Help your pet celebrate a fear free New Year with these great tips from Fear Free. New Year’s festivities can be a time of stress for many dogs and cats. From a pet’s perspective, loud, unpredictable noises and celebratory fireworks explosions are threatening and an understandable cause for alarm. For pets whose people are hosting a party, the presence of strangers and the changes in their environment—decorations, scented candles or potpourri, furniture moved around—can also be distressing. Thankfully, it doesn’t have to be this way. Here are tips to help your dog or cat keep calm and carry on as they join you in welcoming in the new year.