Posts Tagged: pet anxiety

If your holiday plans this year include fireworks, be sure that your July 4th pet safety skills are polished. Not all pets love the big bangs, but MarketPlace Veterinary Hospital can help you comfort your pet during fireworks and other loud noises of the holiday.

Firework season can be hard for our furry family members. Imagine being a cat or dog and being rudely awakened by a loud bang, pop, and fizz, over and over again, all night long. Your pet can’t make the connection between these scary sounds and the strange colors in the sky. In their eyes, each unfamiliar noise is cause for concern. 

Local firework regulations don’t allow any fireworks in El Dorado County. But some organizations can apply for firework display licenses, which means your pet might still hear noise all night long. The team at MarketPlace Veterinary Hospital would like to share tips to reduce pet anxiety during firework season.

They try to hide in your shirt, and you don’t know why they’re so clingy. Wait for it: yep, here comes a thunderstorm.

Younger dogs are generally not affected by the sounds of a storm. As pets age, they may learn to expect scary loud cracks and rumbles from lightning strikes. When they hear thunder or see flashes of light from lightning or fireworks, the anticipation of what’s to come can set up an anxiety response.

You are the safety captain for animals in your house. They look to you when they’re scared. If you jump, they’ll jump. Sometimes you just can’t help but react to loud noises, and neither can they. Understand that the fear is real and learn how to help calm your pet’s anxiety.