July Fourth is meant as a time to let loose and celebrate, but being too lax can lead to Independence Day trouble for your pet. Hazards abound during July Fourth festivities, but you can keep your furry pal safe from harm with planning and prevention.

Prep your pet for July Fourth festivities

Preparing for potential problems is the best way to keep your four-legged friend safe on the Fourth. Follow our tips to help minimize July Fourth dangers for your pet:

  • Perform a trial run of anti-anxiety medications — If you’ve not used anti-anxiety medication before for your noise-sensitive pet, try the medication before the main event. Every pet is affected differently by medications, which may not change some pets at all, but make others too sedate. A trial run of anti-anxiety medications a couple weeks prior to July Fourth gives our veterinarian time to tweak your pet’s dose to achieve the desired effect.
  • Make your pet easy to identify — More pets slip their collars, dart through doors, and escape from yards on July Fourth than any other time of year. Ensure your pet has multiple identification forms, such as new collar ID tags, a collar embroidered with your phone number, and a microchip with up-to-date registration, to increase their chances of being returned home.
  • Exercise your pet before the festivities — Let your pet burn off energy before the fireworks start or the day heats up. A tired, well-exercised pet is more likely to snooze through the fireworks, rather than being amped up and hyper-alert.

Keep your pet safe during the celebrations

While you are enjoying a cookout, parade, or fireworks display, help ensure your pet’s safety with these tips:

  • Keep your pet indoors during the fireworks show — Fireworks fear is perhaps the most dangerous part of July Fourth celebrations for pets. Leave your pet in a safe space indoors to ride out the deafening explosions, rather than taking them to the local fireworks display.
  • Ask guests not to share food with your pet — Many popular cookout dishes can be hazardous to pets, so ensure friends and family refrain from sharing with your furry pal. Rib and steak bones, fatty hot dogs, heavily seasoned salads, corn on the cob, and frozen and chocolatey desserts can lead to pancreatitis, gastrointestinal obstructions, or toxicity.
  • Store grilling supplies out of reach — Grill brushes dripping with meat and sauce residue, grease-coated charcoal, and the still-smoking grill itself can cause serious issues for your pet. If they venture too close to a hot grill, they can scorch their paws or nose, or if they chew on a grill brush or charcoal briquette, they can become obstructed. Ideally, block your pet’s access to the grill and supplies with a pet gate, and keep supplies in a secure container when not in use.
  • Use pet-friendly insect repellents — Insect repellents that contain essential oils or DEET can lead to severe toxicity and neurological problems in pets. Protect your pet from parasites with a flea, tick, and heartworm preventive, and ask our veterinarian to recommend the best pet-friendly insect repellent for pets in our area.

Protect your pet after the party

After your last guest has left and the smoke from the final firework has faded, potential pet party hazards still exist. Protect your furry pal from post-party dangers by:

  • Cleaning up firework debris — Although you may not have set off fireworks or lit sparklers in your own yard, firework debris can float quite a distance. After the local fireworks show is over, and your neighbors have stopped celebrating, check your yard carefully and clean up any waste from spent fireworks.
  • Taking out the trash — Your trash can is likely overflowing with all manner of items pets find irresistible, such as bones, grease-soaked aluminum foil, half-empty beer cans, and other assorted table scraps. Scour your home and yard for forgotten plates, utensils, cups, and dropped food, and place all trash in a secure receptacle to prevent your pet from dumpster-diving.

July Fourth is a day of celebration that poses many threats to your four-legged friend. If your pet gets into trouble by stealing steak from the grill, slurping up the pool water, or gnawing on the glow sticks, contact our Cane Bay Veterinary Clinic team for help.