In this article
Picture Bonfire Night. Somewhere down the road the first rocket goes up, and you barely look round. Your dog is already wedged behind the sofa, panting, ears flat, turning down a biscuit they would normally wolf. To you it was one distant pop. What was it to them?
The usual answer is that dogs hear better than we do, which is only partly true. Their ears catch faint, high sounds we miss, but a deep boom gives them little advantage. The bigger part of the story is fear: how it starts, why some dogs are more prone to it and how early it can be headed off. Here is what the research says, and how to prepare.
What a dog hears that you don't
Start with the range of pitches. A 2020 review of dog and human hearing, by researchers at the University of Lincoln, gives the usual figures as about 65 to 45,000 hertz (vibrations a second) for dogs and 20 to 20,000 for us1. That leaves dogs a band of high sounds above the top of our range. Between 4,000 and 8,000 hertz, a study from 1942 found they could pick up sounds around 20 decibels quieter than we can1.
That is a bigger gap than it sounds: every 3 decibels doubles a sound's energy, so 20 decibels is roughly a hundredfold1. Low down, though, the advantage fades. At lower pitches the two species do not differ much, and people generally outperform dogs1. So a dog's edge depends on pitch: big for high sounds, small or none for a deep boom.
You may also have read that dogs hear four times further than we do. The review calls that a widely held belief and cites two websites for it, not a study1. Its own verdict is humbler: surprisingly little research has measured what dogs can hear1.
How loud is a firework to a dog?
No one can ask a dog how loud a bang feels, but the numbers give a sense of scale. UK safety rules allow fireworks in categories F1 to F3 to reach 120 decibels at their safety distance, which is normally at least 8 metres for F2 and 15 metres for F32. The hearing review puts the human pain threshold at 120 to 130 decibels, notes that no safe limits have been set for dogs, and expects that any limit for dogs would sit below ours1.
Ears do have a built-in defence. Above about 80 decibels, tiny muscles in the middle ear tighten to damp the sound, but this reflex mainly turns down low pitches and takes up to 50 to 100 milliseconds to kick in, too slow to help with short bangs such as fireworks1. The startle reflex is far quicker, readying the body for fight or flight almost at once1.
Why some dogs panic and others sleep through it
If sharp ears explained everything, every dog would dread Bonfire Night. Plenty sleep through it. Dogs Trust says almost half of owners report that their dog reacts to loud noises with signs of fear and anxiety3. Yet one study cited in the hearing review suggests most sound-reactive dogs probably hear normally, and whether frightened dogs perceive sound differently or have learned to fear it is still unknown1.
A bang is also only part of the event. Fireworks bring flashes and smells, and a 2023 review of noise fears notes that recordings miss some of a real bang's pitches and all of its light. Some dogs that react with fear to the real thing ignore a recording entirely4.
Genes seem to play a large part. In a Finnish owner survey of 13,700 dogs, noise sensitivity was the commonest anxiety trait: 32% were afraid of thunder, fireworks or gunshots at least often, and 26% were that afraid of fireworks5. Breeds differed so widely, from Lagotto Romagnolos and Wheaten Terriers at the top to Miniature Schnauzers and Staffordshire Bull Terriers lower down, that the authors see a strong genetic contribution5.
Studies within breeds also find noise fear to be highly heritable4. Yet mixed breeds were among the most affected in Finland5 and the most affected of all in a large international survey6. Looking at that survey and an earlier UK one, the 2023 review suggests this may point to upbringing4. In large surveys, after age, the number of experiences a dog had during its socialisation period as a puppy was the factor most strongly linked with fear of fireworks and thunder: the more experiences, the less fear4.
How firework fear starts, and how it changes
Firework fear is common and tends to show itself early. In that international survey, an online study of 1,225 dogs run from the University of Bern in Switzerland, 52% were at least partly affected6. The author notes that owners of fearful dogs may have been keener to take part, so the true share could be a little lower6.
In numbers
New cases after the age of six were rare6. Fears also travel together. Firework fear was closely linked with fear of gunshots and thunder6, and in the Finnish study 53% of highly noise-sensitive dogs feared more than one of the three sounds5. Noise sensitivity, thunder especially, also grew more common with age5.
The hopeful part is in the paper's title, "Not a one-way road". Asked how their dog's fear had changed in recent years, roughly equal numbers of owners said it had improved, stayed the same or got worse6. And among the oldest dogs, the author thinks hearing loss most likely explains why fireworks troubled them less6.
Why the puppy weeks matter
Puppies are born with their ear canals closed and are considered largely deaf, but their hearing comes on fast1. Dogs Trust says its research shows that loud sounds are best introduced in puppyhood, and that this is especially helpful for puppies aged 13 weeks and younger3.
A puppy's first weeks of sound
Owners' efforts seem to pay off. The international survey asked whether owners had done any training to prevent or treat firework fear, and when they began. Dogs whose training began in puppyhood had a median score of 1 on a five-point scale, meaning their owners did not consider their welfare harmed by fireworks at all. Dogs trained as adults before any fear appeared did nearly as well, scoring 2, against 4 for dogs with no preventive training6.
It is an owner survey, so it shows a link rather than proof. Asked which techniques had helped a fearful dog, owners rated two as the most effective: following a noise with something the dog loves, and teaching the dog to relax on cue6. Timing may matter too: a programme for puppies aged three to six weeks improved their startle responses in the short term but had no lasting effect, possibly because it stopped so early4.
Reading the quiet signs
Fear is not always loud. Researchers coded owners' videos of 36 dogs, every one a dog its owner said was troubled by fireworks, filmed during New Year's Eve fireworks and again on an evening without them. Ears pulled back at the base were the clearest sign of fireworks, and the dogs also moved about and panted more7. Most did not bark, whine or hide at all, and lip licking and yawning, often listed as stress signs, did not rise7.
So watch the ears and the restlessness as well as any obvious panic. Other signs Dogs Trust lists include barking or whining more than usual, drooling, a tucked tail, hiding, pacing, refusing food and trying to run away3. The signs that matter can differ from one dog to the next, the video researchers stress7.
Getting ready, and when to call the vet
Dogs Trust calls preparing ahead the best thing you can do, starting with a plan: find out when local displays and neighbours' fireworks are likely, and arrange for you, or someone your dog knows well, to be at home on nights such as Bonfire Night and Diwali3.
Before the big nights
- If your dog has shown fear of fireworks, book a vet appointment now3
- With a puppy, introduce a wide range of sounds gradually and kindly, slowing down at any sign of fear3
- With a dog who is not yet worried, follow a sudden bang with a treat or a game4
- Check doors, windows and fences, and update microchip details in case your dog bolts3
- Set up a snug den your dog can retreat to, and introduce it before the fireworks so it feels like a good place to be3
At that appointment, the vet can check for medical problems adding to the fear, may refer you to a clinical behaviourist, and may advise on treatments such as medication, which can help a dog cope and stop the fear escalating3.
Be wary of quick fixes. The 2023 review found good evidence for several anti-anxiety medicines, but concluded that most "alternative" products, from herbal remedies and pheromones to homeopathy and essential oils, are unlikely to be enough on their own4.
You cannot change your dog's ears. With time, and help where it is needed, you can change what a bang comes to mean to them.
Sources and further reading7 sources
The small numbers in the article link to the source behind each fact. Sources open on their own websites.
- A Comparison of Hearing and Auditory Functioning Between Dogs and Humans
- The Pyrotechnic Articles (Safety) Regulations 2015, Schedule 2: Essential safety requirements
- Fireworks are coming, prepare ahead
- Therapy and Prevention of Noise Fears in Dogs—A Review of the Current Evidence for Practitioners
- Prevalence, comorbidity, and breed differences in canine anxiety in 13,700 Finnish pet dogs
- Not a one-way road—Severity, progression and prevention of firework fears in dogs
- Fear expressions of dogs during New Year fireworks: a video analysis