How To Keep Your Dogs Safe And Happy On The Fourth Of July

The 4th of July can be a wonderful time for celebrating. But it can, however, be a stressful and dangerous night for your pets, especially dogs. We all know someone whose dog has tried to “escape” the sound of fireworks, or wet the floor, or just looked downright mortified at the sound of the explosions outside.

Here are a few tips to keep your furry friend safe and happy as you ring in Independence Day.

I talked to the folks over the The Vets Animal Hospital in Windsor and they wanted to remind every dog owner to keep their pets safe this holiday. Dogs with anxiety associated with fireworks and/or loud noises should be kept in a secure and confined area. You can also help them out by turning up televisions or radios to help drown out the sound of fireworks going off. (Hey, I’m sure Fido would love to spend the 4th of July with 99.9 The Point blasting on the stereo!)

The Vets also stressed that leaving any pets outside for long periods of time during the holiday could be dangerous. Lots of loud noises, bright flashes of light and temperatures expected to be around 95 degrees are not a good combination for most animals.

They also recommend not feeding your pet anything other than their normal food to avoid any gastrointestinal problems or other health problem such as pancreatitis.

Also we HIGHLY recommend to not bringing any pets to the fireworks shows. Dogs hear twice as well as humans and this can be damaging to their hearing. (P.S. Due to the fact that they can hear 5 times better than any human, we highly recommend you leave your beluga whale at home for the 4th of July.)

A few more Fourth Of July pet tips from the ASPCA:

• Never leave alcoholic drinks unattended where pets can reach them
• Do not apply any sunscreen or insect repellent product to your pet that is not labeled specifically for use on animals
• Always keep matches and lighter fluid out of your pets’ reach
• Keep your pets on their normal diet
• Do not put glow jewelry on your pets, or allow them to play with it
• Keep citronella candles, insect coils and oil products out of reach
• Never use fireworks around pets!
• Loud, crowded fireworks displays are no fun for pets

[ASPCA]

[The Vets Animal Hospital]