Fireworks and your dog: start preparing now

For many dogs New Year's Eve is the worst night of the year. The bangs come without warning, from every direction, for hours. The good news: fear of fireworks can be reduced a lot, but only with a few weeks of preparation. Start in November, not on 31 December.

Signs your dog is afraid

Panting without heat or exercise, pacing, trembling, hiding, drooling, clinging to you, refusing food, trying to escape. Some dogs only freeze and go quiet, which is easy to miss. Fear that is left alone usually gets worse each year, not better.

6 weeks before: sound training

1. Find a recording of fireworks and play it so quietly that your dog barely notices.
2. While it plays, give small, very good treats or a favourite game. The sound starts, good things start. The sound stops, they stop.
3. Keep sessions short, 3 to 5 minutes, once or twice a day.
4. Raise the volume only a little, and only when your dog stays relaxed at the current level for several sessions.
5. If your dog stops eating, pants or looks for the door, you went too fast. Go back 2 steps.

A recording never fully copies the real thing, with its pressure waves and smell. It still takes the edge off, and it teaches your dog that the sound predicts something good.

Build a safe den

Choose a quiet room, ideally with few windows. Put the dog bed or an open crate in a corner and cover it with a blanket on 3 sides. Let your dog rest there with chews in the weeks before, so the den is already a familiar, good place on the night itself. Never close a frightened dog in.

On the night

• Walk early. Take the last long walk in daylight, before the first rockets. Keep your dog on the lead and a secure harness, even if recall is good. Panicking dogs bolt.
• Check the ID. Collar with your phone number, and a microchip with up-to-date contact details.
• Close everything. Windows, curtains, cat flaps. Turn on lights, so flashes stand out less.
• Add background sound. A radio, the TV or a white noise machine masks part of the bangs.
• Keep busy. A frozen food toy or a long-lasting chew gives the mouth and the mind something to do.
• Stay home. If you can, do not leave a fearful dog alone that night.

Yes, you can comfort your dog

An old myth says comforting a scared dog rewards the fear. It does not. Fear is an emotion, not a behaviour, and calm contact does not make it bigger. If your dog wants to be close, let it lean on you. Speak calmly and stay relaxed yourself. If it prefers to hide in the den, let it hide and do not drag it out.

What not to do

Do not punish barking, shaking or hiding. Do not take your dog to a fireworks display "to get used to it". That is flooding, and it usually makes fear worse. Do not leave your dog in the garden or the car.

When to see the vet

If your dog panics, hurts itself trying to escape, or the fear gets worse every year, talk to your vet now, not the week before. There are medicines that reduce noise fear for the night, and some need to be tested on a normal day first to find the right dose. Your vet can also refer you to a behaviourist.