How to care for your pets during fireworks

Here are some useful tips on how to help your indoor and outdoor animals feel more relaxed when the fireworks go off.

Whilst fireworks can be exciting, fun and feel magical for us particularly around events like Christmas, New Year, Bonfire night, Diwali and many more, for many pets fireworks can be unsettling, making them quite scared.

So, what can we do to help keep our perfect pets calm during this time? Check out these tips and tricks for how to keep your pets more at ease and let us know how you got on in the comments!

Loud bangs and noises can startle your pet and make them feel anxious. All pets can react differently, but a few signs of distress to look out for are:

Here are four tips to help your indoor pet feel calmer...

A den is a great place for your pet to hide away if they get scared. Building one for your pet is a way to help them feel safe when any flashes or bangs go off outside. 

Find a quiet room in your house, a place where they feel comfortable, and fill it with their favourite blankets, cushions, toys and treats. All of this will make them feel at ease. 

🚨Check with a grown-up for how many to give you pet, too much can make them poorly 🚨

For Dogs: Blueberries are great for combating anxiety, as they contain lots of minerals and vitamins which help protect dogs form the effects of stress. You can give them about a handful a week, either by adding directly to their dog food or mixing it in with natural yogurt as a snack!

For Cats: Catnip and other cat treats are a great way of distracting your furry feline.

If your pet loves to play, try distracting them with their favourite toy and get their tail wagging!

🚨 Be careful when using sharp objects and oven, get a grown-up to help you 🚨

Chews are great to keep your dog occupied for a long amount of time. They're a good distraction tool and it really helps combat mild anxiety or frustration. They can even help to ease the pressure in your dog's ears as they chew!

What you need:

1. Get a grown up to help you slice your potato into thick rounds.

2. Place on a baking tray and bake for two and a half hours on a low heat.

3. Whilst your potato is cooking, knot and braid the rope together. 

4. Once the potato is cooked, make sure you leave it to cool down as they will be HOT!

5. Thread about three potato rounds through the rope and tie a knot part the way up and repeat until you tie your final knot at the very end of the rope to secure the toy.

6. Give to your perfect pooch with a good dog tap on the head... WOOF! 

Make sure all of your doors, windows and curtains are closed, this will help to block out the noise but keep your pet safe if they get spooked and try and run out, we don't want them escaping!

Turning up the TV or playing some soothing music can help tune out the sound of the loud bangs of the firework. Head over to CBeebies sounds where you can find eight hours of white noise - playing white noise can minimise those loud noises and to keep your pets calm.

There are lots of radio stations that have pet friendly bonfire night shows to help soothe your animals. 

Some people say comforting your pet when they're scared reinforces fear, however there's no evidence to prove this. Dog trainers say to try stroking your pet for a minute, then stopping. If they come back you for more attention then they want to be comforted, but if they walk away from you then they're okay.

Outdoor pets can also get spooked by the flashes and bangs from fireworks. Here are two tips to help outdoor pets on Bonfire Night.

Pets who live outdoors (like rabbits, guinea pigs and chickens) are often in hutches or pens and don't have the same kind of sound insulation that a normal house does.

If you have the space, you could move them indoors into a garage space or shed. If you don't have a garage or shed, try turning their enclosure so it faces a wall or fence rather than the open garden - this way it will reduce the light and mute some of the noise.

🚨 If you're doing this make sure there's plenty of ventilation - get a grown-up to help you! 🚨

Filling their little homes with extra bedding will help them burrow down and get cosy, helping them feel extra safe. 

You could even grab a blanket or a duvet to cover their enclosure to help muffle any loud noises. 

Watch Chloe talk about all these amazing tips on BBC iPlayer.

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