ANIMALS experience New Year’s Eve fireworks the same way humans experience being caught in heavy artillery.
They hear sound on a range of frequencies much larger than humans can detect, and their sensitive hearing picks up sound from significantly further away. When confronted with loud, confusing noises that basically sound like bombs exploding, they become fearful and confused.
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According to the National Council of SPCAs, dogs can hear five times more acutely than humans while cats can hear about twice as acutely as dogs.
“A practical example is that a whisper weighs in at about 30 dB, and a dog can hear that from almost three times as far away as a human. Cats are even more sensitive than dogs to these soft sounds. This also explains why dogs and cats are so scared by the sound of fireworks which, to us, do not seem so loud. They are in fact at least five times louder to our pets,” the SPCA explains.
You can help your beloved four-legged pet cope with all the noisy celebrations this festive season by using an ‘anxiety wrap’.
These wraps are available on the market; however, it is easy to make your own by using a scarf or any stretchy piece of fabric. The length depends on the size of the animal. The fabric creates a slight pressure, like a constant hug, around the pet’s body without being constricting.
How to tie the anxiety wrap:
- Place the centre of the scarf or fabric across the pet’s chest, leaving two equal lengths on either side.
- Cross the ends over its shoulders.
- Next, cross those ends beneath the chest and bring them back up, tying in a secure knot away from the pet’s spine.
Visit the NSPCA website for the rules and regulations surrounding fireworks and how to report transgressors.
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