Guide to mitigate your pet’s fear of firecrackers

As in almost all parties our pets are not going to be saved from the dreaded firecrackers or fireworks, it is our job to help them calm the scares following a series of tips.

The noise that these artifacts emit are the nightmare of most dogs, reaching the point of causing them unbearable suffering that can even affect their health. We are going to follow the advice of the veterinarian Victoria Ramiro to create a ‘safe place’ in our home to deaden the noise and flashes of fireworks and to accustom our furry to them.

Preparation

1. Create a safe corner. A place where you feel safe and get used to using it, so on days with the highest frequency of firecrackers you will listen to us when we tell you to stay in your cozy space. This safety zone should be in a room that is as far away from noise as possible. In the event that they always choose the same place to hide, you must create the comfort zone there.
2. We will build a cave for him. With a carrier (the best option) or a large box. Inside it we put a cushion and a doll of hers and outside we cover it with a blanket to isolate the noise.
3. Soothing with the canine appeasement pheromone. A product that is plugged into the current and expels this pheromone that the mother emits to communicate to her puppies that she is the “safe place”. This message will be understood by a dog no matter how old it is, so we mark the room with, for example, the Adapt ill diffuser . Keep in mind that only he will smell this product.
4. Get him used to lying down there. Do this by using the pain reliever spray and taking your favorite items to the “cave.” Be patient, let him enter by himself and when he is lying there, caress him and stay with him for a while. It takes time to adjust.

The specific day

There are some days when the highest number of firecrackers are thrown, see Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and, above all, New Year’s Eve. Of course, it also serves us for the Night of San Juan, the town festivals.

1. Take him out to the streets in the off-peak hours.
2. Avoid areas where more firecrackers are thrown, even if the park next to your house is one of them.
3. Let him play sports, so that he is entertained, has occupied his mind and does not return home with all the energy.
4. Close the blinds in the area where you are going to be, so you will avoid being surprised by the light of the firecracker .
5. Put on music that has continuous rhythms. Get used to it before, putting the music in gradual volumes, and the day of the firecrackers the dog will not know if it was an acoustic effect or it was a firecracker.