QUIET NEW YEAR'S EVE WITH THE DOG. HOW TO PREPARE HIM FOR IT?

The end of the year is approaching and the preparations for the celebrations of the new one are at their peak. However, most dogs have a different opinion and consider New Year's Eve to be the worst day of the year. No wonder, the omnipresent crackling of rattles is very unpleasant for their sensitive hearing. We have therefore written down some useful advice on how to make the arrival of the new year as pleasant as possible for furries.

The end of the year is approaching and the preparations for the celebrations of the new one are at their peak. However, most dogs have a different opinion and consider New Year's Eve to be the worst day of the year. No wonder, the omnipresent crackling of rattles is very unpleasant for their sensitive hearing. We have therefore written down some useful advice on how to make the arrival of the new year as pleasant as possible for furries.

Trembling, hiding under furniture, trying to run away, whining and howling - this is just a short list of how fear and anxiety can manifest in a dog. We can see it most often during New Year's Eve. But you can also prepare for it and minimize the dog's stress as much as possible.

It's best to start accustom him to loud sensations from an early age . The more often he encounters unpleasant sounds, the more common they become to him, until in the end they don't freak him out at all. This procedure is called desensitization and it's about reducing the dog's sensitivity to a certain stressor - in this case, loud fireworks. So find a video of exploding firecrackers and play it to your dog. Behave perfectly normal during this and don't make any fuss. Repeat this for several days, gradually increasing the volume. But it should never reach the maximum. You will see that after a while the dog won't even move.

When D-day comes try to doggy during it get tired as much as possible . Aim for an active walk in the morning. As soon as it starts to get dark, the impatient people set off the first firecrackers and at that moment the dog should be safe. Play games with him and try to drain all his energy that he might later use to experience stress. Limit further walks to necessary walking and have a dog always on a leash . If a firecracker went off somewhere, he might get scared and run away.

Also prepare escape point . In fear, dogs are able to hide where you wouldn't even think of. They try to find spaces where they hear as little as possible of outside noises. It is possible for them to crawl under a table or a bed, for example, and they like to seek shelter in the bathroom as well. You can also make a special bed for them and make a roof out of blankets. In short, be forgiving and leave them where they feel as safe as possible. Maybe even on your lap.

It is also important that you you yourself were calm . Behave normally, don't stress, don't pity the dog unnecessarily and don't draw attention to his anxiety. On the contrary, try to occupy his mind and bring him to other thoughts. The home games and puzzles we wrote about will work great in the article here .

Owners, who then don't know what to do anymore, often reach for sedatives . If you decide on this procedure, we strongly recommend that you consult a veterinarian first. It is also necessary to consider whether you are overestimating the dog's stress and unnecessarily making him dependent on medication. There are also several natural preparations that partially calm down the dog. Anyway, we believe that if you don't underestimate the preparation, you won't need any medicine.

We wish you a smooth and stress-free new year.