Content

• Steps
• Method 1 of 3: Preliminary preparation
• Method 2 of 3: Ways to Calm Pets During Fireworks
• Method 3 of 3: Follow-up care
• Tips
• Warnings
• What do you need

Approximately 80% of pet owners face such a problem as the fear of fireworks and fireworks in their pet. It is these events that most often frighten almost all types of animals, including dogs, cats, rodents and livestock. But if you take precautions ahead of time to help your pet feel more comfortable and safer during the fireworks, you can reduce his anxiety and make him feel more relaxed about loud noises, flashes of light and strange smells for him.

Steps

Method 1 of 3: Preliminary preparation

1. 1 Find out exactly where the fireworks or fireworks will take place. Loud fireworks, flashes of light and the smell of sulfur frighten pets the most. Check with your local city government for the exact location of the upcoming fireworks or fireworks display.
   • Make sure the pet's collar information tag and implanted microchip information contains your latest contact details. It is likely that if you need to change your contact information in the microchip database, you will need to pay a fee for this service. But if your pet runs away from you during the fireworks, it will be much easier to identify you as its owner if you have a microchip.
   • If your contact information has changed recently, be sure to follow up to update the information tag and information in the microchip database.
2. 2 Gradually introduce your pet to the loud noises and noise of fireworks. Desensitizing your pet to loud noises will help prevent the development of fright during fireworks and fireworks. Start playing soft music or recorded fireworks a few weeks before the event. Then gradually increase the volume of the music or fireworks sounds every day until you make it high enough. Give your pet affection, praise, and treats for staying calm.
   • Playing loud sounds after the fireworks helps to desensitize the animal even better, showing him that such an experience is not at all scary.
3. 3 Before the fireworks, turn on the lights at home and try to provide the best possible soundproofing in the room. Turning on the light will calm your pet, making him feel more secure. Draw curtains in the room and, if the pet is in the cage, cover it with a thick blanket to hide from flashes of light and muffle loud noise. In the barn it is also helpful to turn on the lights and lock the doors, but the best method of calming livestock is to use sedatives.
   • Play sounds familiar to your pet to mask the noise of the fireworks. For example, classical music, the sound of rain, the sound of a working TV are common sounds that can calm your pet.
4. 4 Provide shelter for your pet. It will become a safe place for him, into which he can climb during the fireworks, in order to feel safe. Try tossing a thick blanket over the crate or pet carrier, or placing a cardboard box on its side and placing a folded blanket or towel in it.

   Advice: To make your pet feel especially safe, put something that smells like you inside, such as a T-shirt you recently wore.

   
   
5. 5 Take your pet to an interior area of ​​the house, located away from windows. A windowless room somewhere in the middle of your home is ideal, as it naturally dampens street noise. This area should be locked so that the pet cannot continue to rush around the house, creating a mess. Outdoor animal pens must be locked. It is a good idea to try to move the livestock in the barn or shed to the compartments closer to the center, so that the animals are away from doors and windows.
   • If you have more than one pet, be sure to make sure they don't mind being locked up in the same room, or assign them to separate rooms. For example, dogs and cats usually prefer to stay apart.
   • If you need to separate animals, make the second room as isolated as possible, place the most anxious animal in the central room, and stay with the other pet in the second room.
6. 6 Try using pheromones to cheer up and calm your pets. Calming pheromones are available for cats and dogs. Using them during stressful moments for pets, for example, during fireworks and fireworks, can help keep animals calm. However, you should start using pheromones a couple of weeks before the stressful event.
   • If you keep a dog at home, look for soothing pheromones for dogs; if you have a cat, use pheromones for cats, such as Feliway.
   • These products are available as plug-in diffusers and can be purchased at pet stores or online.
7. 7 Consider veterinary sedatives for large or very shy animals. Check with your veterinarian a few weeks before the event to see if you need to sedate the animal during the fireworks, as some dogs, for example, are very sensitive to noise and tend to be anxious. Horses and livestock kept outdoors may especially need this so that they can survive the event and not be intimidated.
   • You can ask your veterinarian about the Sileo sedative for dogs. It is injected into the dog's mouth between the gums and cheek, squeezing the drug out of the syringe without a needle.

Method 2 of 3: Ways to Calm Pets During Fireworks

1. 1 Make your pets familiar with the areas in which they will stay. Provide your pet with a familiar clean bedding and something with your own scent, such as a T-shirt that you have already worn. Give him a favorite toy to chew on, a scratching post, balls, or toys to help the animal get distracted.
   • Make sure the room is at a comfortable temperature: keep it warm in cold weather and cool in hot weather.
2. 2 Provide food and water for your pet. Be sure to give your pet enough water and food when you lock it. If you give him access to water and the usual food, then he will feel calmer.
   • Consider purchasing a special treat, such as canned food or small sausages, to give your pet more comfort during the fireworks.
   • The ability to chew on something helps relieve stress in those dogs who like to chew on objects. Make sure your dog has a suitable dental toy or bone if he enjoys chewing on objects to comfort himself.
3. 3 Place your pet in a room prepared for it. If you are worried that at the right time you will not be able to find a pet, try to find it a few hours before the start of the fireworks. It is a good idea to pick up your pet during feeding. For a dog that needs to be walked, be sure to take it out for a walk before locking it in the room.
   • Even if you keep your pet in a cage, it should still be moved to a safe and comfortable room of your choice.
   • If it is a horse or other farm animal, be sure to provide it with clean bedding and place it safely inside the barn or stable.

   A warning: Be aware that some dogs may try to escape from a locked area in case of excessive stress. If this is how your dog responds, do not lock him up during fireworks. Otherwise, she can hurt herself, trying to get out.

   
   
4. 4 Prepare yourself mentally and try to relax. There is a possibility that your own feelings and anxiety will be passed on to the pet, so it is important to remain calm and not inadvertently create additional stress on the pet. With proper pre-preparation, you simply won't have much to worry about as you will be confident that you have done everything you can to make this unpleasant experience as easy as possible.
5. 5 Stay close to your pet or check it regularly. Calm the animal and talk to it. Be friendly, and try to show a cheerful and optimistic attitude, as animals are able to understand emotions even better than you can imagine. If you are unable to sit with your pet (for example, you decide to go to see the fireworks), just make sure that you have done everything possible to make the pet feel comfortable in your absence.
   • Behave in the same way as usual when you visit your pet. Any other attitude can make the animal even more nervous.
   • Let your pet hide somewhere in the room. Often, animals try to hide in some kind of "hole" to deal with stress, and attempts to pull the pet out of the shelter can make him even more nervous.
6. 6 Consider using lavender (whether fresh or as a spray) to create a soothing scent for your room. Gently mash fresh lavender flowers, but only keep them out of the reach of your pet, especially when it comes to a cat. For cats and small rodents, it is best to use a pheromone spray, as strong odors can harm them.

Method 3 of 3: Follow-up care

1. 1 Cheer up your pet and restore the house to its original form. Be sure to make sure the fireworks are really over before removing the blocking and noise dampening duvets or opening the curtains.Allow your pet to run freely around the house and observe his behavior before allowing him to go outside again. Return the pet's cage to its original location and spend a few more hours with the pet to test its stress response.
   • It is usually best to wait until the next morning before letting your pet out again.
2. 2 Sweep your own yard before letting your pet out. Try to remove any remnants of firecrackers, sparklers, and other pyrotechnics. Even if you yourself did not arrange a holiday in your yard, it will not be superfluous to make sure that there is no litter on your territory that could have got there as a result of festive events nearby.
3. 3 Check your pet for stress symptoms. Some animals bounce back as soon as the loud noise and flashes of light stop, but some of them need special attention so that they can feel safe again. Pay attention to erratic behavior, which may be a symptom of having difficulty recovering from stress.
   • In cats, stress symptoms include running away or hiding, having trouble using the litter box, and losing appetite.
   • In dogs, stress can be expressed by anxious barking, the urge to run away or cringe, missteps in the walls of the house, sticking to the owner, whimpering, trembling, shortness of breath, and refusal to eat.
   • In small rodents, stress symptoms include hiding, being unusually quiet, increased teeth grinding, and more aggressive behavior than usual.
   • Horses and other animals in the barn show signs of stress when the animals can get dirty in their own feces, refuse to eat, sweat and gnash their teeth.

   Advice: If you think your pet is stressed, keep him at home at night. Be sure to walk your dog only some time after the fireworks, so that he has time to recover from this event, but do not let him off the leash.

   
   
4. 4 Make sure that your pet feels at home again, and provide him with plenty of his own attention. After removing the blankets, returning the cage to its place and creating a familiar old atmosphere at home, as it was before the fireworks, the pet will be able to feel noticeably more comfortable and calmer, even if he was noticeably frightened during the salutes.
   • If the pet is still under stress, give him plenty of attention and encourage him with pleasant grooming and quiet conversations.

Tips

• When your pet is present, behave normally and remain calm. Nervous fluids on your part will not help your pet to be calmer and feel safe in any way.
• Make sure that there is nothing of value in the room chosen for the pet that it can damage in case of fright.
• Close doors and windows if you are not at home. If you leave your pet running in the yard during the fireworks, it can be stolen. In addition, open doors and windows provide thieves with easy access to the home.
• If the dog permits, you can plug cotton balls into its ears to muffle the sound of the fireworks.
• Distract your pet with a puzzle toy with a treat inside or just a toy filled with delicious food. The presence of an interesting and exciting activity will distract the animal from the fireworks and stressful situations.

Warnings

• Do not leave your dog tethered in the yard with nowhere to go. The combination of loud noises, flashes of light and leash can be traumatic for the psyche of an animal.
• Never punish your pet for his reaction to fireworks. Not only is this wrong, but it also reinforces his fear and anxiety.
• Carefully consider what exactly you leave in the room with your pet if you are going to leave him alone at home.Do not leave lighted candles and aroma lamps there, do not light the fireplace, and keep any sharp objects away.
• Never do not take your pet with you to watch the fireworks.
• Never do not launch fireworks or fireworks near your pet.

What do you need

• Litter
• Toys
• Shutters, curtains and blankets to dampen street noise
• A working TV or soothing music