New Year’s Eve is always a cause for celebration – and that celebration wouldn’t be the same without fireworks, which can be scary for pets.
According to a recent study, about “17-49% of all dogs have been estimated to demonstrate an aversion to noise.” Here are four ways you can better protect your furry friends as 2023 comes to a close.
Utilize CBD
Vibrant Dog founder Joshua Whitley said he encourages people to use CBD for their pets if there are fireworks going off because “CBD is a powerful anti-anxiety.”
“Calm is about the best word that you can use to describe a dog that you put on CBD because it’s not a sedating thing,” he said. “They’re not lethargic; they’re not drooling or anything like that.”
Crate train your pets
According to Whitley, “dogs are den animals; they’re not made to be out in open space.”
“Some people don’t understand that when they get a dog and put it in a crate, they’re like, ‘Oh, he’s in his little cage.’ But that’s his happy place,” Whitley said. “They’re anthromorphizing their dogs; they’re giving them human feelings.”
Keep a close eye out during potty time
When animals hear fireworks, it often spooks them, according to Whitley.
“It’s fight or flight, and they’ll run away,” he said.
Be vigilant in not losing your fluffy family members and consider keeping your dog on a leash during potty time so they can’t run away.
Invest in a thunder jacket
Thunder jackets are an article of clothing your pet can wear for compression, and it often has results related to a decrease in anxiety.
A 2017 study wrote: “Groups of anxious dogs were monitored during a 15-min session while left alone in a kennel. Dogs that wore the shirt snugly (according to the manufacturer’s recommendations) showed less of an increase in heart rate above baseline than did dogs that didn’t wear a shirt or wore the shirt loosely.”
Whitley has encouraged that these four tips are used together, and two weeks is plenty of time for practice.
