How dogs are really affected by fireworks '“ and what you can do to help

And while some aren’t affected in the slightest, around 45 per cent of dogs have a firework phobia, something that is becoming an increasingly serious welfare concern.

However, with the right training you can help your dog to become more confident during firework season.

First, a brief word on what we really shouldn’t be administering to our fearful dogs. Sedatives are all too often prescribed to firework phobic dogs. ACP (acepromazine) is one such drug – but it has been demonstrated to actually increase noise sensitivity in dogs while also decreasing their ability to physically respond. In other words, the drug can make your dog more aware of the noise but less able to respond to it. Imagine for a moment that you are really scared of spiders. Now imagine you’re locked in a room full of spiders. And then imagine that you’ve been sedated so you cannot move. An outsider may think, because you’re not reacting, that you are fine. Yet inside, you most certainly are not.

More recently, sedatives such as dexmedetomidine are being advertised to vets and dog owners for fearful dogs, yet these can pose serious health risks even at low doses – for example, by reducing the amount of blood being pumped around the body. Indeed, the Small Animal Formulary (an encyclopedia for medicine) states that oxygen supplementation is advisable when administering these drugs in all animals.