gurgaon looking forward as you are to diwali theres one member in the family whos dreading the day your pet dogs are far more sensitive to the environment than humans and get stressed by noisy celebrations says shirin merchant indias first canine behaviourist and a dog trainer of global repute the solution understand your pet better she says excerpts from a chat with tois meenakshi sinha dogs are far more sensitive to the environment than humans each dog has hisher own personality sensitive outgoing shy dominant etc once you know your pet its easier to understand your dog and respond accordinglywhat should petowners do to help dogs deal with the noise of crackers firecrackers are the bane of all animals vets report increase in anxiety disorders such as stress colitis at this time firecrackers are loaded with deleterious substances and have high phosphorous content sparklers too are poisonous if ingested and can affect a dogs nervous system firecrackers spell danger for pets if you still choose to burn them make sure your pet has no access to them some dogs get upset by the onslaught of visitors during diwali especially if they are used to a quiet life they feel their territory has been invaded upon sudden excitement can cause stomach upsets or even trigger preexisting dormant illnesses its prudent to keep dogs secluded finally sweets crunchy dry fruits delectable chocolates and the varied farsans are harmful for your dog rich gravies and buttery sauces can cause severe gastrointestinal distress in them stick to the regular diethow does one spot trauma symptoms in dogs when scared a dog will do all it can to get comfort or escape noise some dogs respond aggressively and will attack its owner or the firecracker any excessive trembling crying panting or salivation untimely urinating or defecation not eating for more than two days needs to be reported to a vethow can one bring them relief when in doubt a dog will look to its family for a reaction it picks up the owners signals and will perceive a situation as threatening or normal the first thing we want to do when we see our pet frightened is to comfort it experts say this can worsen the problem your dog may misconstrue your behaviour as praise encouraging it to be frightened at loud noise instead distract your dog from noise by playing games and praising any happy and relaxed behaviour if it chooses to hide under a sofa bed or behind a cupboard dont drag it out in an attempt to comfort it instead draw the curtains play soothing music or turn on the tv to drown out the noise behaviour modification techniques such as exposing the dog to the fearful noise at a low decibel and slowly increasing it to get it used to it helps it tackle fear of noisewhat are the specific concerns for particular breeds during diwali brachycephalic or snubnosed breeds like pugs boxers and mastiffs may find it tougher