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The sound of holidays in a pet's mind
Now that we are in these festive times, there is no better moment to think about those who love us the most: our pets. December is a very stressful time for them. You may wonder why? If the whole family gathers and everyone seems to be happy. The answer is, fireworks. Fireworks are a very big stress factor for pets because, as you might know, most pets have much better hearing abilities than humans do. For instance, dogs can hear higher pitched sounds that are located up to 1 mile away from them. So, now imagine. If even humans get surprised at the loud sound that fireworks produce, how loud and terrifying it must be for them. During this month, people entertain themselves and celebrate by using these illuminations, so pets get greatly affected.
Some pets might become aggressive out of fear and try to run away, but aside from all the results of fear and anxiety pets can feel due to the strong noise, there are a lot of physical consequences that our animals can experience. Although the effects of fireworks on pets vary depending on the species, all of them have a negative impact on the animal. In the case of dogs and cats the physical repercussions can be: Difficulty to breathe also known as tachycardia (rise heart rate), high blood pressure, muscle tremors and even drooling. Additionally, there are other injuries that can come out of the behaviors caused by fireworks. As pets panic when hearing the blast, they can try to escape or hide. When hiding or finding a way to escape they might injure themselves.
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But don't worry. As concerning and bad all these effects sound like, there are things that we can do to avoid or reduce the risk of all these from happening. First of all, you need to try to keep your pets away from the fireworks. You can do this by taking them on a walk early in the evening to avoid them being out when the fireworks start. There are other things that can be done when being inside the house. You can close the curtains and create a relaxing and safe space for them. In addition, playing some music and relaxing sounds for your animal can help to calm them down. Finally, and the most important, is to keep yourself calm and give them lots of love.
To sum up, while we are celebrating with fireworks our lovely pets suffer because they hear them louder than we do, causing fear, stress and physical injuries. Thankfully, we can do things to create a relaxing environment for them while still having fun holidays.