12/30/2024
New Year’s festivities 🎉 can be a time of stress for many dogs and cats. From a pet’s perspective, unpredictable, loud noises and explosions of celebratory fireworks 🎆 are understandably threatening and a just cause for alarm; with some animals reacting as if their very life hangs in the balance. For those hosting a party, the presence of strangers and change can also be distressing. Thankfully it doesn’t have to be this way. Here are tips to help your canine or cat keep calm and carry on as they welcome in the new year:
If your dog or cat is upset with fireworks or other loud noises, or if they’re on edge around people they are less familiar with, talk with your veterinarian about options to help your pet. Your veterinary team may use supplements to help your pet relax. If their fear and anxiety is more severe, medication may be a good course of action.
Ensure cats who have outside access are kept safely inside, especially during fireworks displays. Also, try to take your dog on earlier evening potty breaks, keeping in mind the possibilities of
unanticipated displays occurring earlier than expected and in the days around the occasion.
Set up a Soothing Sanctuary
• With a little know-how, you can drown out extraneous noise, block flashing lights, and naturally calm your dog and cat. Block windows or move them to a room with limited outside views.
• Playing calming music like classical, reggae, and soft rock. 🎶
• Fill any gaps in the music with a fountain, fan, or white noise machine.
• Use pheromone sprays or plug-ins, which mimic the soothing natural chemicals produced by mother cats and dogs to comfort their offspring. We have several products for cats and dogs available.
• For dogs with severe noise anxiety, look for wearable noise-reduction products that work to muffle sounds or consider a compression garment like a ThunderShirt, which mimics the soothing effect of swaddling for an infant.
• Certain nutraceuticals – foods with health benefits- can have a calming effect on anxious animals.
