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Protecting Your Pet

• The Reality: Fireworks cause massive anxiety. Consequently, animal shelters see a 30-60% increase in lost pets during the 4th of July.

• Preparation: Secure your yard, update ID tags, and check microchip information before the noise starts.

• Calming Aids: Natural calming treats and anxiety wraps (like the ThunderShirt) provide significant relief.

• Safe Spaces: Create a comfortable, dark burrowing space indoors with background noise to drown out the booms.

• Never Take Them: You should never bring your dog to a live fireworks display.

How to Keep a Dog Calm During Fireworks: The Ultimate Safety Guide

How can you keep a dog calm during fireworks? The 4th of July is a lot of people’s favorite holiday, but it is certainly not a favorite for our dogs.

According to a study conducted by Zazie Todd, PhD, 49% of owners reported a fearful response from their dog when asked about their reaction to fireworks and thunder. The most common responses to noises were trembling/shaking (43%), barking (38%), and seeking out people (35%)¹. Furthermore, animal shelters report that the 4th and 5th of July are their busiest days of the year due to the sheer volume of dogs that get spooked from the fireworks and run off.

Let’s Do the Numbers

Sadly, 30% of all lost pet incidents each year occur on the evening of the Fourth of July.

PetAmberAlert.com reports that nationally, animal shelters and animal control officers across the country see a 30-60% increase in lost pets each year between July 4th and 6th.

The ASPCA completed a large survey and found:

• 15% of pet parents had a lost dog or lost cat in the past five years.

• 85% of those lost pets were recovered (74% of cat parents found their lost cat, and 93% of dog parents found their lost dog).

• 49% of the lost dogs were found by searching the neighborhood.

• 15% of the lost dogs were recovered because they were wearing an ID tag or had a microchip.

• 59% of the lost cats returned home on their own.

• 30% of the lost cats were found by searching the neighborhood.

• 6% of dog parents and 2% of cat parents found their lost pets at a shelter.

What Can You Do to Prepare?

Hopefully, you can find a lost dog or cat quickly yourself by searching your neighborhood. Second best, you hope that a good, animal-loving person finds them. But if a stranger finds them and cannot identify them, you may never reunite with your lost pet.

Here are a few tips to make sure your lost pet returns quickly:

• The easiest and fastest way to ensure pets are identifiable is by wearing an ID tag.

• Frayed and worn collars tear easily if they catch on a fence or branch. Therefore, you need to regularly check to make sure your pets’ collars are intact. Check out Hollywood Feed’s Mississippi Made collars and leads here.

• You should check that ID tags attach to collars well. Ensure the clip or metal ring holding the tag is not worn or bent.

• Let’s also make sure your pets’ ID tags are legible and not scratched. If someone cannot read it, it’s worthless!

• Keep dogs and cats inside after dusk. Supervise potty breaks in fenced yards, or take dogs out on a leash for a few days before and after the holiday.

Microchips are a Great Back-Up

Besides ID tags, you have other options to ensure pet identification. ID tags are excellent because they remain easily and quickly visible to a do-gooder. This makes it simple for someone to approach your dog, call your phone number, and reunite you.

However, you should also microchip your pets. Microchips cannot fall off a collar or become worn. Thus, they act as a great back-up. If you microchip, you must not forget to also have an ID tag and keep your microchip information up to date!

Many people will make an effort to return a lost pet with an easy, breezy phone call from a visible ID tag. Conversely, it takes a rarer type of person to load a strange, unidentified dog into their car, drive to a vet’s office, and check for a microchip.

Hollywood Feed is here to help! Many of our local Hollywood Feed locations have microchip scanners on hand. If you safely secure a lost pet, call or visit your local store. Our Feed Team will happily scan the dog or cat for a microchip to help reunite them with their worried family as quickly as possible.

How to Keep a Dog Calm During Fireworks

Calming Treats

Calming treats provide a natural way to help your dog feel relaxed. Heavenly Hounds Relaxation Squares and Progility Calming Aids are two natural treats that help dogs feel less anxious.

Heavenly Hounds acts fast, usually working within minutes. Plus, your dog will love the peanut butter flavor! Alternatively, you should give Progility Calming Aids 30 minutes before the fireworks start. It contains L-Theanine, Thiamine, L-Tryptophan, and Melatonin to naturally lower stress, stabilize mood, and reduce noise phobias.

Let Your Dog Burrow and Hide

Desensitization and Counterconditioning

Another way to keep a dog calm during fireworks is desensitization and counterconditioning. According to Dr. Todd, “The standard recommended treatment for fireworks fears is desensitization and counterconditioning (DSCC) using recordings of fireworks noises”².

To practice this, play fireworks audio at a comfortable, low volume. Then gradually increase the volume. While doing this, offer treats after the loud bang—this forms the counterconditioning part. Training treats are ideal since they are small, allowing you to train longer.

Comfort and Distraction

If your dogs act scared inside, try turning on the TV or radio to drown out the noise. You can also give your dog a Kong stuffed with peanut butter and frozen. Treats like these keep your pup occupied and distract him from the scary noises.

Furthermore, make sure your dog has a comfortable place to ride out the evening. Does your dog love his crate? Maybe he prefers a Mississippi Made dog bed in the corner. Bring out his favorite toys to make him feel safe.

The ThunderShirt

There is a product called the ThunderShirt that helps anxious dogs. The shirt wraps around your dog snugly and comfortably, applying gentle pressure to make them feel safe. It is easy to use, and it requires zero training!

Safety Management

Supervision

Supervise your dogs when they go outside! Dogs who act perfectly fine in your backyard normally may panic and dig under the fence to escape the noise. Frightened dogs can even jump 8-foot fences. DO NOT leave your dog in the backyard while you go out for the evening.

Clean Up

Always check your yard for stray fireworks that may have fallen before letting your dogs outside unsupervised. Unfortunately, some dogs may try to eat used fireworks, which are highly toxic.

Leave Dogs at Home

If you are not completely sure that your dog is calm around fireworks, PLEASE do not take him to a display! He may run away or become so fearful that he accidentally injures someone in a panic.

Recap: Keeping Your Dog Calm

To summarize how to keep a dog calm during fireworks:

• Update ID tags: Check collars, tags, and microchips beforehand.
• Stay Indoors: Never leave a dog alone in the yard or take them to a fireworks show.
• Provide Comfort: Use donut beds, blankets, and crates to create a dark, safe space.
• Use Aids: Natural calming treats and ThunderShirts can drastically reduce anxiety.
• Distract: Turn up the TV and provide frozen Kongs to occupy their mind.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

When should I give my dog calming treats for fireworks? It depends on the treat! Fast-acting options like Heavenly Hounds can be given just minutes before the noise starts. However, supplement chews like Progility usually need about 30 to 45 minutes to digest and enter the bloodstream before the fireworks begin.

Does playing music actually help calm dogs? Yes! Classical music or Reggae has been shown to lower canine heart rates. Additionally, simply turning up the TV or radio creates “white noise” that helps drown out the sharp, unpredictable booms of fireworks outside.

What should I do if my dog escapes during fireworks? Act immediately. Search your neighborhood, contact your microchip company to flag your pet as lost, and post clear photos on local social media pages (like Nextdoor and Facebook). Alert your local animal control and shelters first thing the following morning.

What other tips do you have for keeping your dog safe through New Year’s Eve or the 4th of July? Have you ever had a lost dog or cat? Let us know in the comment section below!

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¹ Todd, Zazie, PhD. “Fear of Loud Noises: A Common Problem in Domestic Dogs?” companionanimalpsychology.com. 27 Feb. 2013. https://www.companionanimalpsychology.com/2013/02/fear-of-loud-noises-common-problem-in.html.

Baranauckas, C. 2018. Dogs And Fireworks: The Fear Isn’t All in Their Heads. HuffPost. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/dogs-fireworks-fear-isnt-all-in-heads_n_5b3a8912e4b07b827cb9ae6f.

² Todd, Zazie, PhD. “Survey Shows Which Treatments are Effective for Fireworks Fears in Dogs.” avsab.org. 2 July 2020. https://avsab.org/survey-shows-which-treatments-are-effective-for-fireworks-fears-in-dogs/. Dog Behavior, Fear/Aggression, Small Animal Behavior.