Protect Your Pet from Suffering a Fireworks Misery This Party Season

Hi everyone,

With fireworks season on the horizon here in the UK we thought it important to share some tips and advice around fireworks as well as what products can be used to help keep your pets calm! Fireworks can be extremly stressfull for many pets both from our own experience and through advice from professional bodies such as the PDSA.

PDSA Vet Rebecca Ashman said:

“Anyone who has had a pet that suffers from fireworks phobia will know how challenging it can be. Pets have very acute hearing and, for them, the loud bangs can be terrifying. They can shake with fear, they might go to the toilet in the house, destroy furniture, and could even injure themselves if they panic or run away.”

One of our personal favourites for this are the calming products of Pet Remedy that thanks to the fact that they use a combination of herbal oils works on all memmals unlike pheromones that are species specific.

And for this year’s party season they’ve put together a special Party Season Campaign as sadly Bonfire night is just the beginning of the firework noises in the UK nowadays.

Speaking about their 2018 campaign, Martyn from Pet Remedy said:

“Traditionally, bonfire night in November has been recognised as a stressful time for pets. But pet owners should remember that fireworks are now common from Halloween in October right through to Chinese New Year in February. Occasions such as Diwali, Christmas and New Year’s Eve all add to the stress. In addition to fireworks, other triggers for stress include parties, lots of house visitors, loud music, changes to routine, even Christmas decorations and excited children with new toys!”

PET REMEDY, manufacturers of the unique and clinically proven natural de-stress and calming range, have launched their 2018 Party Season campaign and are already celebrating a Best New Product Award.

Pet Remedy offers a natural solution to stress using their unique and patented blend of Valerian absolute oil with Vetiver, Basil & Clary Sage. These essential oils have a tiny molecular structure which makes them very concentrated, aromatic, and easily able cross the brain-blood barrier.

We’ve of course trialled this product with our own cats and are fully behind it’s statement as you can see from our post with Oliver & Nubia for example.

This year Pet Remedy got an official confirmation of the good their products do as judges at the recent PATS new product awards voted the Pet Remedy Party Season Survival Kit as best new pet care product.  Martyn Barklett-Judge, Managing Director of Pet Remedy commented

“The Judges were unanimous and it was a huge category which makes the award all the more special”

Pet Remedy’s new Party Season Survival Kit is described as “All you need to help keep your pet calm and relaxed during the party season ” It contains a plug-in diffuser, 15ml calming spray and individual calming wipes at an RRP of £25.

Of course, in addition to using products such as this to help calm your pets during stressful times like this, it’s also important to look at other means of making your pet more comfortable. One of the leading UK charities, the PDSA, offers some additional advice on this:

PDSA Vet Rebecca Ashman offers the following additional advice

• Buy a sound CD or stream them online, and very gradually introduce your pet to these types of noises. Play them quietly in another room to start with, and make sure you remain calm and act normally. Reward your pet when they remain calm, and if they become anxious then stop immediately and try again later with a lower volume. When they show no reaction, very gradually increase the volume and duration over a period of several weeks.
• Build a hideaway den for your pet several weeks ahead – this should be somewhere they feel safe. For dogs this may be behind the sofa or under a table – cover it with blankets and line it with pillows to reduce any sound. Cats often feel safest when high up, so a safely secured cat bed on a shelf or wardrobe may be their preferred option. Don’t force them to use this, but do reward them with praise or a healthy treat when they do, so they build a positive association.

• If you have a young pet who will be experiencing fireworks for the first time, then this experience can often feed into how they react to fireworks into adulthood. Read up on the process of socialisation, which is when young pets are introduced to a variety of people, objects, sounds and experiences at a critical stage of their development during their first few months of life. How you react is also very important – remaining calm will help to reassure them the noises are nothing to worry about. When done correctly, socialisation can significantly reduce the likelihood of fears developing in later life.
• For severe phobias, we recommend speaking to your vet, who will be able to discuss various options including referral to an accredited behaviourist.

We hope you found this tips useful and remember, don’t wait until the fireworks start! Be prepared and start the process in advance of likely periods of fireworks.

Thanks,

Marc