How to Look After Pets During Fireworks

Preparing Ahead of Time

1. How to Look After Pets During Fireworks Picture 1
   Know when and where fireworks will be happening. The loud noise of fireworks, the flashing lights, and the smell of sulfur are what scare pets most.^[1] Contact your local municipality to find out when your area is likely to have fireworks.

   1. Check that your pets' ID tags and microchips are up to date. Mark the calendar when renewal payments are due and be sure to make payments on time. If your pet runs away during firework events, it's much easier to be identified as its owner through a microchip.^[2]
   2. Mark the dates on a calendar so that you can keep track of when to ensure your pets are cared for.
2. How to Look After Pets During Fireworks Picture 2
   Expose your pet to loud noises and firework sounds gradually. Desensitization of loud noises can help to prevent your pet from getting scared during the fireworks. Start by playing soft music or fireworks sounds for your pet a few weeks before the fireworks. Then, gradually increase the sound of the music or fireworks each day until you are playing it at a loud volume. Offer petting, praise, and treats to your pet for keeping calm.^[3]

   1. Playing loud noises after the fireworks can help to desensitize it further, by showing it that what it just experienced is not scary.
3. How to Look After Pets During Fireworks Picture 3
   Turn the lights on and try to insulate the house as best you can. Keeping the lights on will calm your pet and make it feel more secure. Close the curtains in the room and, if your animal is in a cage, cover up the cage with a thick blanket, which will hide it from flashing lights and dampen loud noises. In a stable, keep the lights on and keep the doors locked, although sedatives are the best method to calm your outdoor farm animals.

   1. Use familiar sounds to drown out the noise of the fireworks. Classical music, the sound of rain, or the sound of the TV, are some common noises that can soothe your pet.^[4]
4. How to Look After Pets During Fireworks Picture 4
   Provide a hiding place for your pets. This will allow your pets somewhere safe that they can retreat to during the fireworks to feel safe. Try placing a heavy blanket over a crate or pet carrier, or lay a box on its side and place a folded up blanket or towel inside of it.^[5]

   Tip: To make the hiding space feel extra secure for your pet, try placing an item inside of it that smells like you, such as a t-shirt you've worn.

5. How to Look After Pets During Fireworks Picture 5
   Find a central room away from windows to contain your pets. A room that has no windows located in the middle of your home is ideal, as it naturally dampens outside noises. It should be a room you can close off to stop your pet from running about the house and creating a mess. Make sure your outdoor animals are locked in their pen and consider moving them to a more central pen in your barn or stable to keep them away from doors and windows.

   1. If you have more than one pet, be sure they don't mind being confined in the same room, or select several rooms for different pets. For example, dogs and cats will usually appreciate being separated.
   2. If you must separate animals, make a second room as insulated as you can and keep the most anxious animal in the central room, and stay with and comfort the animal in the second room.
6. How to Look After Pets During Fireworks Picture 6
   Try using pheromones to reassure and comfort your pets. You can purchase calming pheromone products for cats and dogs. Using pheromones during a stressful event, such as fireworks, may help to keep your pet calm. However, you'll need to start using it a couple of weeks in advance.^[6]

   1. Look for a dog appeasing pheromone product if you have a dog, or a cat-specific pheromone if you have a cat, such as Feliway.
   2. These products are available as plug-in diffusers that you can purchase in pet stores and online.
7. How to Look After Pets During Fireworks Picture 7
   Consider veterinary sedation for large animals or easily scared animals. Consult your vet a few weeks ahead of time to see if your dog may need a sedative during the fireworks, as some dogs are particularly noise-sensitive or anxiety-prone. Horses and farm animals that are kept outside particularly may need this to make it through without getting scared.^[7]

   1. You can also ask your dog's veterinarian about Sileo, which is an anti-anxiety drug for dogs. You administer this medication between your dog's gums and cheek using a needleless syringe.^[8]