My dog hates fireworks any ideas please

There are several of things you could try, Scullcap & Vallerian tablets work for my BT. Given notice a DAP diffuser which mimics canine pheromones can help relax a stressed dog, failing that your Vet might be happy to dispense Diazepam tablets. Please avoid ACP, they sedate a dog but they are still very aware of the fireworks and I find they just compound the dogs fear and they are worse the next time. Hope that helps.
 
As above with Scullcap and Vallerian. Also if he is getting upset...ignore him. IT sounds bad but that way he sees that it isnt bothering you so its ok. Also you can get sound CD's and reward him when relaxed etc. Maybe get a behaviorists advice if it is bad.

Hope it helps
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Elle
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Me again - Forgot to say a good carb rich meal before the fireworks start will help settle him down. A good long walk in the afternoon will tire him out nicely, turn up the telly!! and lastly don't be tempted to try and comfort him, this reinforces the fear,praise him when he ignores the noise. Phew !! Dx
 
Sorry to disagree with Genesis but the ONLY thing which would work for my old greyhound was ACP
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She was terrified of them, to the extent that she tried to escape through a glass door the first year we had her and very very nearly severed the main vein in her front leg
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We had no idea she was that frightened and left her for half an hour - obviously she was never, ever left again
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So we had a quick dash to the vets, where he had to give her valium to calm her down enough to clean her up. She was stitched the next day, but after that needed ACP every time we heard the first firework go off - in her case it certainly didnt make her worse, and she never reacted to the fireworks in the least once the tablet had taken effect.
 
Sags-Deer - our rescue Lab used to do this when we got her. We made a strict policy of completely ignoring her when she did this - we never left her alone if fireworks were about, but we made sure we just carried on doing whatever we were doing and not even making eye contact with her. By the end of our first Bonfire Night, she'd stopped doing it. They just need reassurance that the bangs are not a threat and will take their cue from your behaviiour, so just keep chilled and don't react in any way!
 
I've tried loads of things but Jess still is terrified. She shakes like a leaf.
I HATE FIREWORK SEASON.
Why oh why can't we have just organised displays which are well publiscised so we dog owners can prepare and give our dogs the best care we can. Round here you just don't know when there will be a firework going off.
Any way I'm off to the vets this afternoon (see post above)
 
This makes me so glad I live out in the middle of nowhere - when we lived on an estate I just used to let our old GSD bitch out into the garden if there were any youths hanging around, they did pretty good rocket impersonations when they saw her coming.

Agree that you should competely ignore her - fussing can reinforce the scariness of whatever she finds scary (gosh, they're petting me, I am right to be scared!)

Heard an interesting one from one of my trainers - her dog was gunshy (GSDs have to do a gun-sureness test in Germany) so she got a recording of some gunshots and played it over and over again. She ignored him when he hit the deck and the more and more he ignored it, she would give him a treat, so that he learned to associate ignoring the sound with something good happening.
She also used to break lots of sticks to simulate the noise if she was out in the woods, and used the same method as above, ie, praise and treats when he ignored the sound.
 
I'm told Henry dislikes fireworks, although I haven't been about to see this myself. A couple of weeks ago someone was letting fireworks off a couple of gardens down from my parents house while I was out, and my stepdad said he hid under the table pressed againt my stepdad's legs.

I was thinking about adding Rescue Remedy to his water when the fireworks start up here, does anyone know how much to add?

He does react a bit if we hear shots out walking but generally he just looks, checks I am still there then gets on with it. However we all know how it can be with fireworks - like downtown Beirut some nights! I am not looking forward to the organised display in my town, put it that way...
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there a a few different methods of dealing with phobias like gun shots and fireworks...desentisiation and positive reinforcement are the main ones...

Getting a cd of the noise is one and placing a dog in the room with it on low volume,only giving them praize when they show no fear..then slowly increasing the time spent in the room with the noise and eventaully the noise volume...is desensitisation

the other option is positive reinforcement.you need to ignore the dogs fear responces.only give praise and attention when the dog shows no signs of fear.By giving them praize when their afraid only reinforces the idea that there is something to be scared about..same way that by feeding them for the table encourages dogs to beg....its usually about the behaviour a human reinforces...

the first method(desenseitisation) is usually only used after the 2nd fails

these methods both take time but our behaviour lecturer in collage swears by them...
 
I have 3 dogs that are especially scared of fireworks and it's def eased since I first got them(as rescues) I exercise the living day lights out of them during the run up to the evening, I leave the light in the hosue on, this way they don't see the light from fireworks which they assosiate with the noise like u can when lights are out, I put radio up and they all have access to crates which are covered to look like little dens and indeedy they all take themselves off into them, as I feel it must give them a sense of security whithout me having too, as I ignore them, which has been suggested, I also keep the scared dogs seperate from the rest as it is very common for a non scared dog to feed off the anxiety of another.
The desensitation tapes are good for some dogs so as suggested maybe worth u looking into it.
If you think the dog may be really bad, speak to the vet and stock up on emergency meds, there is nothing worse than being caught short, and your dog wont appreciate a trip to the vet when fireworks are going off left, right and center
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If you pm me with your email address I can send you a factsheet giving some details.....about building a den/bolt hole; behavioural CDs (tho these are too late for next week); DAP, Skullcap and Valerian as well as Zylkene all of which are not prescription medicines and show good results. In the end if nothing else works, go to your vet for diazepam. ACP is now outdated and is not recommended by most vets.
 
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