The New Year is almost here and when the new year is coming it can only mean one thing, Fireworks. While most people are excited for the upcoming new year, our beloved pets may not be that excited. With all the banging and exploding, our pets will surely feel anxious and scared like there is someone there that will hurt them. During that time, your pets will surely panic and run around your house, while some will want to run away because they feel so scared. To help your pets overcome their fear or even just comfort them, here are some tips on what you can do for them:
Confine Your Pet
If your pet has a favorite place to hide, then it is best to make that place accessible to them. Place their bed in that area or put a crate or their dog cage in which they can snuggle up when they feel scared. It will help them relieve their stress when there are fireworks outside if they stay inside their hiding spot.
Distract Your Pet with Other Noises
Another way to help comfort and relieve your pets is by distracting them with other noises that you can make inside your house. Cover up the firework’s noise by amping up the volume of your music. You can also play some movies or music videos with good noise level that is enough to cover up the noise outside. If your pet likes to watch tv, tune it in to their favorite shows and amp up the volume a bit.
If you are a music lover and you keep on playing some of your favorite bands around your music player, your pet might also get used to those songs and may find comfort if you play those songs as the fireworks play outside.
Tire Your Pets Before the New Year
It is best to give your dog plenty of walks or exercise during the day before the new year. Play with them or leave them running around the yard to make them tired during the night.
And as for your cats, play with them all day with either some laser pointer and let them chase it around or even with other toys that will make them chase it around the house. Just make sure to keep your cats moving until they tire out.
And with your pets all tired because of all the playing during the day, they will be too tired and will just ignore what is going on outside.
Distract Your Pets with Toys and Treats
If you forgot to tire out your pets or you don’t have time to tire them out all through the day, one thing you can do is by distracting them or by playing with them as the fireworks happen outside. Give them a new toy to play with or open up some treats and give it to them. Keep them occupied so that they won’t mind what is going on outside.
Give your cat some catnip if you have some at home and your cat will surely forget what is happening outside. Some treats for your dog will also keep them busy during that time.
Ask Advice from Your Veterinarian
If you are really unsure of what to do then one thing you can do is by asking your pet’s doctor some advice. Most of them will just give your pet some anti-anxiety prescriptions. Just be sure to explain everything to the veterinarian about your pet’s circumstances during the past new year trauma if he/she is not familiar on what happened to your pet. Other veterinarians though will not give away prescriptions to your pet if they have not been diagnosed with noise anxiety before.
Leave Your Place for the Night
If you really care for your pet who has encountered noise anxiety before and don’t want your pet to encounter it again then one thing you can do is by leaving your place for the night. If you have a friend or you know someone who lives in a quiet place or is quite far enough from all those fireworks noise then it is better to ask help from them even just for the night.
If you don’t know anybody who has that kind of place, then you can research ahead of time for a pet-friendly hotel in which you and your pet can have a relaxing rest all night long and away from the fireworks.
Give Everything You Got as You Comfort Your Beloved Pet
Don’t hold back as you try and comfort your pet. Do everything you can just to make them comfortable. If you have a basement you can set up a place there for you and your pet to stay. You can also make a soundproof room in the basement if you have enough time and resources. The important thing to remember is for your beloved pet to be happy and anxiety free during the upcoming new year.
If these tips aren’t enough, check out more tips we prepared for you here.
Image Sources: [1] [2]