Pete the Vet: How to protect your pet at Halloween 

Pete the Vet: There’s no doubt that some dogs are genetically more reactive than others, making them more likely to develop fears and phobias.

Halloween is a time of year that many pet owners dread. The problem starts in early October, with the first bangs and squeals of fireworks. And as the fireworks noises become more frequent, the issue gets worse and worse. At a superficial level, it’s simple: some dogs are terrified of the sound of fireworks.

One of my patients, Molly, a cross-bred terrier, is a classic example. When she hears the first firework of the season, she jumps as if she has been stung by a bee. From then on, she is on high alert. If she hears a bang, she flinches, and if there’s a series of fireworks noises, she goes into a state of panic. She runs around the house, whimpering, and looking for somewhere to get away. She has burrowed her way into kitchen cupboards amongst the pots and pans, she has climbed into laundry baskets, hiding under armfuls of clothes, she has clawed and bitten at doors if she has been in the house alone, and on one memorable occasion, she toiletted all over the kitchen. She’s visibly terrified for the entire month. It’s sad to see her like this, and it’s no wonder that her owner comes to us asking for help every October.

As with many challenges, the details of fireworks phobia are complex, and they are worth sharing. There are three areas in particular that deserve discussion.

First, why does it develop in some dogs, and not in all of them?

There’s no doubt that some dogs are genetically more reactive than others, making them more likely to develop fears and phobias. If you compare a nervous Whippet who continually glances nervously around the room with a placid relaxed Labrador who’s more interested in snoozing than checking out his surroundings, you’ll get the picture. So if you want a calm, relaxed dog, choose mother and father dogs that are calm and relaxed.

The other important factor is the timing and severity of the first exposure to fireworks sounds. At one extreme, you could have young pups, living in a busy, noisy family home, who first hear fireworks when the sounds are in the distance, half drowned out by noises like televisions, radios and children playing. These pups will appreciate that fireworks sounds are a normal part of autumn life in Ireland, and they’ll grow up accepting them as nothing to worry about.

At the other extreme, you could have a dog who is older when they first hear fireworks: we know that dogs have a critical socialisation age (2 – 14 weeks) when their brains are adapted to accept and adjust to new experiences. If a dog is older than this, their nervous system is less adaptable, and they’re far more likely to feel fear instead of acceptance. As well as this, if the older dog has a traumatic first experience of fireworks, this may cause a severe emotional shock which leaves long term scars: they may be alone in the house, the sounds may be extra loud, and they may see frightening flashes of light at the same time. If this first experience is distressing for the dog, they are then primed to have a repeated strong emotional reaction whenever they are triggered by even mild and occasional fireworks sounds. In the same way as an adult who, as a child, was shouted at by a man with a beard may have a long term anxiety about men with beards, a dog with a bad early experience of fireworks is likely to develop a serious sensitivity to them as an adult adult animal.

Second, can anything to be done to prevent it starting?

After choosing a more placid type of dog in the first place, it helps to introduce pups to fireworks noises as early as possible, and in a carefully controlled way. The easiest way to do this is to download soundtracks of fireworks noises (try  soundcloud.com/dogstrust/setsy) and to play these at a very low volume when the pup is young. Over time, as long as the pups stays calm and relaxed, you can increase the volume. This should be done many months before Halloween, so that by the end of October, the young dog is used to the sounds, and when they hear the real thing, they will be less fearful.

Third, what can be done to help distressed dogs like Molly?

In the short term, a cosy, soundproofed den should be made for her (e.g. a room with blinds and curtains, and a radio playing classical music to drown out other sounds, with comfy bedding for her to bury into). A pheromone diffuser should be set up in the room, producing odourless vapours that will make her feel calmer. Her owner should talk to her vet about anti-anxiety medication for the fireworks season, perhaps with extra sedating tablets for the particularly bad times directly around Halloween. And in the longer term, it’s worth considering a sound desensitisation programme, using soundtracks of fireworks, to use in the springtime, to try to familiarise her with the noises before next year.

By the way, the number of lost pets surges after Halloween as dogs and cats run away in panic after being surprised by fireworks: to minimise the impact of this risk, keep all pets inside at Halloween, and to be double safe, make sure your pets are microchipped as well as carrying your phone number on their collars.