It’s coming up to the season we’ve been dreading since last November 6th.. fireworks generally start in our area early October,with local kids setting them off after school, and then families with their own displays etc in the week before.

Mia has never been bothered but Champ was a nightmare last year. from the first bang he hardly wanted to leave the house after dark, and he was definitely not his usual self until late November.

I’d love to think that this year he has calmed down a bit,has been with us longer now and will be settled enough not to worry so much.but,to be on the safe side we’re preparing in advance enough to help him (and us!) through the fireworks season.

I’ve read about CDs you can get to desensitise dogs, and also on DAP stuff - the spray, collar etc. I mentioned it to our vet who had also said depending how bad he gets we may be able to get him something prescribed too, but I think that’s probably only something we would want to do for the night.

does anyone have experience of any of the above,or any additional tips or suggestions, that would be great.we also live close to the town centre where there’s a huge display - so any assistance we can give our boy in coping with his anxiety is much appreciated

thanks - Kate

I have yet to find a DAP collar effective on a groo for anything, I tried it with Byron last year at fireworks time (no change) and on Donnie initially to try and calm his general nerves (no change).
I have heard the CDs can work so might be worth a try, introducing it now, and I know some people opt for valium or its equivalent to get their dogs through.
The difficulty is it lasts so long, I wish they would ban the darn things from everything but public events on November 5th and give dogs and their owners a break.
Last year I also cleared a space in the under the stairs cupboard and let Byron go in there as his ‘safe’ place.
Its tough! He was the first groo I had who reacted badly to the fireworks and I didn’t expect it at all.
I know Donnie will be fine as he was here last year as a foster during that period - giant exploding things apparently fine, small child laughing…terrifying, go figure.
My heart goes out to you and poor Champ.
Marie

Hi Kate,
The CD is definitely a good idea - start is off very low so Champ doesn’t seem to notice it and make everything else in the room very positive, treats, toys, attention.  Slowly turn it up and keep repeating the positives.

Marie: I’m sure you can get a CD of children playing for Donnie but I don’t think I could stand to have it on in my house for extended periods - it would drive me batty! lol

DAP works for some dogs and there are different forms - the collars Marie mentioned, spray and plug in diffusers.  I usually use a combo of spray and diffuser.  There are also other ‘calming’ products like Zlkyene (may be worth trying if DAP doesn’t work) and Rescue Remedy (found in health food store - squirt a few drops into the dogs mouth).

One of the projects I’ve worked on in the past was for a new calming aid specifically aimed at helping reduce fear of loud noises (i.e. fireworks) unfortunately it didn’t produce very consistent results so isn’t available on the market.

Another tip is to try not to ‘encourage’ Champs fear of fireworks. i.e. try not to reward him for being scared.  It’s really hard to do b/c naturally you want to comfort your dog but it confirms for him that he should be scared.  Just try to distract him with toys/games if at all possible.  If not, treat him normally, same as Mia who hopefully is setting a good example by not being scared  

Good luck!
Laura, Jingle, Coal & Treacle x

hi kate and everybody,

i am also dreading the fireworks season. Angel is terrified. last year she wouldnt even go out the backdoor for a pee and she was shaking all night.  I made the big mistake when she was a puppy on her first fireworks night of cuddling her and telling her it would be alright. Believe it or not but i only found out that you are telling them it is okay to be afraid when i adopted rosie and was reading the gal information booklet. (i learned lots of good stuff from it, thanks).

Last year i was a bit better and tried not to make a fuss. Angel took to lying at the top of the stairs and running under kyles snooker table when she heard a bang and i just let her deal with it her way.

Anyway last year i bought tablets from the pet shop and started them a couple of days before like it advises but it still never helped. Im going to try lauras combination of spray and diffuser this year to see if it will help.

I dont know how rosie will be with the fireworks either but i now know just to ignore her reactions to them and distract her with treats etc, maybe her behaviour will help angel too.

Lets pray for heavy heavy rain and duff fireworks!!

I bought the CD a couple of years ago to help Cindy overcome her fear of fireworks.

She has no fear at all of the CD, even at high volume she will lie contentedly near the speaker without a care in the world.  However, even the most distant firework spooks her and in an instant her tail is curled up, ears back, shaking uncontrollably and wanting home/inside.  Similarly, the DAP spray doesn’t seem to make a difference for her.

I still haven’t found anything to help her deal with fireworks and so I make sure she has had an early walk in firework season in case she is too fearful to venture out later. I have carried her in my arms down the street on more than one occasion in the past when she has been too scared of fireworks to go on, but I couldn’t do a full walk like that!