Fireworks and dogs: a prep plan to start weeks before New Year's Eve

If your dog spent last New Year's Eve shaking behind the sofa, you have company. In one survey of dog owners, fireworks topped the list of noise fears, at about one dog in four.¹ This plan teaches your dog that each bang brings a treat or a game. It takes weeks of practice, so start now. If the fireworks are tonight, skip to steps 6 and 7 of the checklist.

How can you tell if your dog is afraid of fireworks?

Fear doesn't always look like trembling. Watch for ears pulled back, moving around more and panting, during fireworks or thunderstorms. Some frightened dogs don't hide or bark at all, so a quiet dog isn't always a calm one.

Why start in November?

In another survey, dogs whose owners fed them or played with them during the bangs tended to grow less afraid over time.² A dog in a panic may not eat or play, though, so the steps below build up to the night over six weeks. If you're traveling for the holidays, fit a practice plan for car trips into the same weeks.

Will music help on the night?

We sell a music box, and this is where music falls short. It doesn't treat a fear of fireworks. If you're weighing a calming collar, we look at how pheromone and herbal collars compare on the evidence. Whatever you try, use it the way you'd use closed curtains: as part of a calm room, alongside the training that changes how your dog feels about the bangs.

The checklist: seven steps for New Year's Eve

1. Six weeks out: talk to your vet if last year was hard

If your dog panicked, tried to escape or took more than a day to recover, book a vet appointment now, well before December 30. Our guide to calm vet visits covers the trip itself. Medication is a conversation for your vet, and it needs time.

2. Five weeks out: build the den

Pick the spot most protected from noise, such as a basement or an inside room with the curtains drawn. Add a bed in a corner, a blanket that smells of home, and water. Then make it the best place in the house: feed meals there, hand out chews there, and leave the door open so your dog can come and go. Never use it for time-outs.

3. Four weeks out: start sound practice at a whisper

During dinner or a game, play a fireworks recording so quietly that your dog doesn't react. Raise the volume in small steps over days, and drop back if your dog stops eating, freezes or looks for the exit. A trainer or vet can help you set the steps. Real fireworks also flash and shake the windows, which no recording can copy, so the recordings are only one part of the plan.

Use a phone or a speaker for the recordings. Keep the Music Box for calm music, so the sound on your dog's collar is never a bang.

4. Three weeks out: teach a settle on a mat

Put a mat in the den. Reward your dog for lying on it, then for staying relaxed there a little longer each day. Use a treat your dog will work for; for Panda, one of our two dogs, that's cheese. Practice in a quiet house first, then during the sound sessions. By New Year's Eve, "go to your mat" should be a request your dog knows well.

5. The week of: check the escape routes

Frightened dogs bolt, on New Year's Eve and the Fourth of July alike. Check the fence and gates, make sure the ID tag has your current phone number, and confirm the microchip details with the registry.

6. On the day: get ahead of dusk

• Walk your dog in daylight, on a leash, well before displays begin.
• Close windows, blinds and curtains. Put on some background sound.
• Charge the Music Box in the afternoon. A full charge takes about an hour and plays for almost a full day.
• Clip it on an hour before the first bangs and start the music. Settle your dog in the den before the noise starts.

7. When the bangs start, and the morning after

• After each loud bang, give a treat or start a short game. The bang predicts something good.
• Let your dog hide if they want to. Don't pull them out.
• Stay close and stay calm. If your dog comes to you for comfort, give it.
• The next day, note how long your dog took to recover. If it was more than a few hours, take that note to your vet before the next fireworks season.

To keep the seven steps on the fridge, get the printable checklist by email.

If your dog won't stay in the den

If your dog leaves the den at the first bang, a speaker in the den stays behind.

The Barkwoo Music Box clips onto any standard collar and plays calming music right where your dog is. It's the only calming-music player made to be worn on your dog's collar, so it stays with your dog while you're out. One button press starts the preloaded playlist. It needs no phone, Wi-Fi or app, so yours stays free on a busy night. You can preview the music on our listening page and read what the research on calming music for dogs found, including its limits.

References

1. Salonen, M., Sulkama, S., Mikkola, S., et al. (2020). Prevalence, comorbidity, and breed differences in canine anxiety in 13,700 Finnish pet dogs. Scientific Reports, 10, 2962. doi:10.1038/s41598-020-59837-z ↩︎
2. Riemer, S. (2020). Effectiveness of treatments for firework fears in dogs. Journal of Veterinary Behavior, 37, 61–70. doi:10.1016/j.jveb.2020.04.005 ↩︎