The loud noises of the fireworks in Diwali cause harm to both humans and animals. In this write-up, we have discussed some points to help pet parents protect their dogs from the adverse effect of the blasts during this festival.
Diwali is the festival of lights and sound, and people all over India love illuminating their homes with candles and oil lamps, in addition to burning bright crackers. However, with the joy and grandeur of the lights on this occasion comes the threat of noise pollution. Some states’ governments set some restrictions on the decibel limits, but people hardly maintain them while burning the fireworks.
The loud noises impact the hearing systems of both humans and animals, and dogs are most prone to the damage due to their high hearing sensitivity. Therefore, as pet parents, it is your responsibility to protect your dogs from the loud noise of the fireworks on Diwali. Your pets are completely dependent on you, and the below points will help you save them from harmful noise pollution.
· Keep Your Dogs Inside Homes – You should keep your dogs inside your homes, preferably in a soundproof atmosphere, by closing the glass doors and windows. This will ensure minimum noise from the firecrackers burning outside to reach the interior of the residence.
Even if your family celebrates Diwali outside, and the kids want to take your pet dog along, you should not permit it. You should also avoid taking your pet dogs out on the veranda or balcony to protect them from noise pollution and other dangers associated with the fireworks.
· Cover Your Dogs’ Ears – You should follow this point like a mandate on Diwali and not wait for any loud noises to trigger discomfort in your dogs. Instead, you should cover your dogs’ ears with ear muffs or soft clothing items to reduce the amount of noise penetrating their hearing systems. Furthermore, you should make sure that the material you use for covering their ears is clean to prevent any ear infection.
· Be Alert for Signs of Discomfort – Blasts and loud noises cause anxiety and disturbance in dogs. They feel very anxious within, just that they cannot speak to convey their emotions to you. As pet parents, you should be observant and look out for any symptoms of such nervousness in your dogs.
If you find them anxious or behaving differently, you should pacify them with your methods. If you still find no improvement, you should immediately contact a veterinarian. If the situation is difficult, the doctors will provide instant medication to your dogs to eliminate the depressive feelings.
· Play Soft Music – As discussed above, loud noises create anxiety in dogs. Thus, if the sound from outside is not too high, yet your pet dog is feeling uncomfortable with the sound, you can try deviating your dog’s attention by playing soft melodies. In this way, your dogs will focus on soothing music and not on external noise, preventing further discomfort in them.
· Arrange Burning of Crackers in Open Space – Another indirect way to protect your dogs from the loud noise of firecrackers is to ask your neighbours to burn the crackers away from the residential area and in an open space like a large ground or field.
The advantage of burning crackers in open areas is that the sound gets scattered by the larger space and eventually dies out. On the other hand, if people burn firecrackers in a closed space, with many buildings to reflect the sonic waves, the net effect is much larger and is no less than a blast.
· Request Your Neighbours – The final solution to save your dogs, other pets or stray dogs, and all animals in your locality from the grip of loud noises on Diwali is to request the people around you not to create such noise in the first place. Loud noises above a particular decibel are not safe for humans and can cause critical hearing losses.
Hearing loss is progressive, and if one loses a part of it, the condition will only worsen. Thus, people should value their hearing system and be compassionate towards the animals in the locality who are innocent and helpless if not treated well.
As per parents, you can request your neighbours to burn crackers that do not create noise. Even if there is some sound associated with some fireworks, you can suggest they light them up one at a time, unlike some irresponsible people who purposely light a large number of such crackers to create noise pollution.
Conclusion
Diwali is celebrated to commemorate the victory of good over evil, and deliberately causing disturbance to others cannot be categorised as a good act. Therefore, people should observe this occasion in its true meaning and not harm themselves and others, including animals.
