12/08/2026
🌘 TONIGHT’S ECLIPSE — KEEPING OUR DOGS SAFE 🐾
Tonight we’re going to experience something rather special — a significant partial solar eclipse.
Here in central Scotland, it begins shortly after 6pm, reaching its maximum at around 7.05pm, before finishing at approximately 8pm.
For many of our dogs, tonight may pass without much notice at all.
But for some — particularly our more sensitive, anxious or environmentally aware dogs — the world may suddenly feel a little… odd.
Dogs don’t understand why their familiar environment is changing. What they can notice are all the little changes happening around them:
🌘 Daylight suddenly dimming
🌡️ A change in temperature
🌳 Shadows and the quality of light changing
🐦 Birds and wildlife behaving differently
👥 More people being outside than usual
🐾 And their humans suddenly behaving rather strangely!
Some animals use changes in daylight as an important environmental cue, so we may even see wildlife beginning evening behaviours before apparently “starting the day” again as the light returns.
So what might we see in our dogs?
Some may sleep straight through it.
Others might become unusually watchful, clingy or restless. You may notice pacing, panting, whining, barking, repeatedly looking around, seeking you out, wanting to hide or choosing to move somewhere they feel safer.
They may simply appear confused that evening seems to have arrived rather unexpectedly.
💛 Our Barkmoral advice for tonight
Where possible, we’d have dogs safely at home and indoors during the main eclipse period, rather than taking them out specifically to experience it.
If your dog needs to go outside, particularly if they’re sensitive or prone to bolting when startled, we’d pop them on a lead even in the garden. Make sure doors, gates and gardens are secure too.
Keep their evening familiar and predictable.
If your dog is happily snoozing, let them snooze. We don’t need to create concern where there isn’t any.
If they do seem unsettled, give them access to somewhere they feel safe. Closing curtains or blinds and putting on familiar music, television or radio may help buffer unusual activity outside.
And please comfort your dog if they ask for comfort.
You won’t “reinforce fear” by being their safe person. 💛
Don’t force interaction, don’t insist they investigate something they’re uncertain about and don’t take them outside simply because we humans think they should experience what’s happening.
Give them choice, predictability and safety.
And remember, one of the biggest changes in our dogs’ environment tonight may actually be us! 😂
If the whole family suddenly rushes outside, neighbours gather in gardens and everyone becomes excited, our dogs may take far more notice of the unusual human behaviour than anything else.
So while we enjoy this rather amazing natural phenomenon, our dogs don’t need to be part of the event.
Let them enjoy a wonderfully boring, predictable evening instead.
Keep them safe. Observe rather than assume. Offer reassurance if it’s requested. And allow them to choose where they feel most comfortable.
Because good welfare isn’t about making every dog cope with the same experience.
It’s about listening to the dog in front of us. 💛🐾
Barkmoral — putting the dog’s experience first.
