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Permalink Reply by Beth on July 3, 2012 at 11:33pm

Will he take food?  If he will, I would sit there with tiny bits of something yummy and every time a firecracker goes off, you can pop a piece of food in his mouth.  If he's toy-motivated, you can distract him with a favorite toy.  Either is counter-conditioning, which is associating something they really like with something they find frightening until they come to associate the thing that scared them with the good stuff and lose their fear.  It takes diligence over time.

If he's so shut down he won't eat, you may try desensitizing him when there are fireworks farther away if that is possible.

Some people have luck with a thundershirt, others don't.  Seems to depend on the dog.  

Mine will bark but aren't really frightened, just trying to chase away the annoying noise outside.  

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Permalink Reply by Diane on July 4, 2012 at 12:02am

Unfortunately I can't even get his attention with food when he's in that mode, which is also how I know it's bad because he is VERY food motivated. He's not toy motivated at all either :-( I was wondering if there was a good way to desensitize him... but am a bit nervous about experimenting with it because I don't want to traumatize him further...

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Permalink Reply by Beth on July 4, 2012 at 8:54am

If you have an interior room, like a walk-in closet or laundry or something where you can shut the door and it has no outside walls, I would get him used to that room (when there are no fireworks).  Have that be a place where he gets special treats or chew toys and gets comfy being alone.  Then add a radio or something as suggested below.  

The ideal way to desensitize is to start when the object of fear is close enough for the dog to notice, but not so close that they shut down.  This is hard with fireworks because they are unpredictable.  So if you can find a way to reduce the noise inside the house with the method above, you might be able to work on it that way.  

Have you looked into seeing if he'll tolerate cotton in his ears?  Horse people do it a lot and I don't often see it with dog people, probably because dogs paw it out.  You can build up to it like you do with a muzzle (a few seconds at a time) but make sure you look into it first online or with a vet so you don't damage his ears.

One thing you might do is (after the holidays) get a DVD of fireworks and start with very low volume and build from there, while desensitizing with food like I described above.   That doesn't work with thunder (because of the other factors involved in a storm, like air pressure changes and static electricity) but I've heard of it working with fireworks.

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Permalink Reply by Nancy, Victor & Kabu on July 4, 2012 at 1:24am

Diane

My friend had a puppy pug that was petrified of fireworks. I have very little experience with dogs but he told me after the pug's first 4th of july experience, the dog suddenly developed severe seizure. Im not sure if that is possible to develop seizure that way but There wasn't much they could do other than watch. It was extremely painful for the family.

I guess I should mention that during the festivities. The pug was hiding under the bed and was just shaking from fear. They couldnt get the dog out from under the bed.

I dont want to scare you or anything but I plan to take extra precaution tomorrow

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Permalink Reply by Julia on July 4, 2012 at 3:06am

I really, really hate these long, drawn out holidays, when people explode fireworks day after day. It's totally unpredictable. When the holiday was actually on the holiday, I would drug Lilliput, because her fear was so great. The problem is you need to give the drug an hour ahead of time, which only works for predictable events. What does help is a really big rawhide bone. She will run and hide under the bed with it. Tonight she was under there for an hour, just long enough for the city display to finish. Since we are in a drought now, all neighbors have been warned of drastic penalties for setting off fireworks, and so far that has worked. All is quiet. No fires, either.

Tomorrow is the 4th. Let's hope the neighbors are just as considerate. If not, we may just have to call the police, since it's so much more serious this year.

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Permalink Reply by Karen Dadisman on July 4, 2012 at 8:08am

If he likes his crate, try covering it with a sheet so it's more den like. He might feel safer there. I know it's hard but be matter of fact about it all. You will just feed his anxiety if you offer sympathy to him or act scared yourself. Rosie is also afraid of firework and thunder. I made her a snug fitting coat, like a Thundershirt, and that seems to help. At least she will go to sleep on top of the bed and not try to get under it! Some people have had luck with the Thundershirt and others have used a snug fitting toddler/baby shirt on the dog. It needs to fit snuggly around their torso/upper body. People have pinned the shirt so it is snug.

Good luck. Keep Chewy inside during the fireworks so he doesn't get scared and bolt. You don't want him running scared and getting lost! If you are having company during the fireworks, put him in a quiet room, turn on a radio for him, give him a bowl of water, and shut the door. Make sure people leave him in there and not open the door, again so he doesn't bolt and run and get lost! Be sure he has ID on in case he does get lost.

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Permalink Reply by Kristine & Einstein on July 4, 2012 at 12:14pm

My brother's min pin is the same way. We wind up covering her under the covers, in her crate. She still whines a little bit, but its better than the usual anxiety. If we have her out, she is scared and starts to pace around the house. It can get really bad sometimes. I agree though, any sympathy might make it worse. 

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Permalink Reply by Chris, Kadi & Brodie on July 4, 2012 at 1:08pm

You have my sympathy. Growing up we had a poodle that was terrified of fireworks and she made life miserable for the whole family. In those days we didn't have AC so the windows had to stay open and it made things 10 times worse!

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Permalink Reply by Diane on July 5, 2012 at 1:17am

Thanks everyone for all the good suggestions/ideas... we were out of town today and fortunately. where we are isn't nearly as bad as it was at home. There have been some but far enough away that he hasn't been as freaked. Hopefully b my the time we get home it will have mellowed as well - but at least now I have some ideas for next year (or New Year's Eve!)

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