# Do Fireworks Stress Out Your Pets? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 2, 2018, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-fireworks-stress-out-your-pets/817180 "2018-07-02T19:04:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Tired\_and\_Cranky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a87d85/32.png) [@Tired\_and\_Cranky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tired_and_Cranky)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2018, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-fireworks-stress-out-your-pets/817180/21 "2018-07-03T17:52:56Z")
> [@Sailboat](#): > > Our much-loved former dog Sadie was terrified of loud bangs and booms, both thunder and fireworks, but came by it honestly – she carried several shotgun pellets in one hip and her tail the entire time she lived with us. My fireworks-averse dog has a roughly .177 caliber BB in his foot. He’s never been imaged so I don’t know if that’s the only one. I figure it is probably from an air gun but it could also be a shotgun pellet. ---
**Author:** ![Patx2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/73ab20/32.png) [@Patx2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patx2)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2018, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-fireworks-stress-out-your-pets/817180/22 "2018-07-03T17:56:59Z")
My dogs don’t usually get upset about them, but I live in a townhouse and my neighbor is having a party. I’m sure they will be setting stuff off. The cocker spaniel may get agitated by the voices and bangs, etc. The Shih Tzu won’t care, but if one of them starts, the other gets going. ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2018, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-fireworks-stress-out-your-pets/817180/23 "2018-07-03T18:59:54Z")
> [@Deereman](#): > > The current dogs get excited and bark. My old (dead from old age now) dog used to bark at, get excited and actually chase and try to bite fireworks, no matter how active they might be. He actually came back smoking or breathing smoke more then once! He loved it! Yeah - our old dog (mostly black lab) loved them. She would run around the house from window to window, barking like crazy and driving us mad until we gave in and had to take her out for a walk to watch them. Likewise thunderstorms (apart from the walk bit). And she was also a huge fan of preserved steam railways, and a veteran of quite a few. j ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2018, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-fireworks-stress-out-your-pets/817180/24 "2018-07-03T19:32:15Z")
Neither of our previous dogs reacted to them badly. Our new one, a six year old rescue, is with us for the first fourth. We’ll see. We have pet-sat for a huge Golden who freaked out during thunderstorms. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2018, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-fireworks-stress-out-your-pets/817180/25 "2018-07-04T02:48:18Z")
not only is my cat not fazed by it he joined me at the window to watch them. Actually he wasn’t interested in the fireworks as much as he wanted to play with me. but the noise didn’t bother him. ---
**Author:** ![sjankis630](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ea924/32.png) [@sjankis630](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sjankis630)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2018, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-fireworks-stress-out-your-pets/817180/26 "2018-07-04T03:41:15Z")
> [@](#): > > Not my current dog, but my previous dog would freak out. When we were in Kabul a car bomb blew out our window. When we took her to the US we had to get her out of DC every 4th. Breh, you win the thread! ---
**Author:** ![Hopeful\_Crow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/da6949/32.png) [@Hopeful\_Crow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hopeful_Crow)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2018, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-fireworks-stress-out-your-pets/817180/27 "2018-07-04T21:23:25Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > My daughter had an English bulldog. One 4th she was with a crowd setting off bottle rockets and other ground to air type fireworks. The dog got away from her and grabbed a lit thing that would shoot multi-colored balls into the air. The dog ran rampant thru the group shooting balls out the side of his mouth. She said it was the craziest thing she ever saw. No one was hurt. The dog suffered a small burn on his jowl. He was a psycho dog in all respects, but more so after that incident. He wasn’t afraid of anything. In fact he died jumping off a party barge in the middle of a huge lake. They never found his body after a long search. I saw a dog do this on America’s Funniest Videos. The dog grabbed it and was running around when BOOM! A ball of fire shot out of it. He looked at it like he was thinking, “What the heck was that?” Then BOOM! He looked like he was thinking, “Hey, there’s another!” BOOM! “Okay, this is weird,” but he held onto it and kept going. Funny, yet I couldn’t help worrying about him (and the people alternately trying to catch him and getting out of the way as he changed course.) This is the second Fourth that I’ve lived with Noir Kitty but I was petsitting my sister’s dog and cat last year so I haven’t seen him react to them yet. Surprisingly, there hasn’t been a lot going off in our neighborhood as yet. What there has been doesn’t seem to faze Noir. We’ll see what it’s like tonight. Sis’s dog and cat were fine with them, even though the big display was just two miles away out in the bay. I was watching them out the window when the dog came up to see what the heck was making all that noise but he seemed totally unimpressed with what he saw. I used to pet sit a border collie just down the street from my sis. Poor thing was afraid of all kinds of sounds. Small plane not even overhead–better hide until it’s gone. Some machine pounding pilings or something wayyyy down on the waterfront–gotta check out my hidey hole. Wind in the chimney–if you need me, I’ll be in the basement. I never watched her on the Fourth but could imagine how terrified she must have been. I only hope her owners had some powerful sedatives for her. It would be the only way she’d make it through with her sanity, I think. ---
**Author:** ![P-man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/p-man/32/3606_2.png) [@P-man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/P-man)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2018, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-fireworks-stress-out-your-pets/817180/28 "2018-07-05T01:38:54Z")
There were just fireworks a blocks a way, and our animals were more concerned with the pie and ice cream we were eating. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2018, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-fireworks-stress-out-your-pets/817180/29 "2018-07-05T03:07:11Z")
Fireworks do not bother my cats. One of them is terrified of thunderstorms, though. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2018, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-fireworks-stress-out-your-pets/817180/30 "2018-07-05T03:26:40Z")
The lower level ones my birds kind of get used to - they deal with a certain amount of ambient neighborhood noise, after all, all year round. But big boomers freak them out. Worst is after the household has gone to sleep, when a boomer sends them into a panic in the dark. Their sleep gets interrupted, and so does mine. Not going to bother to go to bed before midnight tonight - I have three parrots perched on me looking for reassurance. ---
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2018, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-fireworks-stress-out-your-pets/817180/31 "2018-07-05T03:57:12Z")
I have my son’s dog over too–otherwise she’d have been alone in a house, not good. So I have not one, but TWO panicky drooling panting dogs and my floor is fucking awash in saliva. AWASH I SAY. It’s horrible and I have a headache and a couple doors down the fuckers have apparently cornered the market in M80s. Just fuck this shit, seriously. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2018, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-fireworks-stress-out-your-pets/817180/32 "2018-07-05T04:34:09Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > The last few dogs I’ve had haven’t been bothered by them. I just adopted a new dog in May, though, and I’m anticipating his reaction. He seems to take things in stride, though, so far. So, I heard some booms, not close, but off in the distance. I live in a townhome community, mostly older people with common sense who take pride in the area, so no loud noises around here. Justice (the dog’s name. He got it at the shelter, and I haven’t bothered to change it.) barely raised his head from his nap and went right back to sleep. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2018, 9:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-fireworks-stress-out-your-pets/817180/33 "2018-07-05T09:40:25Z")
I’m down to one cat, and when all the noise started, I watched her ears as they kept up with the directions of the fireworks. Then she went upstairs and hid for the duration. ---
**Author:** ![saje](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saje/32/3631_2.png) [@saje](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saje)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2018, 11:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-fireworks-stress-out-your-pets/817180/34 "2018-07-05T11:16:57Z")
One dog doesn’t like thunder or fireworks, or any loud booms or bangs. She’s slowly getting better, but she’s definitely not a fan. The other dog couldn’t care less. A couple of my cats go hide, the rest don’t care at all unless they are really close. And fortunately the horses are also oblivious. A couple of years ago someone nearby set off a HUGE show, with giant colored flares exploding more or less overhead, screamers, window-rattling bangs, the works. My poor dog was freaking out that year, but the horses just grazed away, occasionally looking up like, “Huh, weird.” I lived for several years right next to a State Gamelands and a nearby shooting range, and here in this house the next door neighbors skeet-shoot. The dog still hates the shooting and nearby fireworks, but the horses are well accustomed. ---
**Author:** ![Cardigan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardigan/32/187_2.png) [@Cardigan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardigan)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2018, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-fireworks-stress-out-your-pets/817180/35 "2018-07-05T12:01:27Z")
Our previous GSD freaked out with both thunderstorms and fireworks. The current one appears alert when fireworks go off but otherwise seems okay. ---
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2018, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-fireworks-stress-out-your-pets/817180/36 "2018-07-05T13:41:37Z")
Prior to yesterday, I would have said yes. In previous years, Peanut (lab-corgi mix) was terrified of all the bangs, and would whimper piteously while running around the house trying to get away from it. I was amazed, last night, when he sat calmly on the couch while all sorts of booms and cracks were going on outside, and showed barely any reaction at all. He only barked occasionally, in response to a couple of especially loud noises. I cannot account for the change. Maybe now that he’s all of four years old, he’s becoming more chill. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2018, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-fireworks-stress-out-your-pets/817180/37 "2018-07-05T13:48:41Z")
My mom’s dog has apparently applied the same standard of interest to fireworks that he does to everything else in his life: He’s concluded that they are not other dogs, and they’re not made of bacon, and so they’re completely irrelevant to him. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2018, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-fireworks-stress-out-your-pets/817180/38 "2018-07-05T13:50:59Z")
Benny Handsome Goodboy, the 1.5 year old duck toller, didn’t like the fireworks but it didn’t cause him to totally lose his shit. He was just low grade angry, as if a distant dog was barking. Mittens Handsome Goodboy, the cat, doesn’t care. ---
**Author:** ![Lightnin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightnin/32/180_2.png) [@Lightnin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightnin)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2018, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-fireworks-stress-out-your-pets/817180/39 "2018-07-05T13:54:22Z")
Neither of our dogs are bothered by them in the slightest. Our youngest is vaguely curious about them, and will occasionally go out into the back yard to see what the noise is all about. ---
**Author:** ![KRC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/45deac/32.png) [@KRC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KRC)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2018, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-fireworks-stress-out-your-pets/817180/40 "2018-07-05T22:15:01Z")
My birds are generally cool with them but the cockatiels got a little nervous last night when the big flashy fireworks got going. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-fireworks-stress-out-your-pets/817180.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-fireworks-stress-out-your-pets/817180.md?page=3)