This weekend we spent a lot of time discussing how to keep our dogs safe and out of mischief this week. I’m going to be honest. I have no idea how Independence Day is going to go for us. Mauja has only experienced fireworks one other time. Aside from a little extra panting and drooling, she did great. We wanted to make sure we would be home for her first experience just to be safe, so we decided to forgo the festivities last year. You can see how enthused she was 😉
We will be doing the same for Atka this year.
It’s important to remember that a dog’s hearing is much more keen than ours. The distant sounding fireworks and yelling people are much easier for your dog to hear. If you haven’t desensitized your dog to fireworks, here are some steps to help the night go more smoothly.
- Exercise your dog beforehand. I cannot stress how important this is. When your dog is well-exercised and tired, he/she will be more likely to relax. A tired dog is a happy dog!
- Ensure your dog is wearing a tight fitting collar and ID tags. Even better? Have them microchipped as well! Shelters take in more stray dogs on July 4th than any other day of the year. Dogs become spooked and will escape through yards, windows, or cracked doors. Make it easy for your pet to get back home!
- Create a safe space for your dog. This can be extremely beneficial for your dog. If they have a favorite bed/crate/blanket, make sure it is in a quiet, dark place. Put a tasty snack (like a frozen Kong) in the crate along with appropriate chews and a shirt that smells like you. Most dogs will prefer their safe space to be in the same room as you, but some rooms are not able to accommodate such a set up.
- Keep your dog inside (preferably with you). Now, no one is telling you not to go out and enjoy the evening, but if you have an extremely anxious dog, you might was to consider having someone stay behind. The person staying behind will be able to keep an eye on your dog and make sure he/she stays safe. We will be staying home with the pups this year, but they might be okay alone next year!
- Remove visual stimulation by closing blinds, windows, etc. Your dog is already trying to cope with the auditory stimulation; he doesn’t need to worry about the visual stimulation as well. Try and make sure his safe space is away from open blinds and other sources that may cause visual discomfort.
Do you know how to tell if your dog is uncomfortable? Here are some common signs of anxiety:
- pacing
- whining
- panting
- excessive drooling
- hiding
- shaking
- clingy behavior
- “accidents”
- whale eye
There are many MANY other signs of anxiety, but these are just a few to get you looking for the right thing. Remember – If your dog is anxious, do not cuddle him. I know this may seem mean, but you are reinforcing the negative behavior by coddling your dog when he is scared. Instead, try and make his environment as relaxing as possible. If your dog needs a little extra help relaxing, there are several natural options that you can try. Some of my favorites are:
What do you do to help keep your dog relaxed?
I’m participating in the Monday Mischief blog hop hosted by Alfie’s Blog, My Brown Newfies, and Snoopy’s Dog Blog!
While fireworks aren’t legal in this state and we should be safe as long as we stay away from the legally sanctioned events, it doesn’t stop the morons from crossing the border to buy them and set them off all summer long. So it isn’t just this weekend we have to deal with, but the whole summer season.
When Bailey was younger it wasn’t as big of an issue, as he’s aged he’s become much more sensitive to noise. Where he used to love the social aspects of the parade, we’ve stopped taking him do to the loud noises of the fire engines and the muskets. Katy isn’t as concerned, but she gets upset when Bailey is upset.
I think taking them both out for an extended walk would be a great idea.
I really feel for Bailey. These loud noises can be extremely stressful as a dog gets older. Especially if it’s going on all summer! 🙁
July 4 is the worst holiday besides Halloween for dogs. They must think humans are crazy to do all the things we do on those days. Mostly I spend those holidays apologizing to my dogs for the nutty things going on around them.
Oh my goodness, Mauja hated Halloween. We eventually left our house and went to a park where people weren’t dressed up and ringing our doorbell!
Excellent tips!!!!
Thanks for sharing! My one husky has been through fireworks before, but my other two, this is their first time. SO I am not sure their reaction, but I will have as much sound closed off to them as I can!
Thanks for sharing these very impawtant tips!
ღ husky hugz ღ frum our pack at Love is being owned by a husky!
We’ll keep our paws crossed for good reactions 🙂
Great tips, especially the one about exercising. That one always seems to help with stressful situations. Shiner isn’t too bad with fireworks, but she doesn’t like them. I have to keep her indoors because she tries to bite the fireworks…
I think people often overlook how beneficial exercise is for many situations. Biting fireworks could lead to a yucky vet visit!
Great post! Thankfully, we don’t have to worry about this since we live in a VERY small town that doesn’t set off fireworks. I’m not sure how Riley would react to them; the only thing that seems to scare him is, inexplicably, the ice maker.
Aww, poor Riley! That ice maker is pretty scary 😉
I’m not looking forward to the holiday for Mr. N’s sake. We may both need drugs!
BOL! I wish you both luck 😉
Luckily neither Jack or Maggie have shown any indication of fear. We are pretty far away from the action, so I don’t think they even hear them.
That’s really awesome. We live on a military base so there’s no escaping it.
Great tips, I’m sure glad my gang isn’t afraid of loud noises.
Great post. So worrisome to think of all the dogs who go missing on July 4th! Luckily Rita doesn’t mind fireworks. She SO afraid of so many things – but not fireworks. We live within hearing distance of SeaWorld’s nightly summertime fireworks (unfortunately…) so she’s quite used to the noise and it doesn’t bother her at all. Still – we stay home with her, just to be on the safe side!
We’re very lucky that fireworks don’t trigger Honey’s fears. Some of it is probably due to our socializing her when she was a puppy. And some of it is just dumb luck.
I think it’s not only the noise that frightens dogs. When we’re at the fireworks, we can “feel” the fireworks in our chest. I can only imagine how that must feel for dogs.
You have some good tips here. I hope lots of people use them.
Excellent tips. Have a safe 4th.