Fireworks and thunderstorms

Preparation

Follow these tips to prepare your pet for the fireworks season.

• Ensure your pet’s microchip details and council registration details are up-to-date and that your pet is wearing a collar/ID tag with your current phone number.
• Keep your pet in a secure indoor area during fireworks and thunderstorms - a laundry or garage is good if you have an outdoor pet. Alternatively, crate train your pet, then settle it in the crate for the duration of the fireworks.
  
• Create a hideout for your pet in a quiet room with as few windows as possible.
• Cover any windows in this room to further block out noise and to block out flashes of lightening or fireworks.
• Create a bed from blankets for burrowing and put an unwashed tracksuit or a similar item in the room so that the pet has your scent.  Alternatively, prepare your pet’s crate in a similar way.
• A few days or more before the fireworks, start taking your pet into the room/crate and giving it treats on the blankets so that it gets comfortable.
• If you are expecting fireworks, take you dog for a walk in the early afternoon to tire it out.
• Have food available in the room such as kongs, bones, treatballs and long-lasting treats. Extended chewing will help calm dogs and stimulation will distract them.
• Put on moderately loud music or a TV to muffle loud outside noises and to distract your pet. A small battery operated radio maybe a safe way to incorporate noise for distraction into this room.
• Desensitising your pet to loud noises is a good option if you have time to invest and can do it in advance of fireworks.
  

If you're not at home

• Lock your pet in the hideout/safe room or crate that you have prepared. This will minimise the chance of your pet injuring itself or escaping if it becomes distressed.
• Ensure there is plenty of water and some food in the room/crate.
• Take your dog to the toilet before locking it up, or if you have a cat, remember to put kitty litter in the room.
• Beware: if you are leaving the pet unattended in a room and it becomes anxious, it may behave erratically so ensure there are no dangerous items that the pet could chew on or knock. Cords and cabling and any breakables should be removed.
• Ensure the room is secure – pets can become very determined to escape when frightened.
• If you are planning to medicate your pet, ensure that you follow the dosage instructions exactly and medicate before anxiety sets in. Discuss your plans with your vet.
• Return home as quickly as possible to check on your pet and take it out to the toilet after the noises have subsided, keeping it on a leash when you do, just in case it's still upset or becomes spooked.
• Do not punish your pet for any damage/bad behaviour on your return. Being fearful is an emotional and instinctual response which an animal cannot control.

If you are at home

• If you are medicating your pet, remember to do so before any anxiety sets in. Ensure you follow the dosage instructions that your vet has given you, and work out a plan to get your pet to consume the medication in the most normal or least stressful way possible (such as hiding it in its dinner).
• Before the fireworks start, take your pet into the safe room and scatter some treats to keep it distracted and happy to be in the room. It's probably advisable to allow your pet to exit and enter this room freely if it is accustomed to roaming freely around the house.
• When the fireworks start, continue with normal activities and keep your voice in a typical tone. This will give your pet no reason to think that there may be something worrying or unusual about the situation.
• If your pet becomes anxious, do not change your behaviour or voice. Maintain normal behaviours with the pet.

Anxiety

Desensitisation

• CDs of frightening noises are available from RSPCA veterinary clinics or you could find videos of fireworks on YouTube.
• Start playing the noises at a soft volume and after many times played over an extended period of time, gradually work up to a louder volume.
• While the loud noises are on, give your dog treats and play games with it so that it associates positive things with the loud noises.
• If your pet shows any fear or becomes distressed when listening to the CD, turn the volume right down, allow your pet’s fear to dissipate then start the process again, progressing very slowly.