It's that time of year when bonfire night is approaching and pet owners start to worry about how their pets will respond, especially those who have never experienced fireworks before. 

Clinical Director of Oakham Veterinary Hospital, Chris Booth MRCVS, has shared some of his top tips for recognising discomfort and fear with your pets and how to best care for them during firework displays. 

"Firework night is approaching and so it can be worth preparing yourselves and your pet for what can be a traumatic period," says Booth. 

Ensure that you exercise your pet as early as you can, before it gets dark and before any fireworks start. When you are out walking, keep your dog on a lead so they can't run off if they are spooked by a sudden loud noise. 

Tip two: act early

If you know your pet is likely to be scared or anxious during the fireworks then a pre-emptive, preventative approach is going to help the most. 

This includes keeping your pet indoors while fireworks are likely to be let off. This includes larger animals like dogs and cats but also smaller ones like rabbits and guinea pigs. 

Learning to recognise signs that your pet is becoming stressed will help you to reassure and comfort them before it evolves into all out fear. 

"For example," says Booth, "pacing, clinginess and trembling may indicate a mildly anxious dog, whereas hiding, whining and soiling can indicate a more severe state of fear. Cats will usually try to escape fearful situations and will rarely seek out human attention during times of fear." 

This includes a lot of different methods depending on your pet. Creating a safe environment with lots of hiding places, plenty of toys and treats is very important and can be adapted to what your pet finds comforting. 

The use of a pheromone diffuser, such as Adaptil (for dogs) and Feliway (for cats) uses synthetic chemicals that mimic those from a mother while young are suckling to reassure them. This can be used at least five days before fireworks begin and has been shown to reduce anxiety as well as increase feelings of security and wellbeing in adults. 

Creating a comforting environment for your pet can help soothe anxiety. (Photo: Ryan Stone)

Pets can be very perceptive to anxiety in humans. "Dogs ad cats will pick up on your anxiety at home," explains Booth, "so you must remain calm. Act normally and try not to reassure your pet too much – excessive reassurance will confirm their suspicion that they need to be scared. 

"Similarly, do not punish them as this will just increase their anxiety state. If you act normally during this time, you pet is more likely to consider these noises to be normal, and is less likely to panic." 

As well as remaining calm, reducing their awareness of the fireworks is also an important step. This may include shutting curtains, keeping outside doors closed and playing background noise or having the television on to keep their focus on the noise to a minimum. 

There are several methods vets may recommend if your pet's anxiety becomes severe. One method is used in the weeks running up to fireworks to desensitise your pet to the noise using CDs with firework sounds that can be played to your pet. These audios start with the firework noises very quietly and over the following weeks, once one level is tolerated, the volume can be increased.  

There is also medication and tranquilisers that a vet can recommend on the run up to firework night in order to ease your pet's stress. If you are concerned, it is important to speak to a vet or nurse that can offer advice or refer you to a behaviourist to help. 

For more information and tips to help keep your pet calm and safe, contact Oakham Veterinary Hospital.