Situation under control

Play CDs of fireworks to prepare dogs for Diwali. Dr Kallahalli Umesh shares useful tips on pet management during festivities

Your happy go lucky pet could be trembling, shaking and barking more during the coming Diwali celebrations at your home. The sad part is that sometimes we don’t even care to give a thought to their suffering. However, it is important to understand that dogs and cats have stronger hearing power. So what we perceive to be loud is even louder and unbearable for the pets. In addition, dogs are also sensitive to vibrations caused by loud noises. Therefore, one needs to take extra care of pets during Diwali season.

Signs of stress or fear may include shaking, trembling, barking, howling, excessive drooling or hiding when fireworks are being let off.

PREVENTION

• Make sure that your dog is well socialised as a puppy, allowing him to hear lots of different sounds and have lots of different experiences, always in a positive way. This will help to prevent the problem in the first place.

Before fireworks

• Take your dog for a good walk during the day before fireworks start being let off.
• Keep your dog inside when fireworks are going off. Never walk him or leave him outside when fireworks are going off. Keep windows shut and curtains drawn to mask sounds and flashes from fireworks. Turn up the volume on the television or radio to help mask the sounds.
• Keep your dog distracted by playing with him or giving treats like Pedigree or Dentastix. Do not comfort your dog if he is showing fearful behaviour as this may actually reinforce the behaviour. Act normally, as if there is nothing at all to be afraid of and reward your dog when he is calm and not looking afraid
• Never punish your dog in any way for being afraid. Provide your dog with a suitable safe place where he can hide and do not disturb him when he goes into this area.
• If your pet is extremely sensitive to noise then slowly accustom him to have cotton in the ears. Prefer using natural therapy to calm your dog. Bach flower extracts and lavender oil are helpful in milder cases
• Some people force their pets to be close to the sounds that are frightening. Don’t do that you will only end up freighting your pet even more. In an attempt to leave the situation the pet will become aggressive

Post Diwali

• Once you get past Diwali it is a good idea to start thinking about desensitising your dog to fireworks so that he can cope better the next time.
• Desensitisation programmes will not just work overnight and require lots of time and patience to be effective.
• You can buy CDs or tapes of fireworks sounds to help with this. These should initially be played at a very low volume so you can barely hear them.
• While playing the sounds give your dog something enjoyable such as his pedigree food, a treat or simply play with him. Repeat this for short periods several times per day
• As long as your dog shows no negative reactions you can very gradually increase the volume over progressive sessions. With time your dog should stop associating the sounds with something scary and will begin to associate them with pleasant experiences such as eating
• It may help in more serious cases to seek expert advice to help deal with these problems. The best way to find help is to ask your vet who can then give you an individual treatment programme tailored to you and your dog. In extreme cases your vet may suggest prescribing drug treatment to help your dog cope with his fear of fireworks.
• Remember, drug treatment should only be used with veterinary advice. However, this is just a temporary solution and will not actually cure the problem. It is important to seek expert advice to help desensitise your dog to the sound of fireworks.

Do’s and Don’ts for stray animals

• Do not tease them by tying crackers in their tails. Our fun can lead to the poor animal’s death.
• Do not throw lighted crackers on them. Also do not flung puppies or kittens into burning crackers.  They can suffer significant burns and body damage.
• Do not terrorise them, induced with fear they may run into the traffic and get injured. Bring to the notice of local/concern authorities in case you find a injured animal in your locality or on road.
• Help any animals on the road into your garden or garage and put food and water for them. Volunteer with a shelter homes for stray animals and help them for any emergencies.
• Burst crackers in a limited and a centralised location so that animals can be restricted or kept away from the place during the fireworks.

The writer is Scientific Communication Manager, South Asia, Mars India