Finnish Lapphund (Suomenlapinkoira)
• AKC, Finnish Lapphund breed page

Written by Jill, co-founder of Lapphund Designs. Jill lives in Castlegar, BC with her husband and their two Finnish Lapphunds, Timber and Tundra.