Do's and Don'ts for Family Pets.

• Position: HALLOWEEN DANGERS

If your pets could talk, they would try to convince you there is nothing wrong with giving them great gobs of Halloween candy. Sorry Fido and Fluffy, but veterinarians disagree. Every year, animal hospitals treat dogs and cats who have sickened themselves on candy or gotten injured after disappearing into the spooky night.

"It's really common for us to see patients who have gotten into the Halloween treats," says John Gicking of BluePearl Veterinary Partners, New York. "Sometimes a bag of candy is left on a bed and the dog jumps up and eats it. This can cause GI upsets, diarrhea, dehydration, and other problems."

There are plenty of ways to make Halloween a safe and fun day for pets and their people. These guidelines should keep your pets purring or wagging tails--hopefully, somewhere other than the emergency room:

* Do not let your kids leave their trick-or-treat bounty on the bedroom floor or even on their bed. Your dog will consider this an invitation to a midnight snack and wolf down the goodies without bothering to unwrap them. The candy is bad enough, because rich and sweet foods can lead to pancreatitis or other gastrointestinal problems, but swallowing a bunch of wrappers may result in intestinal blockages.

* Do give your pets other types of Halloween treats. Buy their favorites at the grocery or pet store.

* Do not leave your sugar-free gum or certain low-fat candies or baked goods around the house if you have dogs. The problem is xylitol, a sugar substitute that appears in some...