You might love your fireworks display, as may all your friends and family, but one member of the household that might not love them so much is your cat or dog. Pets and fireworks can be a terrible combination, with your animal friends finding them quite frightening.

However, this isn’t to say that you can’t have and enjoy a fireworks display if you have pets. For starters, not all pets react badly to the noise of fireworks. In fact, over half of dogs show no sign of fear around fireworks.

If you have pets and they hate fireworks, follow these tips to ensure that everyone in your household enjoys your next display:

• Give your pet somewhere to hide. Feeling a bit scared and not having anywhere to hide can make animals more anxious, so make them feel safe by ensuring your cat or dog has access to a comfy hiding place at all times. However, you shouldn’t give your pet so much freedom that they have chance to escape, because a scared pet on the loose could cause themselves harm.

 

• Keep cats and dogs indoors during a display. This one’s a no-brainer, walk your dog in the daytime and keep pets inside at night when fireworks will be going off.

 

• Try your best not to react to your pet’s behaviour. It can be hard to ignore your pet when he or she is showing signs of fear, but you should try. Making a fuss or disciplining your pet can make things worse in the long run.

 

• Muffle the sound of fireworks. You can do this by shutting windows and curtains (which also helps disguise the bright lights, which pets aren’t used to) and by playing music to mask the sound of fireworks.

 

• Consider pheromone diffusers (for dogs). If you’re concerned that your dog just won’t settle down when fireworks are going off, you could consider getting a pheromone diffuser. These devices disperse calming chemicals into the room, which could make your dog feel a bit better during a display. If this is something you’re interested in, make sure you speak to your vet about it first.

 

• Give your pet a calming playmate. This is a great tip – arrange a pet play date with another cat or dog that isn’t scared of fireworks. This can help your pet see that there isn’t anything to be scared of.

 

• Don’t forget about small animals. If you have small pets like guinea pigs or hamsters, partly cover their cage or pen to sound-proof it. You should also provide extra bedding so that your pet has somewhere to burrow if they feel a bit jumpy.

 

If you follow these tips, you should be able to enjoy fireworks without worrying about your dog or cat reacting badly. You might even find that your pet gets used to fireworks over time and doesn’t react at all, so you won’t need to do any of the above.