Fireworks and pets, especially dogs

jezport

jezport

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I know this is controversial and wont apply to every individual pet or dog.

I get sick of hearing how terrified of fireworks pets get and their owners blame the fireworks.
Birds can get killed by shock and as we have kept parrots for around 30 years part of training for us is acclimatizing the bird to noise as well as other things like being in crowds.

I understand that not every pet can be trained but I believe we should all try as its part of looking after the well-being of our pet.
With the use of film and audio recordings of fireworks and guns these days its easier than ever.

Our parrot actually cheers when she sees and hears fireworks. If she hears a loud noise she shouts Hannah to blame my daughter for the noise.
 
Our dogs don't worry about fireworks, when they start we give them a pat and tell them it's ok, also the younger dog will pick up on what the older dog does. I hope this will be the same with the new puppy. The problem is when the animals are already scared, not easy to stop it.
 
Our dog doesn't like being in the garden when they are going off but is more than happy to sit in the conservatory with us watching them. He seems to quite enjoy them!
 
The Ex-Gasman said:
Our dogs don't worry about fireworks, when they start we give them a pat and tell them it's ok, also the younger dog will pick up on what the older dog does. I hope this will be the same with the new puppy. The problem is when the animals are already scared, not easy to stop it.
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We are hoping for the same, 13 year old Pug sleeps through it all, think she’s a bit deaf.
3 year old Frenchie doesn’t seem to bother.
4 month old Frenchie barks at everything so fireworks will probably get him going, dreading it.

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PaulyP said:
We are hoping for the same, 13 year old Pug sleeps through it all, think she’s a bit deaf.
3 year old Frenchie doesn’t seem to bother.
4 month old Frenchie barks at everything so fireworks will probably get him going, dreading it.
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Tell him not to worry and give him a treat, if you're lucky he may get to look forward to fireworks 🙂
 
Gellyneck said:
Tried everything with our mutt with no success.:(
He's terrified by fireworks.
He's a spaniel cross which is a, eh gun dog!:rolleyes:
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My parents bred Golden Retrievers and one bitch won three Championship certificates, but being a gun dog breed had to have a gun trials certificate without which she could not be called 'Champion' like other breeds, and unfortunately she was gun-shy.

The two successive dogs 'below stairs' have never worried about fireworks, which is as well, because the students' hostel nearby seem to have firework diplays at every opportunity.

Geoff
 
Most of our dogs haven't been bothered by fireworks, one used to run down the drive barking at them, however our Lily is utterly terrified of them, she was fine until she was badly frightened on a ferry and since then the smallest bang/clunk or even a twig braking loudly turns her into a quivering jelly. :cry:
 
Most of our dogs over the past 60+ years have been scared of loud noises, not just fireworks. Most of them have been adult rescue dogs and the sort of training the OP suggests needs to be started in puppyhood.

Maybe she would also like to apply her training to Armed Service veterans suffering PTSD

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We have two dogs we live on Salisbury Plain alongside artillery and rifle ranges as for training them to be used to noise they are very happy with artillery and small arms fire,
However when it comes to fireworks they are whimps and go bonkers at the first sound of fireworks all we can do is try to calm them down.🙄
 
Dogs, like humans, are individuals. What works for one would be abuse to others. I no longer have a dog but was lucky.... mine have all just seen fireworks as an excuse for extra cuddles.

It isn't just pets that suffer: wild animals must be terrified.
 
We are fortunate in that where we live we don't hear many fireworks.
Gabby doesn't like them, but she's not bad and Gus doesn't seem to bother about them.

I really believe that they should be banned for public sale though.
Yes OK, get out the popcorn, but it is the only way to stop the inconsiderate, the idiots and the injuries.
Have an organised display, as kids we used to go to Winter Hill, it's much better value for your money and it is safer.
 
Mrsambulancekidd said:
We are fortunate in that where we live we don't hear many fireworks.
Gabby doesn't like them, but she's not bad and Gus doesn't seem to bother about them.

I really believe that they should be banned for public sale though.
Yes OK, get out the popcorn, but it is the only way to stop the inconsiderate, the idiots and the injuries.
Have an organised display, as kids we used to go to Winter Hill, it's much better value for your money and it is safer.
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Yes, ban sale to the public. Some of those on sale should really only be used by professionals. I once did some work for a firework display company. The planning that went into a display was very impressive, with safety at the forefront. Not surprising as the owner was a Fire Service Station Office. Our sons worked for them and the outfits they wore when doing a display were on a par with those worn by the fire service.

We have a couple of “organised” displays in our village. My sons would be horrified at the lack of safety precautions and I doubt if the local fire service and Civil Aviation Authority have been notified, as a professional company would do.

One thing we have found that helps our dog, is to put his drying coat on, works like a thunder coat.

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Dog psychology is a very specialist field, and noise phobia can be a learnt response behaviour or at worse ptsd from a previous traumatic event. Each dog is different, but dogs need to be acclimatised to noise early on in a calm and reassuring manner, showing that you as pack leader are not disturbed by the noise

Some people insist that desensitisation always works, it does not, but needs reinforcing regularly, not just on the run up to an anticipated event. Another good solution for a terrified dog is get them a thunder shirt, which fits them tightly simulating being cuddled. Also give them a dark enclosed space to hide safely in. Even just pulling the sofa a few inches from the wall or blankets over the sides of a table work well

My old boy came to us at 3 years old and was beyond terrified at fireworks. We heard that he had had fireworks thrown at him as a puppy. The only way to help him was sedation and fit him in his harness and lead, holding him tight to reassure him. Without it he would shake, pant drool and try to dig out of the room he was in. A truly distressing sight

If anyone needs one, I have a spare brand new Thunder shirt for sale in size xxl for a bigger dog
 
Unfortunately Lily is VERY independent and won't allow us to cuddle or comfort her, we've also tried all sorts of things, meds, thunder shirt etc, but nothing works. When it's really bad she just wants to hide in the bath so we assume that when she was first born that's where she was kept along with her mother and siblings. We have various 'safe spaces' for her which she can access whenever she wants but other than turn the telly up loud there's nothing we can do and we don't react so she's not picking anything up from us. She loves food but not even that can distract her from the noise.

I just wish firework time was restricted to a short period and ideally banned for public use completely.
 
our spaniels worked on shoots and got very excited whenever they heard anything like the sound of a gun. it Always surprised me how much they disliked the sound of fireworks though.

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Every animal is individual, but if we are to try to mitigate the distress to our pet its our duty to do so.
Its great when we get a new baby fur ball or feather ball in the spring and its easy to forget about desensitizing them as early as we can. Recordings of fireworks are easy to get, but training can take a long time and involves a lot of patience, which a lot of people dont have.
 
jezport said:
Every animal is individual, but if we are to try to mitigate the distress to our pet its our duty to do so.
Its great when we get a new baby fur ball or feather ball in the spring and its easy to forget about desensitizing them as early as we can. Recordings of fireworks are easy to get, but training can take a long time and involves a lot of patience, which a lot of people dont have.
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Surely it's everyone's duty NOT to scare them sh@tless unnecessarily either ... which is what people letting off fireworks are doing, hence my view that they should be available to the public in the first place.

Would you apply the same logic to people firing shotguns etc (ie making a loud noise constantly) as they do with fireworks? How about neighbours constantly putting on loud music for weeks on end which 'upsets' you ... could you desensitize yourself to that?

If you get a pet young enough so that you can do something to lessen the effect that's great but when you get 'second hand' ones it's not so easy.
 
Minxy Girl said:
Surely it's everyone's duty NOT to scare them sh@tless unnecessarily either ... which is what people letting off fireworks are doing, hence my view that they should be available to the public in the first place.

Would you apply the same logic to people firing shotguns etc (ie making a loud noise constantly) as they do with fireworks? How about neighbours constantly putting on loud music for weeks on end which 'upsets' you ... could you desensitize yourself to that?

If you get a pet young enough so that you can do something to lessen the effect that's great but when you get 'second hand' ones it's not so easy.
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Unless I've misread your post I think you may want to edit it
 
Minxy Girl said:
Surely it's everyone's duty NOT to scare them sh@tless unnecessarily either ... which is what people letting off fireworks are doing, hence my view that they should be available to the public in the first place.

Would you apply the same logic to people firing shotguns etc (ie making a loud noise constantly) as they do with fireworks? How about neighbours constantly putting on loud music for weeks on end which 'upsets' you ... could you desensitize yourself to that?

If you get a pet young enough so that you can do something to lessen the effect that's great but when you get 'second hand' ones it's not so easy.
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The saying "You can't teach an old dog new tricks" is mostly wrong. Most dogs can learn through out their lives as can many other pets. It may be harder work but it is more times than not achievable. I didnt say every time !

As fireworks are generally seasonal and on special events they are not a constant noise so are slightly different to noisy neighbours. And lets bare in mind noisy dogs are probably more of a reported noise nuisance than most other issues. And as for shotguns, if I chose to live near somewhere they are used regular That would be my choice.
 
LiquidLunch said:
Our dog hates fireworks we've tried everything, he loves Parrots though he'll even eat a whole one.......
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Dead or alive? :giggle: The parrot that is! :ROFLMAO:
 
Minxy Girl said:
Surely it's everyone's duty NOT to scare them sh@tless unnecessarily either ... which is what people letting off fireworks are doing, hence my view that they should be available to the public in the first place.

Would you apply the same logic to people firing shotguns etc (ie making a loud noise constantly) as they do with fireworks? How about neighbours constantly putting on loud music for weeks on end which 'upsets' you ... could you desensitize yourself to that?

If you get a pet young enough so that you can do something to lessen the effect that's great but when you get 'second hand' ones it's not so easy.
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I agree Mel.
Ours take no notice at all if thy hear fireworks on TV, so recordings wouldn't be much help there.

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