- June 14, 2024
The time of San Juan has arrived and many of our animals suffer stress, fear and even panic due to the loud noise of firecrackers. The College of Veterinarians of Barcelona and Animal Salut take advantage of this blog post to give you some advice so that your dogs and animals can spend this time a little calmer and with less fear.
The fear of noise
The fear of loud noises, especially firecrackers and fireworks, is common in dogs and cats: between 25% and 50% of animals suffer from it. This fear is very common because these are unpredictable, uncontrollable and very loud noises, and because the hearing sensitivity of dogs and cats is much greater than that of people, especially for very high-pitched sounds.
How can you tell if he is afraid of noise?
Animals can show fear of noise with various symptoms:
- Tremors.
- A defensive posture: tail between legs, ears drooping, gaze averted, etc.
- Attempts to escape and hide.
- Meowing, in the case of cats, or barking and moaning, in the case of dogs.
- Other symptoms: heavy breathing, salivation, dilated pupils, peeing or pooping, and tachycardia.
Here we leave you some tips:
Prepare a safe area:
- Prepare an area at home where you are comfortable, have all your things and are as isolated as possible from outside noise.
- Dampen outside noise by leaving the television or radio on.
- Anticipate louder times, if possible, and make sure your dog or cat is indoors and has access to their safe area.
- If the animal looks for you, allow it to be with you, comfort it and try to calm it down.
To consider:
- Don’t scold him if he reacts with fear.
- Don’t force him to go out if he doesn’t want to.
- If you take the dog for a walk, do it in quieter areas and times.
Important:
Use a harness instead of a conventional collar for added safety and to prevent the dog from escaping if it becomes scared.
With all these measures we can help our animals and dogs get through this time of noise and firecrackers comfortably and without fear.
