How to help a dog or cat who is scared of fireworks
Many dogs and cats are frightened of fireworks, and the most useful thing you can do is plan the evening around them: walk early, keep your pet indoors, give them a quiet place to hide, cover the noise, and stay close and calm. If your pet panics every year, talk to your vet a few weeks ahead, because there is medicine that helps.
Here is how to tell your pet is scared, what to set up before the night, what to do while the fireworks are going off, and how to make next year easier.
Signs your pet is scared
Fear does not always look like panic. A cat under the bed for three hours is frightened, not resting.
- Dogs: trembling, panting, pacing, drooling, whining or barking, clinging to you, hiding, trying to get out, or going to the toilet indoors.
- Cats: hiding, crouching low, flattened ears, wide pupils, refusing food, or trying to get out of the house.
Our guides to dog body language and how to tell if your cat is happy cover the quieter signals too.
Before the night
Find out when the fireworks are
Diwali, Bonfire Night, New Year’s Eve and the Fourth of July are the big ones, but weddings, sports wins and local festivals bring them too. Check your local events listings and ask your neighbors. Fireworks often carry on for a few nights either side of the main date, so plan for the whole stretch.
Make a den
Give your pet a hiding place in the quietest room of the house, ideally one without windows onto the street.
- For a dog, a crate or a corner with a blanket draped over it, soft bedding inside, and something that smells of you. Leave the door open so they can come and go.
- For a cat, a covered bed, a box on its side, or space under a bed. Many cats feel safest up high, so clear the top of a wardrobe or shelf they already use.
Set it up a few days early so it is familiar by the night. If your pet picks a different spot, let them have it. Never pull a frightened pet out of a hiding place.
Check their ID
Frightened pets bolt, and fireworks nights are a common time for pets to go missing. Make sure your pet’s microchip is registered to your current phone number and address, and that your dog wears a collar with a tag.
Talk to your vet early
If your pet shakes, hides for hours, or tries to escape every year, ask your vet about medicine for noise fear. Some need to be started days before the fireworks, and a first dose is best tried on a quiet day so you can see how your pet takes it.
Never give your pet a sedative or painkiller meant for people. Several are dangerous to dogs and cats, as our list of human foods and medicines that are dangerous for pets explains.
Calming collars, plug-in diffusers, supplements and snug wraps help some pets and do nothing for others. If you want to try one, try it before the night, and use it alongside everything else here, not instead of it.
On the night
- Walk your dog in daylight. Go before dusk, and keep them on the lead even if they always come back. A well-fitted harness is harder to slip out of than a collar.
- Bring cats in before dark. Lock the cat flap and put a litter tray out, even for a cat who always goes outside.
- Feed a little earlier. A frightened pet may refuse food once the noise starts.
- Close windows and curtains. Curtains hide the flashes, and closed windows soften the bangs.
- Turn on steady sound. The television, the radio or a fan, at a normal volume, started before the fireworks begin. Steady sound blurs the sudden bangs.
- Stay home if you can. A pet who panics should not spend the loudest night of the year alone.
- Watch the front door. A frightened dog can shoot past a guest’s legs. Shut your pet in a quiet room before you open the door, or put a gate across the hall.
Comfort them if they come to you
You may have heard that comforting a scared dog rewards the fear. It does not. Fear is a feeling, not a trick you can teach by accident. If your pet comes to you, speak quietly, stroke them, and let them lean on you. If they would rather hide, let them hide, and check on them without dragging them out.
Do not scold a frightened pet for barking, shaking or an accident indoors. It adds a second thing to be afraid of.
Give them something to do
Some pets settle with a long chew, a food-stuffed toy or a lick mat. Others will not eat while frightened, and that is fine. Act as normally as you can yourself: pets take a lot of their cues from you.
The morning after
- Check the garden before you let your dog out. Spent fireworks and their sticks land in gardens, and the chemicals in them can make a dog ill if chewed.
- Expect a jumpy day or two. Many pets are on edge after a loud night. Keep walks short and familiar.
- Look them over if they panicked. A pet who tried to dig or squeeze out of somewhere can hurt their paws or claws.
Making next year easier
Fear of noise can be eased, but it takes months, not the week before.
- Find a recording of fireworks and play it so quietly that your pet barely notices.
- Pair it with good things: a meal, a game, a favorite treat.
- Turn it up a little every few days, only when your pet stays relaxed at the current level. If they start to look worried, go back a step.
- Keep sessions short, a few minutes at a time.
If your pet’s fear is severe, a vet or a qualified animal behaviorist can make a plan with you, sometimes with medicine alongside.
A puppy or kitten who hears all kinds of sounds early, calmly and at a low volume, is less likely to be afraid of them later.
If the fear is new
A dog who has never minded fireworks and suddenly does is worth a checkup. Pain, especially in the joints, can make dogs more sensitive to noise, and it is often the first thing anyone notices in an older dog. Our guide to caring for an older dog or cat covers the other changes to watch for.