New Year's Celebration with Pheromones and Thundershirt

There's still a couple of days left to stock up on Adaptil, Feliway, Thundershirt and other remedies you might need for your dog.

Our oldest dog here at home has noise phobia, and this year we're trying a new product on the market: Sileo. This is a prescription medication.

Thundershirt and pheromones have been fantastic for him over the last few years, but if he can get even better, New Year's Eve will be a fun day for his owner too.

From the product catalogue: "Relief of acute fear and anxiety in dogs triggered by unfamiliar sounds."

On New Year's Eve, the dogs will get a long walk early in the day – we go out on the tracks where the dogs can tire themselves out with treat hunting, play and fun.

Once home, I've prepared kongs filled with liver pâté, puzzle toys and stuffed marrow bones. These are given to them throughout the evening if they get restless. If they're calm, it's just a normal evening. Only the oldest is scared in this household – the others mostly sleep through the entire evening without twitching an ear.

They don't go outside after 6 p.m., unless they show a real need to go out. If they do need to, it's a quick toilet break in the fenced garden or on the lead. You don't want to accustom a dog to think fireworks are dangerous if it hasn't learned this already. Never walk with a loose dog on New Year's Eve, no matter how obedient it is otherwise. A frightened dog takes off fast!

For the one who is scared, I use Thundershirt sprayed with Adaptil from the afternoon onwards. An Adaptil diffuser is already plugged in, so this will work well throughout the house.

Adaptil (dog appeasing pheromone) and Feliway (cat) are pheromones that have a calming effect. Adaptil for dogs comes as a plug-in adapter, which should be plugged in well in advance of New Year's – it takes 24 hours for the pheromones to be released after plugging it in. It produces no odour and does not affect people.

You can also use an Adaptil collar, which the dog needs to wear 24/7 as it works the same way as the plug-in adapter and needs to be warmed up to be effective. The pheromones on the collar are released by the dog's body heat.

Adaptil Spray is also an option – this can be sprayed around the house and works for 4–6 hours. I've also sprayed it on a scarf or Thundershirt I've put on the dog.

If you use the spray, spray it about 20 minutes before the dog enters the room or you put on the garment. This allows the preservative in the spray bottle to evaporate before the dog wears the item or enters the room.

Remember the cat and other animals too on this evening. The cat must be kept indoors all day and night – it can become very frightened and run away so far it has trouble finding its way home. I use Feliway in the room where the cats are, even though they've shown no signs of anxiety on this evening. In addition to food, water, litter box and several sleeping places.

One final method I want to mention is the classical conditioning of firework sounds. Just as you train in a clicker, whistle or other sounds, you can classically condition the sounds of fireworks to something positive with treats. If this is your dog's first New Year's celebration, go for this method.

Start early in the evening, or during the Christmas period if fireworks are being set off, and give your dog a treat when you see the rocket being launched and BEFORE it explodes, so the dog is already busy eating the treat when the sound comes. It's important to use really good treats – sausage, cheese, liver pâté, etc.

Once you've given the treat BEFORE (as much as possible) a few times, you can wait to give the treat until the sound comes. After a short time, you'll see that your dog watches you attentively and licks its lips when the fireworks go off. You've now classically conditioned the sound of the fireworks with food, and your dog will look forward to each bang.

Research shows that animals that have access to a suitable hiding place find it easier to overcome fear than animals that are locked out from places where they feel safe. If the animal can lie in its crate or under the bed and come out in between, it creates a sense of mastery. If the animal is prevented from accessing all the places where it feels safe, it will pace restlessly and this creates more fear. Let your dog move around a bit, dig in a blanket, lie under the bed in the bedroom or go to the basement if it wants to – most likely it will find a place where it can cope with what's frightening it to some degree.

Give your dog security if it seeks you out – don't reject it. Pet and cuddle it as usual.

Wishing all your four-legged friends a great New Year's celebration!

And remember, fireworks are only permitted between 6 p.m. and 2 a.m. on 31st December! It's not just pets that can get scared – the animals in the forest will also be frightened by the noise and lights.

The law states:

"Consumers may set off fireworks of class II and III on New Year's Eve between 18:00 and 02:00, unless otherwise determined in or in accordance with this regulation." (In Regulation on Explosive Materials – § 2-10 Handling of pyrotechnic articles and items)