Fantastic or Fearsome? What to do if your Pet Doesn’t like Fireworks

As the clock counts down - 10 …9…down to… 3… 2...1 and we cheerfully shout, “Happy New Year!” and signal the change of one year to the next, we often set our eyes to gaze upon the beautiful fireworks display above our heads in celebration. But to our loving pets, those fireworks are not always a cause for celebration. In fact, studies have shown^1,2 that when asking pet owners how their pets handle fireworks almost half of the people surveyed reported their dogs to have at least one fearful behavioral response due to fireworks. Fearful behavioral reactions often reported with noise (such as fear of fireworks, gunshots, and thunderstorms) include trembling, freezing, panting, drooling, lowered body posture, tucking the tail, yawning, barking/howling, hiding, trying to escape, social withdrawal, pacing, involuntary elimination, or destructive behaviors that may or may not result in self-harm. Seeing just one of these behaviors from your trusty companion is enough to break your heart, especially when we know that the fireworks aren’t likely to cause actual harm.

The evolutionary reason behind a fear, is in essence, to ensure your safety. Fear is an adaptive response to a stimulus considered to be dangerous. If we consider the situation from our dogs’ perspective – whether celebrating at home or away for the night, there are likely some changes to your normal daily schedule (so your dog is already noticing a difference); and then suddenly there are loud thunderous booms and bright flashing lights! How are they supposed to know that dangerous loud sounds followed by bright lights aren’t a cause for concern? Similarly, some dogs may be sensitive to thunderstorms, responding to the drop in barometric pressure, as well as the changes in temperature, loud noises, and bright flashing lights. If they have had a bad experience with storms, then fireworks, like those set off on New Year’s Day, might come very close to replicating a similarly stressful situation for the dog and result in a similar display of fearful behavior.

What can you do?

• Avoidance

You may be wondering, “How do I avoid fireworks? They happen in my city; I can’t stop them.” Well, the best way to avoid fireworks is not to bring your dog to outdoor displays of fireworks. If you know you want to enjoy the show, and you have a dog that doesn’t enjoy them, it’s best to leave them home in a safe place this New Years. While there may be a way to desensitize and counter condition your dog to fireworks it takes time and work and isn’t going to happen overnight, so it’s best to avoid them for now, if you can.

• Create a safe place

Creating a safe place for your fireworks ‘fraidy’ pet means creating a space that they willingly want to go to, such as a crate or quiet room, which they can come and go as they please without being able to escape into unsafe places, such as a busy road. Additionally, temporarily placing your dog in an unfamiliar location during the fireworks may make them feel uncomfortable and amplify their fearful behavior. Playing the radio or turning on a fan is another way to help muffle the fireworks noise and provide some comfort.

If a dog does not like being left alone, distractions, such as playing fetch, learning tricks, or even praise and cuddles, can help reduce stress. Distractions for food motivated dogs could include treats and food puzzles. Remember to give your dog a chance to escape to their safe place if distractions are not working. It is recommended not to reprimand a dog for their fear responses during stressful situations, this can lead to more harm than good.

• Consult your veterinarian

If you have a pet that is very fearful of fireworks, or other loud noises such as thunderstorms, you may need to consult with your veterinarian and discuss various techniques to help modify your dog’s behavior. If warranted, the veterinarian may prescribe anti-anxiety medications. Depending on the medication, some will take time to build up to a therapeutic level in the body while others can be given in preparation for regular celebrations, such as New Year’s Day or the 4^th of July.³ Talk to your veterinarian about what approach is best for you and your pet.

• Behavior modification

To help your pet, become accustomed to and less fearful of fireworks, board-certified veterinary behaviorists (find one here) recommend counterconditioning and desensitization, as well as relaxation training if possible.

1. Counterconditioning is conditioning dogs to have a different response to the fireworks. For example, displaying relaxed behaviors instead of fearful ones.
2. Desensitization is exposing the pet to the fearful stimulus gradually in a controlled environment so that it does not elicit a fearful response. For these methods, to work it is important to identify the specific cause of the firework fear in your dog – such as the loud noise, the bright flashes, or maybe the smell of gunpowder.
3. Relaxation training teaches the animal to relax on cue and can be managed by first inducing relaxation with gentle massage or long strokes, then by pairing this cue with a word to condition the pet to induce relaxation during stressful events without the need to massage continuously.⁴

In a survey of dog owners evaluating treatment strategies to manage firework fears, counterconditioning, relaxation training, and prescription medication were found to be the most effective strategies for dogs.⁴ Counterconditioning was reported to be the most effective strategy with over 70% of owners observing improvement. Prescription medication was also noted to work in 69% of dog owners, with desensitization working in 55%, and alternate categories, such as pheromones and nutraceuticals, being effective in about 27-35%. As a result, it is sometimes recommended that complementary methods (such as medication or relaxation training) are used in conjunction with counter conditioning and desensitization.

• Alternative tools that may help

I’ll never forget, on one Canada Day celebration, seeing my roommate’s Labrador Shepherd cross, Tank, cowering in the bathtub, shivering, and whimpering as if the world was ending. We lived in an apartment and had great views of the fireworks display, but poor Tank was terrified in the bathtub – my heart broke for him! After the fireworks were over, poor Tank had a significant digestive upset. However, now, there is a myriad of products that could help your pup deal with the fearsome fireworks. One study (Reimer⁴) found that alternative products used as management strategies were reported to be effective 27-35% of the time; there may be a reduction in stressful behaviors, and any little bit might help. While these alternatives discussed below are not likely to be a cure-all, they can be used in conjunction with the methods described above and provide an extra tool in your toolbox to help your dog.

• Pressure vests

Pressure shirts have been designed to provide comfort during stressful situations and may provide some comfort to your dog – almost like a big comforting hug. Many products have studies that showed an influence on fearful responses. King et al.,⁵ showed that a specific brand and properly fitted pressure vest used on dogs diagnosed with either generalized anxiety or separation anxiety did have a lower heart rate, and showed a decrease in tongue flicking and yawning in response to being left in a kennel and separated from their owners, although other behavior signs did not seem influenced. Cottam and Dodman⁶ found that a different pressure vest resulted in an owner's reported decrease in hiding behavior in thunder phobic dogs. This study, however, was not blinded, so owners may have had biased responses to the survey. Another study⁷ found a decrease in anxiety over time in thunder phobic dogs that wore another type of pressure vest. While these studies do not directly test the efficacy of pressure shirts in relation to fireworks, if worn properly they are unlikely to cause harm and could provide a small degree of stress relief during the fireworks fiasco.

• Pheromonatherapy

Another helpful tool is the addition of calming pheromones to the environment. Dog appeasing pheromones or similar pheromone products for cats may help to signal to your pet that they are in a safe place and can help reduce stress for some pets. They come in collars, sprays, and plug-in diffusers usually intended for small spaces, such as crates or small rooms. Remember to consider safety with plug-in products, as there have been plug-in products that become very hot and could present a household safety hazard.

• Probiotics

Gastrointestinal upset in the form of loose stools has been noted in many animals undergoing stressful situations. Stress colitis is a term used to describe diarrhea or loose stools associated with the large intestine; often noted in dogs after a fearful or stressful situation, such as a fireworks display. A recent study⁸ evaluated microbiota populations in dogs with aggressive, phobic, or normal behaviors and noted that phobic dogs were characterized mainly by enrichment of Lactobacillus, a bacterial genus comprising known GABA producers, the main central nervous system inhibitory neurotransmitter able to regulate emotional behavior in mice via the vagus nerve.⁹ Further study into the influence of the microbiome on fireworks fears is needed, but there are some products that have shown improvement on anxious behaviors in dogs. Specifically, the impact of Bifidobacterium longum has been shown to reduce barking, spinning, jumping, and pacing on a day-to-day basis, as well as during a formal anxiety test¹⁰; however, it is unclear if these results would translate specifically to a fireworks phobic dog. Considering the probiotics are unlikely to cause harm and may provide stress relief and often improve stool quality, many veterinarians recommend trying an appropriate probiotic, particularly if loose stools are noted in your firework phobic pup.

• Nutraceuticals and more

Since nutraceuticals are not beholden to the same strict approval process that medications undergo, there are many products that are readily available on the market. As a result, their efficacy may be unknown and there may be little published peer-reviewed evidence on their effects in relation to noise fears. One product used in anxiety disorders is a nutraceutical, which uses alpha-casozepine derived from the alpha S1 casein in milk and has been shown to be effective as a non-pharmaceutical compound to reduce anxiety in dogs and cats.¹¹ This study did not evaluate fireworks or noise fears specifically, however, the product may be helpful as an adjunct to behavioral therapy.

Thus far cannabidiol (CBD) products do not have a lot of research to support their use in behavior management of fireworks phobias. A recent study¹² examined the impact of feeding CBD-containing treats on canine responses to a noise-induced fear response test and found that the results did not support an anxiolytic effect of CBD in dogs at that dose. Further studies with varying doses are necessary to help determine if CBD is safe, efficacious, and could have a calming influence on fearful behaviors.

While we may not be able to stop the fireworks from happening around our fearful furballs, there are lots of steps we can take to alleviate the stress they experience during our celebrations. Being aware of their responses, creating safe places for them to shelter during fireworks, implementing an appropriate behavioral modification plan, with or without additional alternative treatments, all can help shift your pet's frame of mind from fearful to relaxed – if done gradually with patience and compassion. If you need extra help, don’t forget to book an appointment with your veterinarian to discuss additional behavioral management or medications that may bring relief to your loving furry family.

References:

1. Blackwell EJ, Bradshaw JWS, Casey RA. 2013. Fear responses to noises in domestic dogs: Prevalence, risk factors, and co-occurrence with other fear related behaviour. Applied Animal Behavioural Science.
2. Reimer S. 2019. Not a one-way road – Severity, progression and prevention of firework fears in dogs. PLoS ONE.
3. Engel O, Müller HW, Klee R, Francke B, Mills DS. 2019. Effectiveness of imepitoin for the control of anxiety and fear associated with noise phobia in dogs. Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine.
4. Reimer S. 2020. Effectiveness of treatments for firework fears in dogs. Journal of Veterinary Behavior.
5. King C, Buffington L, Smith TJ, Grandin T. 2014. The effect of a pressure wrap (ThunderShirt^®) on heart rate and behavior in canines diagnosed with anxiety disorder. Journal of Veterinary Behavior.
6. Cottam N, Dodman NH. 2009. Comparison of the effectiveness of a purported anti-static cape (the Storm Defender^®) vs. a placebo cape in the treatment of canine thunderstorm phobia as assessed by the owners’ reports. Applied Animal Behavior Science.
7. Cottam N, Dodman NH, Ha J. 2013. The effectiveness of the Anxiety Wrap® in the treatment of canine thunderstorm phobia: An open-label trial. Journal of Veterinary Behavior.
8. Mondo E, Barone M, Soverini M, D’Amico F, Cocchi M, Petrulli C, Mattioli M, Marliani G, Candela M, Accorsi PA. 2020. Gut microbiome structure and adrenocortical activity in dogs with aggressive and phobic behavioral disorders. Cell Press.
9. Bercik P, Park AJ, Sinclair D, Khoshdel A, Lu J, Huang X, Deng Y, et al. 2011. The anxiolytic effect of Bifidobacterium longum NCC3001 involves vagal pathways for gut-brain communication. Neurogastroenterology & Motility.
10. McGowan RTS, Barnett HR, Czarnecki-Maulden G, Si X, Perez-Camargo G, Martin F. 2018 Tapping into those ‘gut feelings’: Impact of BL999 (Bifidobacterium longum) on anxiety in dogs. ACVB Veterinary Behavior Symposium; July 12, 2018; Denver, Colorado.
11. Beata C, Beaumont-Graff E, Diaz E, Marion C, Massal M, Marlois N, Muller G, Lefranc C. 2007. Effects of alpha-casozepine (Zylkene) versus selegiline hydrochloride (Selgian, Anipryl) on anxiety disorders in dogs. Journal of Veterinary Behavior.
12. Morris EM, Kitts-Morgan SE, Spangler DM, McLeod KR, Costa JHC, Harmon D. 2020. The impact of feeding cannabidiol (CBD) containing treats on canine response to a noise-induced fear response test. Frontiers in Veterinary Science.

 

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About the Author

Dr. Sarah Wilson is a Board Certified Veterinary Nutritionist® and formerly served as Director of Veterinary Nutrition within Nutrition Services at BSM Partners. She has practiced clinical veterinary medicine as well as specialized in veterinary nutrition. In both a clinical setting for individual patients, and as a consultant for the pet food industry, providing appropriate nutritional advice on a small scale (single patient) or on a large scale (industry) allows Dr. Wilson to talk about her favorite things all day long: food and pets!