Some of our pets can become petrified of the sound of fireworks if they never had any early exposure to these sounds. If your pet was born in the spring time they are unlikely to experience fireworks when young during their socialization stage. By the time November arrives they would be around 5-6 months old. At this age pets can start to experience fear of novelty and develop phobias of objects, noises, new environments, new people or animals they haven't been socialized with. This may be why they are so scared, never experiencing such a loud noise, having no idea where it came from. Cats and dogs have very sensitive hearing, they can hear a thunderstorm coming before we do, so fireworks would be very loud to them. Some animals can be very sensitive to noises and even associate all types of bangs as a threat. So, what can you do to keep them feeling safe and calm? You can purchase pheromone difusers, such as Feliway for cats and Adaptal for dogs at pet stores, vets or sometimes they sell it at our pharmacy. Essential oils such as lavender or calamine. Your veterinarian can prescribe anti-anxiety medicine, but this may not be enough. When animals are afraid they are likely to want to run and hide until the noise stops. They need a safe place to go to in their home, normally they will want to be with us, to feel safe. So make them a den to retreat to close to you, this can be done by using furniture and putting a blanket, on top of chairs. Some pets will crawl behind the sofa or some head to their crate, where you can put a blanket over the top. Or you can buy a anxiety wrap around jacket or make your own by wrapping them in a bandage for dogs. Or buy Lintbells Yucalm dog or Yucalm cat and many other products similar in pet shops or online. Sometimes catnip can help some cats with anxiety, but not all. Have back ground noise on such as radio, television to drown out the sound of explosions outside. You can desensitize your pets slowly to recorded sounds of fire works, starting from a low volume and slowly increase sound. For any help with desensitization and counter-conditioning training with your pets, please don't hesitate to contact Angel, who's willing to help you step by step. At Good pets & Happy owners, "with good pets you're always find happy owners".
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Written by Angel MorganA cat and dog behaviorist. ArchivesCategories |