Scared of fireworks

[Luvnmyboxer]

Ok so Titan is scared of fireworks already and we still have at least 6 more nights to go of fireworks. The poor guy was out trying to do his "business" earlier and right in the middle of it somebody had to light a firework that was really loud and whistled, he had to stop mid-action and start running back to the house. Dont get me wrong I was laughing the whole time but all these fireworks could cause a problem with his potty routine here for the next week or so. Now when he goes outside he stops on the porch and tilts his head waiting for them to start--

 

[Kristi O.]

Yes, we get so nervous during New Year's and 4th of July. Jake, our blue heeler, has done some serious damage to himself because of fireworks. The first time we realized he was deathly scared of them we had gone out of town for the day on New Year's to visti family. When we returned home late that night we discovered a bloody fence that had been ripped apart and blood everywhere. When we found Jake he was so lethargic from the amount of blood he had lost. We were lucky we found him when we did. He had ripped his leg apart and had lost most of his tongue. He had apparently tried to jump our tall wooden fence and had gotten his leg caught at the top. Our neighbor found him and put him in the backyard....he then ripped through the fence. Our neighbor found him again and had put him back. He noticed the blood and was trying to get a hold of us when we drove up. We were so shocked at what he had done....anyways, to make a long story short we ended up with an outrageous vet bill and several weeks of repeated bandage changing.
The fireworks started a couple of days ago and Jake will not go outside when they are going off....he just holds it Poor thing has such a fearful look in his eye when he hears them......I feel so bad for him but it's so funny to see a 65 pound blue heeler jump in my husband's lap when they go off!

 

[LegendsLake]

Oh yeah firework time agian. Since it's legal here people start buying and shooting them off early. Of course you aren't supposed to shoot them until the 4th. But that doesn't stop people. Luckily King isn't scared of them. But he does get more protective of me. He won't let me go outside without him, I think he thinks the fireworks will get me and he has to stop them from hurting his mom. He's too cute.

 

[apollosdad]

fireworks and the 4th of july are the number one reason why animal shelters are so busy after the holiday. the sounds cause dogs to runaway in fear. usually these dogs are the poor guys that are left unattended outside in backyards, so as long as measures are taken to avoid that from happening, you should be okay.
sudden noises like the fireworks are pretty normal for your dog to be startled of at first. the important thing to remember is to not tell your dog "it's okay" when it becomes frightened. what you will actually be doing is rewarding them for being afraid and encouraging the repitition of this behavior. the best thing to do is to ignore them when they are frightened and act as if nothing happened. dogs can also sense when their owners are stressed or afraid so it is best to act as calmly as you can in those given situations. let your dog go out and do his business as usual and hopefully he will become desensitized to the fireworks over time.
i would also suggest that you don't let your dog run inside the house in fear after hearing a firecracker. this would be the same as saying, "there, there" as i mentioned above. one option would be to attempt to distract your dog by playing a game that he really enjoys outisde with him when the fireworks are going off. the distraction will hopefully take his attention off the fireworks and onto the game.

 

[Elyse]

Poor baby. I am sorry he is so scared. A friend had a pup who was petrified and would bring a portable radio with her for walks to distract her boy from the fireworks.

 

[BaileyWailey]

This will be Bailey's first Fourth of July and I'm afraid she's going to be a weenie. The neighbors are re-roofing their house this week. I went home at lunch yesterday and let Bailey out and she would not go to the bathroom and was trying deperately to get in the house, shaking. Poor baby :( We'll see how today goes, she was still afraid last night after they had left. Roxy, on the other hand, likes to chase and try to bite at the fireworks. Needless to say I can't bring her anywhere on the Fourth either.

 

[My Dutchess]

I found out last night Duke doesn't want anything to do with any of them, he ran up on the porch and sat by the door. On the other hand Dutchess likes to sit and watch all of them except the black cats, if their pretty and sparkle she loves them. We should have a pretty interesting 4th with the two of them.