How to help with firework anxiety

Dopeydapple

Dopeydapple

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Found out last night that Tala does not like fireworks. This isn't something we've had to deal with before as we'd always had 2 dogs and the new one seemed to learn from the other dog that it's no big deal. She wasn't terrified by them but definitely upset and pacing / sitting on edge and took a while after they stopped to settle back down and go to bed. Is there anything I can start doing to prep her for the big occasions where several people will have fireworks and they will be going off all night?
 
Not easy to do, as fireworks are such a random event. Is there any other area where she is unsettled? Heavy traffic for instance? If you can find something fairly common that she reacts similarly to, and work through it calmly to find a routine that settles her, then it may be easier to use the same routine when the fireworks start. Example - walking beside a busy road, distract her with a favourite toy so that she shifts focus to you and the toy, not the traffic. As soon as practical, step away from the road and allow two or three minutes of play to reward the calm behaviour. How do you react when she is upset? If you make a big fuss of her, she may be taking that action as reward for the upset behaviour, which reinforces it. You can probably tell whether she is genuinely frightened, and in that case it may be kinder to give a light sedative to help her settle.
 
YouTube fireworks videos on quietly at first whilst going around normal life and increase the volume over a number of days. Important that you don’t react or be anxious about a reaction, just sit quietly or go about tidying up etc etc.
 
Highmileagecob said:
Not easy to do, as fireworks are such a random event. Is there any other area where she is unsettled? Heavy traffic for instance? If you can find something fairly common that she reacts similarly to, and work through it calmly to find a routine that settles her, then it may be easier to use the same routine when the fireworks start. Example - walking beside a busy road, distract her with a favourite toy so that she shifts focus to you and the toy, not the traffic. As soon as practical, step away from the road and allow two or three minutes of play to reward the calm behaviour. How do you react when she is upset? If you make a big fuss of her, she may be taking that action as reward for the upset behaviour, which reinforces it. You can probably tell whether she is genuinely frightened, and in that case it may be kinder to give a light sedative to help her settle.
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She seems pretty chill about everything else so haven't had the chance to find a "calm down and relax" routine. We didn't make a big fuss of her and tried to be quite dismissive about the fireworks, if she sat next to me she got stroked but she didn't want to settle in 1 place for long anyway.
 
Midlifecrisis said:
YouTube fireworks videos on quietly at first whilst going around normal life and increase the volume over a number of days. Important that you don’t react or be anxious about a reaction, just sit quietly or go about tidying up etc etc.
Click to expand...
Thanks, I will give that a go, I don't like fireworks because of how many animals and vulnerable people are effected by them but this is actually the first time in nearly 20 years of dog ownership that I've had one that's bothered by them.
 
I just put the tv a few notches louder than usual, shut the curtains and try to ignore them. I do think that once the dog has a dislike of them, it's something that they'll never grow out of.
 
My Lurcher did not care a jot about fireworks for the first 2 or 3 years of her life.

Then suddenly, assuming one must have really spooked her, she became very frightened of them.

She goes in her crate, covered over.

No point medicating when the blasted things are being set off seemingly every other day for months 🙄
 
I’d second playing her fireworks sounds at a low volume to start with and then gradually increasing just as part of your normal routine. Basically don’t react yourself, treat it as background noise but if she gets really upset then go back to a lower volume for a bit.

This doesn’t work for all dogs as some it’s a combination of the sound, the lights and the vibrations which you can’t accurately replicate.

Some dogs respond well to using something like Adaptil or Pet Remedy starting from a few weeks before.

Some may need medication from the vet to give a few hours before things are due to kick off (The Hooligan settles better if he has an anti anxiety tablet on what are expected to be the worst nights ie wkend before & after & the actual 5th)
 
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