Blasts scheduled at Fort Benning that will be louder than mortars or the main cannon on an M1A1 Abrams tank might send some pets scrambling for cover today and Tuesday, a local veterinarian said.

The U.S. Marine Detachment will set off two mine clearing line charges each day between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. at the Digital Multi-Purpose Complex in Harmony Church. The training area is about three miles south of the Midland area where residents frequently hear training noise.

“I advise people to take necessary precautions with their animals, keep them calm, be with them,” said Dr. Hank Hall of the Northside Animal Hospital in Columbus. “Some get spooked by thunderstorms and stuff like that.”

Pets excited from the noise could run off or injure themselves. Hall said a pet’s nerves can be soothed with the help of medication used to calm pets during fireworks celebrations or during a trip in the car. “We give them something to calm them down,” he said.

He said owners also can turn on a radio to distract the pet’s attention from the loud noise.

The charges being detonated today and Tuesday are used by the Marines to train soldiers how to properly clear a mine field. “It looks like a long fishing line and for every so many feet there are bundles of C4 on it,” post spokesman Brad Castleberry said.

The line lands on the ground and explodes. “That clears the mine field in one fell swoop instead of a guy having to do the low crawl with a bayonet,” Castleberry said. “He can go on and complete the mission in a lot shorter time than having to do it the old fashioned way.”

The line has about 1,750 pounds of explosives on it but feels like a 350-pound bomb when it goes off because it’s spread out.

If there is inclement weather, Castleberry said the training exercise will be canceled. If the sky is clear, the noise won’t be as apparent compared to a cloudy sky, which makes sounds louder.

“In bad weather, sound bounces farther and harder,” he said.