Keep your pets safe during fireworks this New Year

Some dogs can get anxious and frightened when fireworks are around or during other loud events like thunderstorms.

Signs of anxiety caused by loud noises in pets

  • Barking, wincing, heavy panting

  • Clingy behaviour

  • Walking around nervously 

  • Having toilet accidents

  • Some can even cower, shake or hide, and in severe cases, can be destructive to themselves or their surroundings.

There is also a potential for dogs to escape their yards during or after a firework show, especially if the dog is new to the home or fencing becomes damaged from a storm.

Tips to increase your pet’s comfort during fireworks

  • Keep your pet indoors with you and stay calm around them.

  • If they are particularly distressed in a severe storm stay with them in a small room in the house (laundry, hallway) and talk calmly to them.

  • Don't offer food or too much praise and avoid exciting them with games.

  • Try to comfort them, but remember not to baby them too much, as this reinforces the behaviour, and can make it worse next time.

  • Counteract the loud noises by turning up the volume on the radio or television so as to distract your pet from whatever is happening outside.

Remember prevention is best. Bringing your dog inside and blocking out the sights and noise of the storm will be much more effective if you do it before the storm begins.

if your dog is outside

  • Ensure your dog is safe and cannot hurt themselves trying to escape the noise (keep things they could use to jump off and over fences out of the way, keep garden tools in sheds, check the fences are up to scratch).

  • Identify your dog with a microchip and identification tag with a phone number on it so they can be returned home if they do escape.

  • If your pet becomes particularly distressed, we may prescribe a mild sedative to help them get through such times. These are prescription medications, and will require a consultation with you and your pet.

Preplanning for future noisy events

Your pet may need to be "desensitised" to the noise. This can be achieved by playing a tape with noise of thunderstorms on it, in a controlled environment, and 'teaching' your pet to cope with it. We recommend you come and talk to us about this.

If your dog does escape from your property during a thunderstorm, contact the Dubbo Regional Council on 02 6801 4000 or your local council's animal control number, as well as the other vet clinics in Dubbo. Facebook is also becoming very useful for lost pets, so check here too!

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