Classical music and cotton wool: Top End vet and RSPCA offer tips for calming pets on Territory Day

Fireworks can inspire terror in some animals and cause a spike of dogs to get lost, injured or run over. To help to your pooches safe, a Darwin vet and RSPCA staffer dish out their best advice.

RSPCA NT and HomeVet have dished out advice on keeping pets calm and safe ahead of Territory Day. Picture: Justin Kennedy

As people gear up for a night of glittering and crackling skies for July 1 Territory Day celebrations, owners of furry animals are being encouraged to plan ahead.

Every year the flashes and loud sounds from the NT celebration can cause a lot of four-legged friends to escape and become lost.

In some particularly sad cases, this can lead to animals becoming injured or run over.

As a result of the stress experienced by animals from fireworks, many pounds notice a spike in reports of lost pets.

The NT News spoke with a Top End vet and RSPCA staffer to get all the top tips on helping keep your pet calm and safe this 1 July.

Early exercise, cotton wool and when to use medication

Kara McMahon owner of HomeVet has been operating in Darwin and Palmerston for the last eight years and knows the pyrotechnic-fuelled anxiety felt by animals at this time of year.

A proud owner of her own pooch Tumbles, she always encourages “pet parents” to be prepared to save last minute fretting.

Things like exercising animals early on, giving them a good feed and keeping them inside all help.

HomeVet owner Kara McMahon and her dog Tumbles. Supplied

Ms McMahon said objects which could harm pets or get damaged should be removed and the blinds should be down and lights on to help reduce the impact of outside fireworks.

To help dampen the sound, she suggested playing music or even using cotton wool.

“You can do sensory reduction which is putting some cotton wool into your dog’s ears,” Ms McMahon said.

“I only recommend that with owners who will be capable of getting the cotton wool back out, and don’t use ear buds or ear plugs.”

However for more anxious animals – dogs and cats – she said she can give out calming medication.

Ms McMahon said medicated pets can become more relaxed towards fireworks as the years go on. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin

“Generally we try to find out whether or not pets are at risk of hurting themselves,” Ms McMahon said.

“That can be anything from damaging furniture and doors … through to successfully getting out and escaping and then getting hit by car or getting lost in the bush.

“Once we establish that, we work out whether or not we need to medicate if it’s in the pet’s interest.”

She said sometimes, those who are medicated tend to actually improve over the years.

”Now I don’t have to give them as much medication as I used to because they’re learning that firecrackers aren’t to be necessarily feared.”

RSPCA NT: Make sure microchip information up-to-date

On Monday afternoon, many kennels at the RSPCA centre in Berrimah will be draped with hanging bedding, curtains and blankets.

Former RSPCA general manager Peter King at the RSPCA Berrimah premises. Picture Glenn Campbell

Charles Giliam, operations manager at RSPCA NT, said this is to help blank off the sound and bright flashes from fireworks.

He offered similar advice to Ms McMahon encouraging pet owners to give their animals exercise and suggested playing some soft classical music to help keep them relaxed.

“The other so important thing is to make sure your pet is microchipped, but also to make sure that your microchip details are up to date,” Mr Giliam added.

Exercising pets early on in the day can help. Picture Katrina Bridgeford.

“A dog’s hearing is thousands of times more sensitive than ours, so if they take fright, they will jump over a fence, over a gate … they’ll run through and smash through [most things].

“If the escaped pet is found by the council, that’s one of the very first things they’ll do is scan for a microchip and look it up in the database.”

If anyone is unsure about their pet’s microchip, Mr Giliam said a vet clinic or staff at the RSPCA centre can scan it for them.

He warned any owners registered with HomeSafeID to re-register with Central Animal Records as the company went into liquidation earlier this year and their database will soon be unsearchable.

City of Darwin has also posted advice on their website and provided contacts for lost pets in the Darwin area.

For lost pets in Alice Springs, click here.

Originally published as Classical music and cotton wool: Top End vet and RSPCA offer tips for calming pets on Territory Day