There are a couple of times of the year when many people throw caution to the wind despite warnings that fireworks are illegal within city limits, and decide to put on their own front yard show. While pretty for their friends and family it can be challenging for their neighbors with small sleeping children or those with nervous animals that don’t understand the very loud noises.
I wish this information meant that everyone popping fireworks decided to move their celebrations to large wide open spaces outside of the city limits and out of our crowded neighborhood, but I’m afraid that is not the case. So I wanted to put together a list of things that pet owners can do to keep their furry family members safe and calm during the nights when fireworks are going off.
- If you know you have a really nervous animal speak with your vet about calming medicines you can give them in the evening.
- You can also get these calming chews from your local Walmart, there are different brands. Make sure to do research and find the best option for your pet.
- Bring your pets inside for the night, if you can not bring them inside make sure your yard is secure so that they can not run away if they get spooked.
- Be sure your pets have good ID tags and updated Chip information in case they do run away so that they can be found and returned.
- Distract them with a puzzle toy, or something with hidden treats they have to work at to get out.
- Get them a thunder shirt or calming cap
- Loud music to counter the loud sounds of the fireworks. Of course, if you have sleeping children this will mean the whole house is awake.
- If you plan to leave the house consider having someone stay home with your pets for the evening.
- Create a safe space for your pets. My one dog that gets particularly spooked by the sounds of fireworks needs somewhere to hide. To keep her calm we create a place for her to stay in one of our bathrooms so that she can feel secure and have a place to bury her head in a blanket.