Is Your Dog Scared of Fireworks?

It appears that about 40% of dogs are scared of fireworks. So, whilst it’s a very common problem, not all dogs are affected. Most can be helped. Here are some helpful hints and tips.

Helping A Dog Overcome Their Fireworks Fear

Essentially, what we need to do is to expose your dog to fireworks noises in a very gentle way, such that they learn to be nice and calm when they hear the noise.

The processes that are used to help are called desensitisation and counter-conditioning. The first is about helping your dog to simply ignore the noise; the second is about changing how they feel – helping them to feel happy and calm. Although there are different approaches, most often, these two processes are applied together.

Here are the steps:

1. Get hold of a good quality recording of fireworks. The Sounds Scary recordings are free from The Dogs Trust web site. In theory, these recordings work better than others because they separate out the different types of firework noise before then pulling them all together.
2. A good sound system is best too, but also one that can be played “as if” from outside or from the window area. A Bluetooth speaker can allow you to easily move the sound around the house and garden.
3. Next, teach your dog to like chewing on a chew toy, like a Kong or other rubber bone chew (that’s strong enough for them). Start off making it easy to get tasty food out of the grooves and gradually make it a little more difficult.
4. Then follow the directions on your particular CD/ download regarding play back. One option is to plan to play the noise several times a day for just a few minutes whilst your dog is occupied with their tasty chew toy. Start off with the volume very low. You’re looking for no or very little response from your dog. Gradually turn up the volume – one notch at a time. At some point, they may lift their heads from chewing and attend to the noise. That’s fine. Just let them decide to go back to chewing. However, if they get up and look anxious or bark, for instance, then we need to take a few steps back. Give it a break for a couple of days and then start off at a lower volume again.
5. Repeat this every second day or so until the volume is at a reasonable level and your dog is happily ignoring it.
6. You’ll probably need to come back to this exercise after a little while and certainly plan to work through it again, especially in October.

Other things that can help:

1. Find the quietest place in your house and build a cosy den area. Teach your dog to love going there. They’ll then have a safe bolt hole should they get scared.
2. Speak with us about various ways to help your dog be calm, including pheromone therapy and medication. (Tests have shown that Adaptil helps with Fireworks noise desensitisation.)
3. Other fears or behaviour problems are quite likely to exacerbate fireworks fears, as may some medical issues. Please ask us for more help.

What To Do In October / Closer To Fireworks Time.

When you are expecting fireworks to be going off, we need to make sure that we keep our dogs safe and secure and are ready for the unexpected.

Hopefully you’re all prepared, having worked through the desensitisation programme. However, it’s best to take extra precautions now too, just in case.

1. Check that your micro-chip details are up to date.
2. Speak with us about medication and calming options.
3. Aim to walk your dog before fireworks may go off.
4. But, always keep your dog on lead both in the garden and when out on walks at this time.
5. Make sure you have your den area ready and accessible.
6. Close all the windows and curtains.
7. Masking the noise with the radio, TV or music may help.
8. Take care if you need to open the door so that your dog won’t dash out.

We hope this short note has helped you to understand how to help your dog. However, please do get in touch with us if you have any questions at the Tain Surgery 01862 894223 or Invergordon Surgery 01349 854981. We’d be delighted to provide you with more detail and additional help.

These notes have been prepared by Anna Patfield, Behaviourist at Pawsbility.co.uk, Jun 2019.

Johnston and Farrell Ltd, Registered in Scotland No. 593053 Registered Office Veterinary Surgery, Victoria Road, Tain, IV19 1AU