Dogs are not big fans of fireworks or busy, loud gatherings. Some of you already know that your dog will be terrified during fireworks, and some of you brand-new dog owners will yet discover that.
Common issues during fireworks time:
- The dog gets scared and suddenly bolts and runs away. Some dogs may escape the yard when they have never done it before; in both cases, they may get lost or hit by a car.
- Dogs acting panicky in the house: anxiously pacing, running and bumping into things, being overly alert and vocalizing, sometimes even eliminating in the house
In this article, I will share practical tips for the safest way to survive fireworks with your dog. If this is your first Fourth of July with a dog, you will learn how to prevent potential problems.
You can also watch this information on my youtube channel or on tiktok (part 1, part 2, part 3)
1. Stay at home with your dog and avoid taking your dog outside
Bringing your dog outside during fireworks is a bad idea. The number of dogs who get lost during fireworks is crazy.
According to PetAmberAlert, animal control officials nationwide report a 30%- 60% increase in lost pets each year between the 4th and 6th of July.
Ideally, stay at home with your dog. Fireworks are scary for dogs, and they might need your support when terrified. If you can’t stay home, leave your dog at home. (Follow further tips that will help you prepare your dog and your house.)
2. Prevent any chance of your dog running away and getting lost (or hit by a car)
Use extra safety if your dog is okay around fireworks and you decide to bring them with you outside.
Follow these safety tips to prevent losing your dog:
- Don’t unleash your dog even if they have solid recall; scared dogs may not respond to recall
- Double-check your walking equipment: Ensure the leash, buckles, and carabiners are not worn out and won’t break if your dog bolts.
- If you walk your dog on a collar, ensure they can’t wiggle out of it by getting a martingale collar (example).
- Ideally, use both a collar and a harness. If the harness fails (they wiggle out of it), the collar with a tag will still stay on. If you use a collar only and they wiggle out of it, your dog’s identification will be lost.
- For extra safety, connect them with a collar-to-harness backup clip. This safety clip connects the leash and harness; if your dog slips out of the collar, the connector will keep the leash connected to the dog through the harness and vice versa (example).
- If your dog is large and is hard to control when bolting or pulling, get a double-connection leash with a no-pull harness. A leash connected to the front and back harness will give you much more control over your dog. (example)
- Make sure your dog is microchipped and has a tag with your information. If your dog runs away because it is scared, it’s best to have your phone number printed on your dog’s collar (scared dogs usually don’t let other people approach them, so whoever finds your dog won’t be able to read a small tag, high visibility number will make it possible to read the phone number from a distance (Example)
- If you are traveling, consider getting a GPS collar
3. Ask your vet for anti-anxiety medication
If you have time, check with your vet and ask them to prescribe medication to help your dog be less anxious around fireworks. Medication like Sileo and some others are fast-acting and last for a few hours. They help dogs’ nervous systems calm down, reduce anxiety levels, and cope with fear.
You might already have this medication. Some vets prescribe it to keep your dog calm during a visit. Talk to your vet’s office and ask if that can be used and the dosage.
Do all dogs need this medication? Probably not. But if you have already experienced your dog being extremely terrified during fireworks, talk to your vet. Another sign is that if your dog is generally fearful, timid, or easily scared of things, then considering medication can also be a good idea.
If your dog has numerous noise phobias, it is good to thoroughly check them with a vet or veterinary behaviorist (not necessarily right before fireworks day, but at some point later). Noise sensitivity is often health-related; your dog may suffer from gastrointestinal problems or orthopedic pains. Acting on it is important since noise phobias only worsen with time.
4. Consider trying other calming solutions that don’t require a prescription
If you don’t have the time or option to ask your vet for a prescription, you can try things that can be bought over the counter in a pet shop or online.
Remember that those items are not as efficient as prescribed drugs and often may work for one dog and don’t work for another (the anxiety is too severe). Again, it’s worth trying, but don’t expect a miracle. In cases of severe phobias, only prescription drugs will help.
- Thundershirt – it is a vest that applies gentle, constant pressure to your dog’s torso, like swaddling an infant or a comforting hug to help them feel calmer (example)
- Mutt muffs – sound-reducing headphones for dogs (example)
- Calming chews (example: one, two, three)
- Pheromone spray / diffuser – (example: one, two)
- Calming collar with pheromones (example)
5. Get your dog used to fireworks sounds through desensitization
To get your dog used to the sounds, we will follow a desensitization/counterconditioning protocol. We will play these sounds on TV or speaker daily, increasing the volume and letting our dogs get familiar with these sounds. We can also pair these sounds with something pleasant for the dog (food, treats, toys, etc.)
Start by establishing the baseline. We will test it by playing fireworks sounds on medium volume for a few seconds and observing the dog. If your dog becomes overly alert or shows signs of anxiety (lip licking, pinned ears, low body posture, freezing, etc.), you must lower your volume until the dog is calm. The goal is to slowly habituate them to sounds while they are calm about them.
Play sounds for 5-10 minutes (or as long as your dog stays calm). We will add a bit more daily volume while ensuring our dog is calm and relaxed. Practice daily for 1-2 weeks or until you can play sounds loud and your dog is calm around them and ignores them completely.
To create a positive association with fireworks sounds, you can pair it with eating food from snuffle mats, lick mats, or interactive food toys (like kong wobbler or woof popsicle)
Understand: this probably will not completely eliminate your dog’s fireworks phobia, but it may reduce the reaction.
Here is a detailed explanation of why playing fireworks on TV can eliminate fireworks phobia:
- Fireworks are scary for dogs not only because of the sound only, but usually, it’s also because of the smell of fireworks, gunpowder, and vibration in the environment since dogs can smell things that we cannot, and they are more sensitive to things we humans don’t even notice. So technically, we need to habituate them to those things, too. Still, while sounds can be somewhat replicated on TV daily as training, things like fireworks, gunpowder, or vibration are harder to use as training tools.
- Fireworks sounds on TV are not the same as real sounds. The real sound is richer, and dogs, again, hear better than people, so while it might sound the same to us, for them, those things are not equal. So, if my dog is scared of fireworks on TV, getting through that will help them cope with real sound, but it will not completely eliminate the phobia.
- Events like the 4th of July might generally be anxiety-inducing for some dogs: crowds of people, different pet parents’ behavior, etc. Since they rarely experience these events, they might be scared of a sudden change.
6. Prioritize rest & stick to low-arousal exercises on days of the fireworks
On the day of the fireworks, it is important to prioritize low-arousal exercises and lots of rest. This will prepare the nervous system for a stressful fireworks experience.
If your dog requires lots of exercise, take it out early in the day before busy times begin. Ideally, take it for a hike or slow decompression walk somewhere in a nature area with few people or other triggers. Sniffing helps dogs self-regulate and explore and tires them much more than the high-arousal play of fetch.
Afterward, keep them in a quiet room to rest and, ideally, sleep. If everyone congregates in the living room or on a patio, keeping your dog with you will prevent them from resting fully. In the afternoon, limit a walk to a potty break and offer your dog some busy projects (interactive food toys, snuffle mats, brain games, etc.) at home.
If your dog is senior or low-energy, keep walks to a minimum this day. Prioritize sleep and rest, and keep your dog busy at home with low-arousal exercises (play or enrichment).
Suppose you know that your dog is nervous, fearful, sensitive, easily overstimulated, reactive, or emotional in general. In that case, you might benefit from having a low-arousal / low-trigger routine one week before fireworks day. By trigger, I mean everything that triggers a negative or stressful reaction from your dog. For some dogs, it can be strangers; for others, it can be loud sounds.
We must stick to low-trigger days/week because consecutive exposure to triggers creates a trigger-stacking effect. Experiencing the first trigger can be manageable for our dog’s nervous system but with second and third triggers stacking up, even a minor thing can irritate them. Multiple triggers stacking up daily don’t give the nervous system time to process and recover from triggers. And when we stack on top of that such a major trigger like fireworks, your dog will be stressed even more. Experiencing triggers on a rested nervous system gives your dog a chance to manage it much better.
Make sure your dog gets the appropriate amount of sleep. Adult dogs should sleep around 12-14 hours per day, while puppies and older dogs usually sleep 18-20 hours per day. If your dog is hyperactive and restless, you must figure out how to encourage proper sleep. Lack of sleep leads to irritation, reactivity, and a stronger response to triggers.
7. Create a quiet hiding nook for your dog
Fireworks are loud, with bright flashes, certain smells, and loud screaming from people outside. You want to reduce your dog’s exposure to all those things. Many dogs prefer to hide from scary things, which is how they cope. If your dog doesn’t deal with fireworks, you can create a dedicated hiding nook for them.
Ideally, if you have a large closet space in a quiet part of the house—far from doors and windows—bring blankets and pillows to create a calm hiding space for your dog. Blankets and pillows will help absorb the sounds and make the space more inviting.
When creating a hiding nook, you aim to create a space with fewer incoming sounds, lights, and smells.
Other hiding room options include a laundry room, bathroom, basement, etc.
If you are renting a room and cannot create a nook in a closet or use a bathroom, close the windows with curtains or blankets and create a blanket/pillow space between the wall and the couch, under the table, etc.
Don’t force your dog into this space; offer it as an option. If they choose not to stay there, don’t insist. If your dog hides under the bed or in a corner, let them do it. Don’t force them out.
Image source: Reddit / Users: Cman4you and Road_Whorrior
8. Don’t ignore your terrified dog; always comfort them when they are stressed.
Some people mistakenly believe that comforting a scared dog can make it worse. Fortunately for us, the latest science shows the opposite. Fearful dogs deal better when they get support from their pet parents. (The same goes for us: if we are scared or upset, comforting us will not make us want to be more upset, but instead, it will help us feel safer.)
Stay close to your dog and offer cuddling in a quiet room with curtains drawn. You can sit with them on the floor, cuddle on the couch or in bed, or stay together in a hiding nook. It’s important to give your dog a choice and follow whatever they choose.
Be calm and soft-spoken. Don’t panic. Provide calm reassurance. Or gently comfort your dog without saying anything. You have to be a calm and caring example for your dog.
If you decide to pet your dog, check whether it helps your dog. Some dogs prefer to be petted during stressful times, and others prefer to be left without petting. If you notice your dog leaning away, lip-licking, or yawning, stop petting them for 5 seconds. If they solicit pets by leaning back to you, try to pet again. Otherwise, stop petting.
If your dog doesn’t feel like cuddling when stressed, don’t force it. Instead, provide them with options and let them choose.
9. A weird lifehack with loud rock music
As weird as it might sound, it’s good to turn your TV on loud (almost to the maximum to match the fireworks sound). You want sounds that have lots of a lot of bass or percussion. This approach is called sound masking. Fireworks are scary because they are loud and sudden. Having a constant loud sound on TV helps their dog in a way that makes loud fireworks sound less unexpected since they just get diluted in a TV sound / masked by a TV sound.
You can play a sound on a TV or sound speaker (phone and laptop will not work) since you need a good range of sounds, including low-frequency sounds, to mimic the fireworks.
Important! It is good to test loud TV a few days before the fireworks to make sure your dog is not scared of loud TV. Some dogs may, and some are not, so you need to test with your particular dog. Also, if your dog is sound-sensitive or has any sound phobias, this advice might not work.
There are a few other ways to mask a sound: working appliances (dishwasher, washing machine), fan, or white/brown noise.
10. Keep your dog busy with a super yummy, long-lasting treat
This tip is at the end of the list because if your dog is terrified of fireworks, they probably won’t eat any food. This is a normal stress response and an important signal for us to know that our dogs feel bad right now.
At the same time, if your dog enjoys a long-lasting chew, frozen kong, or lick mats (for smaller dogs), remember that licking and chewing are self-soothing activities that can help calm them down.
I suggest preparing those treats in advance and offering them to your dog right before the fireworks start but don’t worry if your dog chooses not to eat them.
11. Stay calm.
Being overly anxious yourself or acting as a helicopter parent may increase the dog’s anxiety since dogs can feel us and get more worried if they notice that we are worried.
Sounding sad or overly excited will not help your dog either. Just stay calm and composed.
Provide your dog with the calming options described above, but if nothing helps and your dog is still terrified, be there with them and stay calm.
If all the advice above is overwhelming and you want someone to walk you through all the steps or create a customized training plan for your dog, you can hire me in person in San Francisco or book a remote consultation – worldwide.
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