Bonfire Night is a grossly inaccurate description as it now tends to be more of a season than a night!  Our multicultural society has brought with it several new festivals to celebrate, resulting in fireworks being used from October through to February.

Pet's can be very visibly affected by fireworks, i.e. barking, crying, pacing but they can also be very quiet, not overtly frightened but stressed in other ways.

Signs of FEAR - hiding, cowering, destructive behaviour

Signs of ANXIETY - panting, pacing, restlessness, hypervigilance, inappetance, trembling and more frequent toileting.  Early signs to watch out for are lip licking and yawning.

If your pet is bothered by fireworks there are some simple things that you can do, but for better control, a long term plan is a better form of management. 

The important thing is to be prepared!  It is not advisable to ring your vet on the 4th November wanting a magic treatment to keep your pet happy.  If your pet has not had any sedative treatment before, then the effects can be unknown.  Some treatments can actually make your pet worse.  So it is best to be prepared.

There are some treatments available which can have calming effects on your pet but these should be used at least two weeks before required to get the best effect. 

 

This is a synthetic copy of the natural appeasing pheromone the mother dog produces to comfort and reassure her puppies.  It has been scientifically proven to help both puppies and adult dogs cope in stressful situations such as fireworks and loud noises.

Noise phobias and firework fears can be treated successfully through a process of desensitisation and counter conditioning, in conjunction with Adaptil.  However, it is important that this therapy is also carried out when fireworks events are unlikely to happen.
Desensitisation programmes using Adaptil and the Sounds Scary CD has been scientifically proven to be an effective combination for treating fear of fireworks in dogs.

 

 

Have you noticed your cat rubbing its face against objects in your home?  When cats do this they are leaving behind a pheromone which marks their home environment as safe and secure.  Feliway is a synthetic copy of this pheromone which helps to reassure and comfort cats in their own territory.

Changes to a cat's routine, for example, keeping them indoors during fireworks season, can sometimes lead to unwanted behaviours, such as urine marking, vertical scratching and inter-cat tension.  Feliway is scientifically proven to prevent or reduce these behaviours and help them adjust to their environment.

For more information from the makers of Adaptil & Feliway click here.

 

Some tips for Firework Season:-

Hopefully with a longterm plan you will be able to make the Firework Season less stressful for your pet.