Bonfire Night: How to ease your dog’s anxiety during the fireworks

Dog owners whose pets experience distress and anxiety from firework noises have expressed concerns about the upcoming bonfire night celebrations on 5 November.

Kingston resident Piers Sanderson said: “We have to medicate our dog as he gets terrified when the displays get going. We hate doing it but otherwise he’s traumatised.”

Julie Watts, certified dog trainer of Cool Doods Dog Training, said: “When fireworks go off, the sound is much louder to a dog.

“It can make a dog feel anxious and that anxiety can stay with them for up to 72 hours after the trauma.”

Preventative measures for dog owners

Some preventative measures that Watts suggest include playing classical music and putting earmuffs over the dog’s ears to cover the fireworks noise.

A snuffle mat with treats can distract and desensitise dogs during the fireworks (Credit: Julie Watts)

Watts also recommended that dog owners use the medication Adaptil to help calm their stressed-out dogs. Adaptil calms dogs through reproducing maternal pheromones, and can be sprayed on dog beds and blankets before the fireworks begin.

Lynne Nightingale, owner of a shih-tzu, said she was concerned by her dog’s distress during firework displays. She said: “He shakes the whole time. He is petrified. It’s hard to watch.”

To help her dog cope with the fireworks, Nightingale said she shuts all windows, curtains and blinds and drowns out the noise with calming music.

Watts said: “It’s important to stay with your dogs during the fireworks to comfort them.”

Eirene Massow, a new dog owner, has kept her dog calm through regular exposure to firework sounds. She said that she watched the fireworks on TV with her puppy, gradually increasing the volume to mimic the real noises.

Massow said: “This seemed to have worked. Twice over the last few weeks there have been fireworks and she’s not reacted.”

According to Julie Watts, this adjustment process should start with dog breeders.

She said: “Ideally breeders would start to desensitise dogs to a whole range of noises that we encounter in daily life at an age of even three to four weeks.”

With firework displays happening across Kingston this November, vets can offer advice to pet-owners, and prescribe anxiety medication to keep dogs relaxed.

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