Dog Fireworks Anxiety Statistics: How Many Dogs Are Actually Afraid of Fireworks?

If your dog shakes under the table every Halloween and New Year's Eve, the numbers say you are not dealing with a rare problem. You are dealing with one of the most common fears dogs have — measured again and again, in country after country, always landing in the same place: somewhere between one in four dogs and two in three, depending on how the question is asked.

This page gathers every major statistic on dogs and fireworks in one place, with the source, the year, and the sample size attached to each number — so you can see exactly where each figure comes from, and cite it yourself if you write about this topic.

The headline numbers:

• 62% of dog owners say their dog shows signs of distress during fireworks season (RSPCA polling, UK)
• 52% of owners say fireworks make their dog anxious, and 30% describe their dog as terrified (The Kennel Club, survey of 1,003 UK dog owners)
• 81% more dogs go missing during fireworks season than in the weeks before it (The Kennel Club / Petlog lost-dog data, 2023 season)
• 41% of dog owners report their dog is afraid of fireworks (PDSA Animal Wellbeing Report, 2022)
• 49% of dogs show signs of fear in response to loud noises such as fireworks (published data cited by Dogs Trust)
• 26% of dogs were fearful of fireworks specifically — the single most common noise fear — in the largest study of its kind, covering 13,715 dogs (Salonen et al., Scientific Reports, 2020)

How many dogs are afraid of fireworks?

The honest answer is a range, and the range itself is one of the most useful findings in this area.

At the research end, the Finnish study of 13,715 dogs across 264 breeds (Salonen et al., 2020) found noise sensitivity was the most common anxiety-related trait of all seven traits measured, at 32% of dogs — and fear of fireworks was its most common form, at 26%.

At the owner-survey end, the numbers climb. The PDSA's Animal Wellbeing Report (2022) found 41% of UK dog owners reporting their dog afraid of fireworks. Dogs Trust cites published data putting fear of loud noises at 49% of dogs. A survey by Riemer (2019) of 1,225 owners found 52% of dogs at least partially affected by fireworks fear — with the honest caveat, noted by researchers reviewing it, that owners of fearful dogs are more likely to answer a fireworks survey, which can push that figure up.

And in the RSPCA's polling, 62% of dog owners reported their pet showing signs of distress during fireworks season — a figure the charity's 2025 Savanta poll of more than 1,300 UK pet owners repeated, with 62% saying loud fireworks had negatively affected their pet.

Why the spread? A study by Blackwell et al. (2013) showed why. When 3,897 owners were asked directly whether their dog feared noises, 25% said yes. When a subset of 383 owners was instead asked to describe their dog's actual behaviour during noises, nearly half reported at least one sign of fear. Same dogs, same fear — the number doubles depending on whether you ask for a judgement or a description. Many owners see the shaking and hiding without labelling it as fear.

What fireworks fear looks like, in numbers

The Kennel Club's survey of 1,003 UK dog owners is the most detailed picture of what owners actually see on the night:

• ~80% noticed a change in their dog's behaviour during fireworks
• 52% said fireworks made their dog anxious
• 40% described their dog as scared
• 30% described their dog as terrified
• 29% saw unusual, excessive barking
• 28% saw shivering and trembling
• 27% saw hiding and avoiding contact
• 18% saw howling or crying, and 18% excessive panting
• More than 1 in 10 (13%) said their dog had attempted to flee or escape

If those behaviours sound familiar, our guide to what to do when your dog shakes during fireworks walks through the in-the-moment routine step by step.

The escape risk: how many dogs go missing during fireworks?

Fear becomes a safety problem when a dog bolts. This is where the hardest data in this field sits, because it comes from lost-dog records rather than opinions.

Petlog, The Kennel Club's lost-and-found database, recorded 81% more dogs marked missing during the two weeks covering Bonfire Night and Diwali in November 2023 than in the two weeks before. Earlier seasons show the same pattern at different sizes — 34% more in 2021 — because the spike depends on how many displays fall inside the window.

North American figures point the same way. Animal control agencies in the US commonly report a 30–60% increase in lost pets between July 4 and July 6, figures cited by the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA), and the ASPCA reports that nearly 1 in 5 lost pets goes missing after being frightened by loud noises, fireworks included.

This is the statistic that turns preparation from a nice idea into a plan. If your dog is an escape risk, build the plan before the night — our fireworks escape plan covers before, during, and after, and if the worst has already happened, the recovery guide for a dog who ran away during fireworks is the one to read first.

What about Canada?

Canada is the gap in this research — and it is worth naming honestly. There is no published Canadian study of fireworks fear in dogs that we could find. What Canada does have is scale: the 2024 Canadian Pet Population Survey (Canadian Animal Health Institute, conducted by Léger) counted an estimated 7.2 million dogs in Canada, in more than half of Canadian households.

So Canadian owners are reading UK and European numbers because nobody has published Canadian ones. The celebrations differ — Canada Day, Halloween, New Year's Eve and Diwali are the big fireworks windows here — but the dogs, the decibels, and the behaviours owners report are the same ones measured above. Until a Canadian study exists, the range on this page (roughly 26% to 62%, depending on method) is the best available picture, and every figure above is labelled with where it actually came from.

What owners do about it — and what this means for fireworks night

Three in five UK dog owners (60%) told The Kennel Club they want government action on fireworks if the harm is not reduced — a sign of how many households plan their autumn around this problem.

For an individual dog, the preparation pattern that runs through almost all the guidance behind these statistics is the same: know in advance when displays are happening, walk earlier in the day, close curtains and windows, build a safe den-like spot, and have a comfort routine ready before the first bang — not improvised during it. Our article on whether you should comfort a scared dog during fireworks answers the question owners ask most, and the routine many of our customers use is the snug comfort of a calming vest put on ahead of time — the HeroCalm Comfort Vest, sized by measuring your dog's neck and chest (size guide), or as part of the full routine in the Hero Calm Kit — vest for comfort, mat for enrichment, ball for play, from $106.99, with 30-day returns on unused items in original packaging. Many dogs find the snug sensation soothing as part of that routine.

Halloween is the next fireworks window in Canada, and it is days away. The statistics above are why preparing this week — not on the night — is the move the data supports.

Frequently asked questions

How many dogs are afraid of fireworks?

Depending on the study and how the question is asked, between 26% and 62% of dogs. The largest research study (13,715 dogs, Salonen et al. 2020) found 26% fearful of fireworks specifically, while owner surveys such as the RSPCA's find up to 62% of owners reporting signs of distress during fireworks season.

What percentage of dogs go missing during fireworks?

Petlog data reported by The Kennel Club showed 81% more dogs marked missing during the 2023 fireworks-season fortnight (Bonfire Night and Diwali) than in the two weeks before it. In the US, animal control agencies report a 30–60% increase in lost pets over the July 4–6 period.

What are the most common signs of fireworks fear in dogs?

In The Kennel Club's survey of 1,003 owners, the most reported signs were excessive barking (29%), shivering and trembling (28%), and hiding (27%), followed by howling or crying (18%) and excessive panting (18%). About 80% of owners noticed some change in behaviour.

Is there a Canadian statistic for dogs and fireworks?

Not yet. No published Canadian study of fireworks fear in dogs was found in preparing this page. The 2024 Canadian Pet Population Survey counts 7.2 million dogs in Canada, and Canadian owners currently rely on the UK, European, and US figures collected on this page.

Why do different studies give such different percentages?

Mostly the question being asked. Blackwell et al. (2013) found 25% of owners said their dog feared noises when asked directly, but nearly half described actual fear behaviours when asked what their dog does. Surveys of self-selected owners (Riemer 2019, 52%) also tend to run higher than population research studies.

Sources

Every statistic on this page, with its original source:

• RSPCA fireworks polling (2019, reported in RSPCA Briefing: Fireworks) and RSPCA/Savanta poll of 1,300+ UK pet owners (2025) — 62% distress / negatively affected
• The Kennel Club survey of 1,003 UK dog owners + Petlog missing-dog data (2023 season, reported Oct 2024) — 80% behaviour change, 52% anxious, 40% scared, 30% terrified, barking 29% / trembling 28% / hiding 27% / howling 18% / panting 18%, 13% attempted to flee, 81% more missing, 60% want government action
• PDSA Animal Wellbeing (PAW) Report 2022 — 41% of UK dog owners report dog afraid of fireworks
• Dogs Trust (citing published data) — 49% of dogs show signs of fear to loud noises such as fireworks
• Salonen et al. (2020), Scientific Reports 10:2962 — 13,715 Finnish dogs, noise sensitivity 32%, fear of fireworks 26%
• Blackwell et al. (2013) — 3,897 owners surveyed / 383 interviewed, 25% direct-judgement vs ~50% behaviour-description
• Riemer (2019) — 1,225 owners, 52% at least partially affected by fireworks fear (self-selection caveat noted in the article)
• AAHA-cited US animal control reporting — 30–60% increase in lost pets, July 4–6; ASPCA — nearly 1 in 5 lost pets missing after loud-noise fright
• Canadian Animal Health Institute, 2024 Canadian Pet Population Survey (Léger) — 7.2 million dogs in Canada

Citing this page: Bloggers and journalists are welcome to cite any figure here — please link this page and the original source named beside the figure.