A UK owner’s guide to a calmer Bonfire season

To help your dog cope with fireworks, start preparing before Bonfire Night. Give them a safe place to retreat to, exercise them during daylight, get home before fireworks are likely to begin and reduce outside noise and flashes by closing windows and curtains. Keep things calm and familiar, and contact your vet if your dog shows significant fear or distress.

For plenty of us, autumn evenings mean cosy jumpers, darker walks and perhaps a mug of something warm. For our dogs, however, they can also bring something rather less welcome: the sudden whizz, crack and bang of fireworks.

…And fireworks season in the UK rarely means just one evening. Displays and garden fireworks can take place around Bonfire Night and on other celebrations, so an unexpected bang can catch you and your dog off guard.

If your dog heads behind the sofa at the first distant firework, starts pacing or suddenly decides that the garden after dark is absolutely off limits, a little preparation can make the season more manageable.

Dog fireworks anxiety doesn’t look the same in every dog.

Some reactions are obvious. Your dog might shake, whine, bark or try to hide. Others can be easier to miss, including panting, drooling, pacing, becoming unusually clingy or losing interest in food.

You know your dog’s normal behaviour best, so look for changes rather than waiting for an obvious panic response.

If your dog is particularly distressed by fireworks or other loud noises, speak to your vet as early as you can. They can check whether anything else may be contributing to the problem and discuss appropriate support. They may also recommend help from a suitably qualified behaviourist.

Don’t wait for the first enormous bang of November to start rearranging the living room.

Set up a quiet, comfortable place your dog can retreat to ahead of fireworks season. That might be their usual bed, a covered crate if they already enjoy using one, a spot behind the sofa or another part of the house where they naturally choose to settle.

Add familiar bedding and favourite items, and allow your dog to come and go freely. The important bit is choice: never force them into their safe space or shut them inside it.

When evening arrives, closing windows and curtains can help soften outside sounds and block flashes. Familiar music or the television can provide some background noise too.

And if your dog decides that underneath the dining table is actually the safest place in Worcestershire? Unless it’s unsafe, there’s no need to drag them out. Let them settle where they feel most comfortable.

One of the simplest changes you can make during fireworks season is adjusting the timing of your dog’s walk.

Aim to exercise your dog while it’s still light and get home well before fireworks are likely to begin. As well as reducing the chance of a sudden bang frightening them while you’re outside, a good walk with opportunities to sniff and explore can help your dog relax afterwards.

That doesn’t mean running your dog into the ground in the hope they’ll sleep through the fireworks. A frightened dog can still be frightened when they’re tired.

Instead, think about appropriate physical activity alongside mental enrichment. A relaxed sniffy walk, play, training or a familiar puzzle can give your dog useful outlets earlier in the day.

If fireworks have already started, don’t force a nervous dog outside for their normal evening walk. Toilet trips may need to be shorter and carefully timed, with your dog kept securely on their lead.

Dogs often benefit from predictability, so fireworks night probably isn’t the evening to introduce lots of other changes.

Feed your dog and arrange toilet breaks with the expected fireworks in mind, then keep the rest of the evening as familiar as you reasonably can.

Once the bangs start:

It’s also worth checking that your dog’s microchip details are up to date in case they panic and manage to escape.

For dogs that already enjoy daycare, suitable daytime activity and company can be a useful part of their normal routine during the lead-up to Bonfire Night.

A day that includes appropriate play, enrichment and social interaction can give an active dog plenty to do before they head home for the evening. That may help some dogs feel more ready to settle - particularly compared with spending a long day without much activity before the fireworks begin.

But every dog is different. Daycare isn’t a treatment for dog noise phobia, and a dog who finds busy environments stressful won’t necessarily benefit from extra stimulation.

At K9 Leisure Club in Kidderminster, our doggy daycare gives dogs opportunities for supervised activity and socialisation. If your dog already enjoys being around other dogs and you’re wondering whether daycare could fit into their autumn routine, speak to our team about whether it could suit them.

If your dog has previously panicked, tried to escape, become extremely distressed or struggles to recover after loud noises, don’t rely on home remedies alone.

Speak to your vet ahead of fireworks season rather than waiting until Bonfire Night itself. Depending on your dog’s individual needs, your vet can advise on appropriate options and may refer you to a clinical animal behaviourist.

Longer-term work to help a dog become more comfortable with firework sounds may also be possible, but this needs to be done gradually and carefully.

Playing loud firework recordings to a dog who is already frightened can make matters worse, so follow reputable professional guidance rather than turning up the volume and hoping they get used to it.

You can’t control when every firework will go off, but you can make your dog’s surroundings feel safer and more predictable.

Prepare their cosy retreat, shift walks to daylight hours, plan some suitable daytime activity and know what you’ll do when fireworks begin. Most importantly, pay attention to what your dog finds reassuring rather than assuming there’s one trick that works for everyone.

And if you’re considering adding some extra daytime activity to your dog’s routine this autumn, get in touch with K9 Leisure Club to find out more about our doggy daycare and whether it could be a good fit for your dog.