Noisy fireworks can be frightening for animals who don’t understand what’s going on. If your pets get scared of the loud noises, there are a few things you can do to soothe them.
“Definitely try to put them in a room, basement, something with no windows, or cover the windows. And using your radio, a sound machine, something to kind of drown out the noises,” said JoAnn Schaeffer, training and foster coordinator at the Naperville Area Humane Society.
Other Options
If that doesn’t work, Schaeffer recommends speaking to a veterinarian about medication to keep your pet relaxed, or trying out a “thundershirt.”
“I’ve seen it work on my own dog, even,” said Schaeffer. “A lot of that, though, it can go away because they’ll start associating the thundershirt with the storm. So you want to make it a really positive thing. You want to maybe use it when there’s not a storm so they know that it’s okay.”
More than Just Dogs Affected
While dogs usually make the most noise during fireworks, cats and other pets can be frightened of them as well.
One final tip, in case your dog does run off in fright, make sure their dog tags are updated with your address and phone number.
Naperville News 17’s Casey Krajewski reports.
