The 4th of July holiday is a time of parties and celebration. Unfortunately, Animal Control facilities nationwide report a spike in dog intake during this holiday. Make sure your dog isn’t one of the holiday statistics by following these tips:

• Take your dog for a walk or to the dog park before the fireworks start. This allows your dog to exercise, release pent up energy and go “potty”.
• Keep dogs indoors. They may even feel safer if they are placed in a smaller interior room. Give your dog an interactive toy like tasty treat filled Kong.
• Close your windows. Dogs can try and get out of the house by pushing out the screen. Turn the air conditioning or radio on.
• Make sure your dog has a license and an identification tag on a properly fitted buckled or martingale collar and is microchipped.
• If your dog is shy and/or fearful, walk the dog with collar and a harness, clipped together or with two separate leashes.
• During this time of festivities and fireworks, do not let your dogs out alone even in a fenced yard. Keep a leash on your dog – dogs have been known to scale fences to get away from the noise.
• Most importantly, please do NOT take your dogs to the fireworks celebration!