Happy Independence Day! It’s that time when we celebrate our country’s birthday with a great display of fireworks. While we might be excited, our furry friends are scared. The sounds of the big booms and crackly is too much for their sensitive ears. They are anxious, afraid, and easily startled.
It’s not safe to bring your dog to the fireworks display or a friend’s party. And don’t leave him outside either. He will do everything he can to get away like leaping over a fence or digging under one. The best thing you can do on the Fourth of July is keep your pet at home and indoors.
Here are a few other tips:
- Close the blinds and turn on the television or a radio. The fireworks going outside easily startles him and this will help buffer the noise.
- If your dog is crate trained, put him in his crate covered with a blanket to make him feel secure.
- Take extra precaution to remove waste and items that are harmful to him. Dogs tend to get into things when they are anxious so make sure there is nothing toxic he can get at.
- If your dog seems overly anxious, spend some extra time trying to sooth him. Sit with him to help calm and relax him. Petting can also help soothe him.
- There are many things on the market to help comfort dogs when they become anxious, such as thundershirts, calming supplements, and calming sprays.
- If you stay home and do your own fireworks, keep your dog away. Don’t spray insect repellent on or near your dog and keep him away from glow jewelry, as these are extremely toxic.
- Besides the fireworks, there are other activities on the Fourth that can put your dog in danger. When grilling at home, keep your dog away from the grill and any lighter fluid or matches, which are extremely toxic. Oils, candles, insect coils, and other citronella-based repellents,
- Don’t feed you dog table scraps. BBQ sauce, onions, avocado, grapes, raisins, and even beer can be toxic.
- Plan ahead in case your dog gets loose by getting your dog updated identification tags and microchipping him. Make sure he has is collar on with his tags.
- Keep information readily available about lost pets. One local organization that has a great network on Facebook is @LostPetsWaltonCounty which covers lost and found pets of Walton, Newton and Rockdale Counties.
