The Fourth of July can be a fun time to celebrate, but our furry loved ones don’t always enjoy the sound of fireworks going off in the normally calm neighborhood.
Fireworks aren’t only really loud, but they’re unpredictable and come without warning… that makes it hard for dogs and cats to get used to them.
Some dogs and cats perceive the loud unpredictable noises as a threat and that can trigger a fight-or-flight response which can manifest in behavior like running away to hide, restlessness, whining and pacing.
The best time to start thinking about how to protect your pets is at least a few days ahead of July 4th.
Here are our suggestions for keeping your furry loved ones feeling safe and secure during the next few days of loud celebrations in your neighborhood.
1 – Keep your pets inside – Even if your dog or cat spends time outdoors, bring them inside when the fireworks start going off. Many dogs go missing every years on July 4th because they get scared and run.
2 – Create a safe space – Turn a bedroom into a place where your pets can hang out during the fireworks. Load up the room with toys, bedding and blankets that can make them feel comfortable.
3 – Turn on white noise – Turning on white noise in your pet’s safe space can be the best way to counter the loud and unpredictable nature of fireworks.
There are plenty of white noise machines out there that can be purchased, but we like to use either a white noise video on YouTube (there are a lot of great ones to choose from) or you can get a white noise app for your iphone or android device. Relaxio has a free white noise generator that you can use to create your own mix of white noise sounds.
We recommend plugging the phone into portable speakers to make it loud enough to mask the fireworks.
A floor fan can sometimes be the perfect amount of background noise to mute the sound of fireworks.
Many times the right white noise set up can be enough to keep your pet calm and relaxed.
4 – CBD – CBD isn’t only useful for us humans, but it can work great for reducing anxiety in dogs and cats as well.
While there’s research that still needs to be done in regards to the effects of CBD on dogs and cats, there is plenty of anecdotal evidence and a couple of studies that show the potential of treating our pets with CBD.
Here’s a study that showed 89% of dogs who received CBD had a reduction in frequency of seizures.
Here’s another study that shows CBD helps increase comfort and activity in dogs with Osteoarthritis.
We’ve tested a number of different CBD pet treat products and most of the time we can’t get our furry loved ones to eat the treats, so we recommend just putting a drop of medium potency CBD oil into your dog or cat’s food twice a day. Be sure to mix it well before serving.
If you’re gonna give your pet CBD to help with the fireworks, we recommend that you start now, a few days before the 4th. It’s a good idea to get the CBD working before the big day arrives if at all possible.
While CBD is generally thought to be as safe for cats and dogs as it is for humans, we do recommend that if your pet is taking any kind of medication that you check with your veterinarian first.
If you’d like to give CBD a try for your pets you can either visit us here in the shop or you can order online at our ecommerce store.
So let’s all enjoy this holiday season, and by taking a few easy precautions we can make sure that our furry loved ones feel safe, secure and happy during the celebration.
Light and love,
Michele
