FIREWORKS SAFETY
- If you have a dog scared of loud noises, firwworks and dogs probably don’t mix well.
- Before the fireworks start, make sure you take your dog out to do its business. The last thing you want is accidents happening in the house because your dog is too afraid to go outside once the fireworks start, or to let your dog out only for them to get spooked and run off. Taking a walk may even tire out your pet enough that they won’t be bothered by the fireworks as they happen later on.
- Make sure your dog or cat has a safe place inside your home where they can hide and feel safe. If you do choose to keep your pet in a quiet room, make sure to check in on them frequently and reward good behavior with plenty of treats.
- Once the fireworks are actually happening, you might find yourself with a pretty anxious dog on your hands, depending on how many fireworks are going off and how close you are to them. If your dog is having a hard time with the fireworks, consider closing blinds and curtains in your house and turning on the TV or even some relaxing music to help drown out some of the noise from outside.
- Distraction is the next best step. Enrichment toys are great ways to give your dog something to do without leaving the house. Give your dog something else to think about for a while as the fireworks are going off.
- If an enrichment toy isn’t quite doing the trick, you may need to give your dog something else to help them calm down. You can also touch base with your vet and they can also recommend a prescription medication to help your dog’s anxiety during fireworks. Similar medicines are made for cats as well.
- While many pets go missing on fourth of July weekend, there are steps you can take to make sure that even if your pet does go missing you have a greater chance of finding them and bringing them home safe. First things first: Get a pet ID collar! Make sure your pet has a collar with tags attached to it and that the tags clearly display your pet’s name as well as your phone number.
- Get your dogs and cats microchipped. It’s usually not too expensive–around $50–and just takes a quick trip to the vet. After this, the next step is registering the dog microchip with the instructions provided by your vet. Always make sure your pet microchip registration is up-to-date and to change your information if you move or get a new phone number. An important thing to note is that this chip does not actually track your pet so if your pet does go missing, someone else will have to find your pet and take them to a vet to have the chip scanned in order for it to work effectively and get them back home to you.