How to Prepare Your Pet for the Fourth of July and Fireworks

Jul 2, 2024

We’ve posted numerous blogs about great places to travel that are pet friendly, how to prepare your pet for a road trip, what to bring with you on a vacation with your furry companion, and other fun things to do with your pet. Today, as fellow animal lovers and pet parents, we also wanted to take a moment to share some helpful tips on keeping your pet safe during the July 4th celebrations and subsequent summer fireworks displays. We hope that this helpful guide of tips and tricks can help you keep your pets and furry companions safe during summer travel and events, and help them feel safe and secure. Our staff wishes you and your families, and of course, your pets, a safe, happy, and healthy Fourth of July weekend!

Got a cute outfit for your pet for the holiday? Feel free to show us your patriotic pets in the comments on our Facebook Page!

Why are pets afraid of fireworks?

While many humans appreciate the sight and sound of fireworks, our pets do not have the ability to understand the context and significance of these pyrotechnic displays. Just like some humans have anxiety to sensory overloads, so too do our pets. Fireworks are unpredictably loud, bright, and appear quite suddenly without warning. The visual shock of bright light and explosions accompanied with loud booms, crackling, and popping can be extremely overwhelming to our pets’ keen senses of smell, sight, and hearing. Just like some pets may become anxious of severe weather such as thunderstorms, fireworks may hit the same anxiety triggers.

What are the signs my pet is nervous around fireworks?

Noise and visual phobias from fireworks can trigger a number of behavioral reactions in our pets. This may include:

Hiding or seeking shelter, especially in secure quarters like a crate, under furniture, or in the tub of a bathroom
Trembling, shaking, and twitching in fear
Excessive barking, meowing, or crying/whining
Panting and rapid breathing
Pacing and restless shuffling
Temporary food refusal
Nausea and vomiting
Destructive behavior and outbursts
Escape attempts and running away
Unexpected defecation or urination even if potty trained
Snapping and biting as a fear response

How do I keep my pets safe during fireworks?

Practice sound desensitization with your pet prior to the holidays. It can benefit your pet to receive regular training and desensitization to loud noises and sudden sounds throughout the days and months leading up to 4th of July and related holidays. Playing sounds over portable speakers at low volume, and tossing high-value treats or playing with them using their favorite toy or engaging their favorite game/activity while doing so will help them create positive associations. You can find great sound effect playlists designed for dogs on streaming sites such as Spotify or YouTube. Remember, start at the lowest possible volume, and give your pet breaks as needed; you’ll increase the frequency of exposure and volume as your training sessions progress and your pet responds with less stress. There are some great training tutorials available on youtube, tiktok, and instagram!
Our top recommendations are to leave your pets at home and sequester them in a safe, quiet area, or better yet stay home with your pet. As lovely as it may be to bring your pets with you to every holiday and celebration, there are some instances where it is safer and more respectful of their needs to leave them behind. Your dog does not need to come to your 4th of July events if fireworks, firecrackers, sparklers or related are present. Please be aware even if these items are not used at your event, they may be happening elsewhere within an audible or visible radius, which may still upset and agitate your pet.
Exercise your pet as early in the day as possible with plenty of exercise, exciting outdoor activities like chase or fetch or running, and tire them out with indoor games if the festivities start early in your area. Ensuring that your pet has received adequate exercise and their needs are met will help them feel calmer and more relaxed throughout the day, and likely keep them tired enough to have a smaller response or sleep through the fireworks and noise.
Provide calming, soothing activities for your pet before, during, and after the events. Prepare an enrichment activity such as a frozen meal, frozen treat, or lick mat for your pet in advance. Provide them a quiet, safe environment in an area without access to sight of the fireworks display. Thick padded blankets, closing blinds and curtains, and providing white or brown noise can help drown out the loud noises and mute outdoor explosions. Utilizing “pet TV” apps or videos online can help mask the noise and give them alternative focus points. Comfort items such as anxiety jackets,
“Thunder shirts” and vests, heartbeat toys, and white noise cuddle toys can provide a calming effect. It’s not unusual for the distress to linger for up to a few days after the stressful event.
Call your veterinarian for calming medication and recommendations on calming treats or sprays. Prior to the fireworks events and holiday celebrations, give your vet a call to secure some anti-anxiety, calming medications (common options include things such as Gabapentin or Trazodone, etc.) Your veterinarian will generally recommend you administer the medication several hours prior to the stressful event, and possible during/after as well. Calming pheromone products such as a collar, plug-in diffuser, spray, or even lotions are available OTC. Likewise, they may recommend a supplement such as Progility Calm vet formulated treats or CBD tinctures formulated for pets.
If your pet must go outdoors, keep trips short and sweet and ensure they’re securely harnessed and collared, with additional safety-straps and up-to-date identification. If you utilize a GPS collar or tracker, make sure to connect your friends/family or neighbours to the device in advance in case of emergency. Keep bathroom trips short and sweet, and never allow your pet to roam off-lead or be alone; even the most well-trained off-leash dog with near-perfect recall is a flight risk and escape risk during fireworks displays and loud events. It’s best to get all of your walking and exercise and outdoor play done beforehand.
If you must travel with your pet, provide mobile calming options and consider using pet-friendly ear protection and eye goggles. Gear such as the Happy Hood and related ear snoods can help muffle loud sounds for your pet. Giving your dog protective eyewear such as RexSpecs or other sunglasses style eyewear can help shield their eyes from the bright light of fireworks that can be disorienting and alarming. Purchasing a mobile white/brown noise machine or playing ambient sounds on your mobile device in the car or portable speaker can help mask outside noises. Provide a soft blanket or travel crate for them to retreat to as needed. Keep your car doors and windows locked and the AC running to keep them from escaping and help them prevent overheating due to stress. Always provide plenty of water.