Extended family members may not know your policy about letting pets in and out and they may be too busy to notice a pet slipping out.

If you have pets that tend to wander outside, warn family members in advance that they must be careful that nobody with four feet escapes. Holidays are notorious times for pets to go on unplanned walkabouts.

Helen Fazio and her dog Raja are world travelers. Click here to visit their blog, and click here to follow them on Twitter.

While original costumes are your own call, just FYI, it seems 2009’s most popular costumes will be vampires, Michael Jackson, vampires, Hannah Montana, vampires, pirates and, finally, vampires. You just can’t go wrong with vampires this year – and a black cape with red lining pretty much does it. Dogs have fangs and their eyes glow in the headlights. Bingo! Plus, vampires are so hot that you won’t be mocked for making it easy on yourself. Happy Howl-o-ween to all!

Helen Fazio and her dog Raja are world travelers. Click here to visit their blog, and click here to follow them on Twitter.

Just have make sure the canine costume doesn’t hang too low or it could trip your dog or get tangled in the leash. It’s hard to see what’s happening in the dark, and a hampered dog could get badly wound up in fabric and that retractable leash cord.

Helen Fazio and her dog Raja are world travelers. Click here to visit their blog, and click here to follow them on Twitter.

Apparently, a lot of it. In studies conducted by the company that developed it, at least 50% of the dogs who ingested it died. And it’s not a pretty death – dogs go into convulsions first. This is because cocoa mulch has the same ingredients as chocolate – Theobromine and caffeine. The cocoa bean contains lethal dosages of both to dogs. A better alternative is cedar mulch which is not toxic, though ingestion may lead to a bad stomach ache.

Kelly is a dog columnist and pet writer. She lives in the Boston-area with her three pit bulls and one neurotic cat.