⏱️ Estimated reading time: 16 min
Key Takeaways
Dogs and fireworks are a difficult mix for millions of UK households. The PDSA reports that 41% of dog owners say their dog is afraid of fireworks, roughly 4.1 million dogs, and almost two thirds of owners told an RSPCA poll in 2025 that their dog was negatively affected. The welfare charities agree on the basics, yet none of their pages covers how loud a display is by the time it reaches a dog, or what ear protection can and cannot do about it.
One UK owner on a dog forum described where many plans go wrong. “Mine was unhappy about wearing it so have only tried it once and for her it didn’t seem to make any difference,” she wrote, after the ear muffs, called ear defenders in the UK, went on for the first time on a bad night.
At BOLLSEN, a family-owned hearing protection company trusted by 1,000,000+ people since 2016, we make Dog+ earmuffs for dogs, and this plan brings the numbers, the timeline and the ear protection together. It is part of our wider dog hearing protection series and works for Bonfire Night, New Year’s Eve or any other fireworks night on the calendar.
Why are dogs scared of fireworks?
Dogs are scared of fireworks because the bangs are loud, sudden and impossible to predict, arrive with flashes and burning smells, and seem to come from every direction at once, so a dog has no way to work out where the threat is or how to get away from it. A dog’s hearing, which runs from about 67 Hz to 45 kHz against roughly 20 Hz to 20 kHz in people, also picks the noise up from much further away.
The Kennel Club and the RSPCA both note that dogs hear sounds around four times further away than we do, so a display that is faint to you can be plain to your dog several streets off. A 2021 owner survey in Frontiers in Veterinary Science found that dogs reacted more strongly to high-frequency intermittent sounds, the crackle and whistle of a firework, than to low continuous noise. The same study found that owners tend to underestimate how frightened their dogs are.
Vets at Cornell University list the usual causes of noise fear as a bad early experience, too little exposure to everyday sounds as a puppy, illness and ageing, which fits one owner’s worry that her dog “is getting worse as she gets older”. Ageing and illness are both reasons to involve a vet rather than wait it out.
Can fireworks hurt a dog’s ears?
Fireworks can hurt a dog’s ears at close range, because they measure around 150–175 dB near the source, far above the 85–90 dB at which Matija Medved, DVM, of the Dr.Vet clinic says dogs can start to take discomfort or hearing damage. Distance and walls bring the level down a long way before it reaches most pets.
Dr. Medved sets that threshold against the 110–120 dB people stay comfortable with in his Dr.Vet expert review of BOLLSEN Dog+ hearing protection, which also covers when ear protection makes sense for a dog. A level that feels merely loud to you can already be too much for your dog.
How loud is a display by the time it reaches a dog?
Sound from a single point drops by about 6 dB every time the distance doubles, which is the inverse-square law, so moving from 1 m to 200 m takes off roughly 46 dB. For a worked example, take a display 200 m away and assume the 150–175 dB figures are measured about a metre from the firework.
Outdoors in the garden, with nothing in between, that leaves roughly 105–130 dB at the dog, well above the 85–90 dB threshold. Indoors with the windows shut, walls and glazing take off very roughly another 20–30 dB. The quieter 150 dB end of the range then arrives at about 70–90 dB, while the loudest 175 dB shells can still reach around 100–110 dB.
These figures ignore wind, trees and ground absorption. The 150–175 dB range applies to display fireworks; fireworks sold to the public in the UK are capped at 120 dB, but a neighbour’s garden display 20 m away loses only about 26 dB on the way to your dog. A dog indoors is far better off than a dog in the garden, and a dog at a display is in the worst place of all, which is why the RSPCA advises never taking dogs to fireworks displays.
What are the signs a dog is scared of fireworks?
The signs a dog is scared of fireworks range from subtle early cues such as panting, lip licking, yawning and pinned-back ears, through trembling, hiding, a tucked tail and dilated pupils, to frantic attempts to escape, digging or chewing at doors and loss of bladder or bowel control at the severe end.
| Level | What you might see | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Mild | Panting when not warm, lip licking, yawning, ears back, following you from room to room | Start the masking sound, open the den and offer a long-lasting chew |
| Moderate | Trembling, pacing, hiding, tail tucked, dilated pupils, refusing food or treats | Stay close and calm, let your dog choose where to settle, keep doors and windows shut |
| Severe | Trying to escape, digging or chewing at doors, loss of bladder or bowel control, injuring themselves | Keep your dog safe indoors tonight and book a vet appointment well before the next fireworks night |
What does a fireworks plan look like, from months out to the morning after?
A fireworks plan for dogs works best as a timeline, with sound training several months ahead, a den, ear muff practice and a microchip check 3–4 weeks out, a daylight walk and a closed-up house on the day, calm company during the bangs, and a careful garden check the morning after.
| When | What to do |
|---|---|
| 2–6 months before | Sound training with recorded fireworks at low volume, paired with food or play |
| 3–4 weeks before | Set up the den, start ear muff sessions, check microchip details and garden fences, talk to your vet about any medication |
| The day | Walk before dusk on a lead, feed a little earlier, close windows, curtains and cat flaps, start the masking sound |
| During | Stay home, stay calm, let your dog choose the den, ear muffs on if already practised |
| Morning after | Check the garden for debris, walk on a lead, watch for lingering signs |
Months before: start sound training
Play recorded fireworks quietly enough that your dog stays relaxed, pair them with food, and raise the volume over many short sessions; The Kennel Club suggests several sessions a day for at least a couple of weeks, or several a week over several months. Our guide to desensitising a dog to fireworks and thunder sets out the volume steps session by session.
Three to four weeks before: den, ear muffs and microchip
Build a den in the quietest room with bedding, a worn T-shirt and water, and leave the door or crate open so it stays a choice. One owner on a forum said her dog “won’t crate, will harm herself trying to get out”, and a shut crate on fireworks night can turn a refuge into a trap.
This is also when ear muffs go on for the first time, never on the night itself. Start with five sessions of two minutes each paired with food, move on to short walks, then practise with recorded firework sounds. Our guide on how to get a dog to wear ear muffs covers each stage in detail.
Check the details on your dog’s microchip too. The Kennel Club found that 53% of microchips carry incorrect owner details and reports a spike in lost dogs at the end of October and start of November. In England, microchipping is a legal requirement for dogs.
On the day: walk early and close up the house
Walk your dog on a lead before dusk, because a single early rocket can make a dog bolt, and switch on the TV or a steady playlist before the first bang. In the UK, fireworks are not allowed after 11 pm, except until midnight on Bonfire Night and 1 am on New Year’s Eve, Diwali and Chinese New Year, which tells you roughly how late the evening can run.
During the fireworks: stay close and keep it ordinary
Stay home if you can and let your dog choose between the den and your company. If ear muffs are already familiar, put them on before the display starts, take them off every 1–2 hours for a break and never leave a dog wearing them unsupervised. Take extra care at the front door, since visitors give a frightened dog an escape route, and any children heading out to a display should wear their own hearing protection for kids.
The morning after: check the garden first
Walk the garden before letting your dog out, because spent fireworks land in gardens and can be chewed or swallowed. Some dogs settle within hours, while more sensitive dogs can stay watchful for a day or longer after the last bang, so leave the den set up and note what helped for next time.
Does covering a dog’s ears help with fireworks?
Covering a dog’s ears helps with fireworks as one physical layer of the plan, because over-ear dog ear muffs reduce the noise reaching the ears, most strongly on the sharp crackle and whistle at 1–8 kHz and least on the low thump at 50–200 Hz, while the den, masking sound and training handle the rest.
Our own Dog+ ear muffs, rated SNR 27 dB, take roughly 31–44 dB off the crackle band but only about 13–23 dB off the thump, so the reduction is far from even. One dog trainer’s blog argues that low-frequency sound goes straight through ear protection, and for the deepest part of the bang that is partly right. Our guide on how much noise dog ear muffs reduce sets out every frequency band in full.
The split still matters, because the Frontiers research found dogs react most strongly to high-frequency intermittent sound, the part ear muffs take the most off. At garden distance from a display, well-fitted ear muffs reliably protect against that sharpest part of the noise, and your voice still gets through, which is what one owner meant by wanting something that “muffles the bang but he can still hear me”. The same trainer warns that muffs worn only on bad nights become a signal that scary noises are on the way, which is why the practice sessions, and the odd wear on a quiet evening, belong weeks before the night itself.
Which ear muffs will fit your dog?
Cups that gap or slip let the bang straight in, so fit comes first. The Dog+ earmuffs (SNR 27 dB, sizes XS to L, £69.95) product page lists the head measurements for each of the four sizes, so you can match the cups and headband to most breeds before fireworks season begins. If you are still comparing options, our buyer’s guide, best dog ear muffs: what to look for, covers the fit, seal and sizing checks that matter for any pair.
Should you comfort a dog during fireworks?
You should comfort a dog during fireworks if they come to you for it, because calm, quiet reassurance does not reward fear, and welfare charities advise staying relaxed yourself, responding to your dog, never punishing fearful behaviour and never pulling a dog out of a hiding place it has chosen.
Dogs read our tone and body language, so a steady voice and a normal evening help more than fussing, and a long-lasting chew in the den gives them something else to focus on. If they would rather lie under the bed or behind the sofa, leave them there and make sure the space is safe.
When should you speak to your vet about fireworks fear?
Speak to your vet well before the season if a dog’s fireworks fear is getting worse each year, if they injure themselves trying to escape, stop eating or take more than a day to settle, or if you want to discuss medication, which Cornell University’s College of Veterinary Medicine advises trying at home on a quiet day in advance.
Your vet can also rule out pain or illness and refer you to a clinical animal behaviourist. Categories such as pressure wraps, pheromone diffusers and calming snoods are worth raising too, as extra layers alongside the den, training and ear muffs. The same conversation covers storms, and our guide on how to help a dog through thunderstorms sets out a forecast-led plan for those nights. Our guide to noise anxiety in dogs looks at the wider picture beyond fireworks, from thunder to household appliances.
Which fireworks nights should you plan for?
Most English-speaking countries have more than one fireworks season, with Halloween, Diwali and Bonfire Night clustered in late October and November, New Year’s Eve at the end of December almost everywhere, and 4 July and 1 July bringing a summer season to the US and Canada. Many of these are family nights out, and our guide to hearing protection for kids at fireworks covers safe sound levels for children at the display while the dog stays home.
| Fireworks night | When | Where it matters most | Seasonal guide |
|---|---|---|---|
| Halloween | 31 October | Ireland, UK, US | Halloween with dogs |
| Diwali | October or November, the date moves each year | UK, Canada and worldwide | Diwali fireworks and dogs |
| Bonfire Night | 5 November, with fireworks from late October to mid-November | UK | Bonfire Night with dogs |
| New Year’s Eve | 31 December | Worldwide, including the UK, Ireland, Australia, the US and Canada | New Year’s Eve fireworks and dogs |
| Canada Day | 1 July | Canada | Canada Day fireworks and dogs |
| Independence Day | 4 July | US | 4th of July dog safety |
Where should you start this year?
Start with the calendar and count back. If the next fireworks night is months away, begin sound training now; if it is three or four weeks away, set up the den, check the microchip and start short ear muff sessions. If it is tonight, walk early, close up the house, switch on the masking sound and stay close. Dogs and fireworks will never be an easy mix, but a dog with a den, a practised routine and less noise reaching its ears has far more going for it on the night, right through to the morning after.
His connection to hearing protection stems from personal experience with sound sensitivity during live events and work in noisy environments, an issue that made him more aware of the long-term risks of unmanaged noise exposure. Today, as both a communicator and a user of BOLLSEN products, he is passionate about raising awareness around the importance of proactive hearing care.
At BOLLSEN, he develops data-driven marketing campaigns, writes SEO-focused articles, and manages communication channels that connect customers with practical knowledge about hearing protection. His work ensures that BOLLSEN’s message—prioritizing health, performance, and sustainability reaches a global audience in an engaging and trustworthy way.
Passionate about writing since childhood, Timotej combines creativity with a strong analytical approach, continuously testing new ideas in digital marketing, performance advertising, and social media. He believes in learning through innovation and collaboration, balancing leadership with openness to new perspectives.
Beyond his professional role, Timotej is committed to a healthy lifestyle and finds inspiration in fitness, sports, and quality time with friends. His personal passion for well-being aligns with BOLLSEN’s core values, making his work not only a career but also a cause he deeply believes in.