Dealing with dogs that are fearful of FIREWORKS

Hello:

Happy 4th to all:

Just wondering if anyone else is having a hard time with their dogs being fearful of fireworks?

Mine are so afraid. Last night I tried playing ball with them and being jolly having them sit for treats, etc.. but NOTHING WORKED! I had a heck of a long night and so did my poor dogs.

So, I just downloaded a firework screen saver to play softly in the background to try to help desensitize the dogs to the noise.

I also am going to get some old WW II war movies to play in the background tonight and tomorrow night to try and help drown out the noise of the fireworks along with keeping the AC on for noise reduction. I hope it helps some.

Does anyone have any idea's how to help their dogs deal with fear of fireworks?



Sue

 

helping out with it

play classical music it helps my dog

 

As above, I generally put loud music on.....as a rule on a regular night, mainly when I had dogs in for training, if they were a bit nervous at night I would play something more soothing but with fireworks I crank the volume up.

Let me know if the screensaver works. This came up in another forum today (not about the screensaver but about general noise phobias) and someone recommended recording whatever noise it is that scares your dog and then desensitze them with that noise starting off quietly and gradually increasing the volume.

I had a bad experience with something that kept coming up on the computer (I actually put something about it in the general section here not long ago) it involved someone screaming though and it really freaked my dogs out to the point that they wouldnt approach the computer....kept running away and hiding from it. (my daughter and me as well as the dogs....I thought it was posessed or something). :shock:

 

Wow - I have been having a terrrible time with my little guy. This is his first 4th - and now that fireworks are legal in Indiana, it has been really noisy around here!

Saturday night there was a party with huge bombs two houses down -- my poor little guy wouldn't go out to relieve himself and he ended up pooping in the house!

Yesterday - we took him in the lower level family room - and watched a movie and ate popcorn! He was OK.

Today - what a problem! He is so scared to go outside! Tonight and tomorrow are going to be real problems.

I have never experienced this with any of my other dogs. Maybe it is because in the years past --- we were always the family with the big party! This year - we aren't having any company over to celebrate.
I should have planned for a party! :cry:

 

I am soooo lucky not have this problem. my heart goes out to hou who have this problem How about in addition to every thing you are doing is to give them serene um or a benydrl? my moms vet told her to give her dog benedryl because it acts a a sedative. I have heard of the desesntive techniques, I would think this is somehting you work on on a regular basis.

 

I am working on the desensitizing techniques. Hoosiers have always loved thier fireworks and shotguns - so we hear a lot of them all year round! There are fireworks for every holiday and sports event. Birthdays, graduations, baptizims, communions and confirmations are all celebrated with fireworks! There was even someone down the road shooting some off for Thanksgiving! :shock:

If I don't work on desensitizing - our poor pup would have to get doped almost every weekend!

Tonight we went out as a family to see professional fireworks. Our little guy got crated and seemed fine when we got home. We stayed home last night when our town had their display. Tonight was a display a couple of towns' down from us - I wasn't as worried about the dog hearing the big booms. I also left the TV on very loud to help him.
When we got home, he seemed to be in pretty good shape. But - wouldn't go outside to relieve himself. I'm going to have to stay up extra late to let him have a chance to go outside.

As of right now - it is 11:30p.m. and the neighbors are still going strong! They should be wrapping things up shortly after midnight! Then hopefully, my little guy can go outside and do his duty!

 

Just wanted to mention this and only because Ive seen so many bad situations through it.

If your going to give sedatives you absolutely need to make sure that its only through a vets instruction as honeybears mentioned with her moms dog.

The most common 'sedatives' used are Benedryl and Acepromazine. Benedryl, as already mentioned can have a sedative effect however if the wrong dose is given it can be a killer, what happens sometimes is someone will give their dog the 'right dose' but if they dont get sleepy within half an hour they will give more...and then a bit more. Another adverse reaction to Benedryl (diphenhydramine) is in some cases it can cause severe agitation with some of these dogs becoming extremely aggressive, it passes and then the dog usually zonks out but Ive seen cases where dogs have been totally out of it for up to about a day and half or longer.
With Acepromazine, this is a common one where too often a neighbour, friend or relative will offer thier dogs medication to someone elses dog saying "its a great sedative". Acepromazine is a dangerous drug especially in German Shepherds and Boxers (there was dispute about Boxers but they are almost as bad as GSD's) and of course any mixes of these breeds.

Usually what is strongly advised by most vets (all the vets Ive worked with and talked to about this) is if you want Acepromazine then you need to know ahead of time how your dog is going to react to it, what dose works for the individual dog, how long it will be sedate for, how it is when the drug is wearing off....Ace can also cause agitation....I saw a moderately aggressive Chow one time turn into what I can only describe as something that was acting like a rabid dog, it didnt even recognize its owner and went for him too. Ive seen dogs go into a coma and not come out of it, plus other bad effects from it.

Please dont give any sedatives to your pets unless your vet advises it, I know the fireworks are tough on a lot of dogs, the large majority of these dogs are fine within a couple of hours of the fireworks stopping so its just a temporary thing and is not as dangerous to a dogs general welfare as the sedatives are.

 

This Thread brings back a very sad time for me... :cry:
Years and years ago now, many years ago, I had this beautiful blue heeler, her name was Colleen, she was the light of my life, she was sooo faithful, so loving, so giving, she was my best friend...
One night My EX partner now.... and I took out our 2 dogs, my heeler and his rotti to a fireworks display in the shopping centre grounds for a carnival that was on.. They had never been subjected to this before so I was unaware, maybe naive, probably stupid.. Anyway the fireworks started and my ex partners Rotti freaked out and literally dragged my partner through the bushes to get away.. Then my heeler with me did the same thing, OMG :shock: :shock: We had prickels all down us... Anyway we took the dogs home, gave them tea, and gave them very much some TLC for the horrific time they went through..
Any thunder that happened after that they were frightened stiff..

Anyway, as time went by, years went by, we decided to move into another state, we had moved all settled in, my folks moved with us aswell, but they were about 1 hour and a half away from us to where we were..
One weekend, Friday night we decided to drive up to where they had moved too,usually they came to us, as we had there 2 dogs living with us because they could not have them.. I so badly wanted to take our dogs, especially my heeler as she was like my shadow, and I HATED leaving her, but I could not take her as where my mum and dad lived "NO DOGS" were allowed, it was very strict in the place they lived..
So I had to leave them home in the care of my in-laws, big mistake..

That night where my dogs were, they had a huge Fireworks display down by the parkland not far from our house... :cry: :cry: My in-laws had fed them but left after that, to my absolute utter horror, my heeler had scaled our high back fence, and it was high, in fright from the fireworks and ran looking for me...
I came home the next day when I found out she was missing, petrified of her gone missing..I knocked on doors all day, all night, one neighbour said they saw her heading to the golf course where I used to take her everyday for a run.. :cry: I searched high and low, crying my eyes out, I knew I should not of left her..

A few days passed and my hopes were fading, as I had asked just about the whole town if they had seen her, and on the last of my knocks a guy had told me they saw a heeler heading up a highway when he was on his milk run, I said "WHAT" why didnt you pick her up, why didnt you stop, WHY WHY.. I was soooo upset with him... It was the same highway that I had to go on to get to my parents place.. :cry:

I rushed to my car, fearing the worst, but holding hope too, but I had a big horrible sinking feeling in my heart...
I drove to the highway, just up a bit to where I headed out and saw this little body lying there on the side of the road..I felt sick, my heart sank and I started yelling "NO NO NO NO NO" NOT MY GIRL :cry: :cry:
I just stopped my car in the road, ran out and ran over to her, it was her, my baby, my heeler, my girl.. I bawled my eyes out so hard, I was so upset that I hailed down traffic and I didnt even know why, I knew they couldnt help me or her, she was gone... :cry:

There was NO WAY I was going to leave her there, I tried to pick her up but I just couldnt, I couldnt move her for obvious reasons, so my partner went home and got a shovel...
I had to bury my baby there, on the roadside, all I wanted to do was bring her home... :cry:
But I knew I couldnt..
I came back the next day and made a cross for her, and some flowers..
TO THIS DAY..She pulls at my heart strings..
She was my girl and my baby..And I still love her deeply...