Fireworks celebrating the Fourth of July holiday may be fun to watch, but can cause anxiety for some pets.
“Any pet can have a different reaction. You know, sometimes people think that their pet is fine around fireworks, but turns out they’re really not. So, you can get something as mild as just a dog maybe like jumping or alerting to the firework. You can get dogs that are you know, they get a flight response, they hear it and they just want to run and hide,” said Chris Yelle, executive director at A.D.O.P.T Pet Shelter.
Tips to relax your pets
Yelle offered a couple of different tips to help relax pets during this time of year.
“We usually recommend that people take their dogs for a walk early in the day before things start happening. And as we get closer to that hour when we’re going to be experiencing the fireworks, we ask people to create a safe place for their dogs. So that might be a room. That might be their kennel, dimming the lights, closing the curtains, giving them a nice comfortable bed, playing some nice white noise or soft music, all things to kind of calm them,” said Yelle.
Firework displays and dog tags
For those thinking of bringing their pets to firework displays…Yelle says, don’t.
“Your pet may be the calmest, most chilled out dog, but with the crowds, with the noise, you can have a quite different reaction. And I would hate for anybody to lose their pet on the Fourth of July. It’s a scary time for dogs. So be mindful of that for sure,” said Yelle.
It is also recommended that dogs wear ID tags and to make sure they’re microchipped in case they do run off.
With these simple precautions, both you and your pet can have a happier holiday.
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