If a dog hasn't been safely exposed to many different experiences, including loud noises during his essential ‘socialisation’ period, when he gets older he may not be able to cope with fireworks or gun shot or other loud unexpected noises.
Fireworks can now be launched at any time of the day or evening, any time of the year so this page is on here for you to start habituating your dog to them now.
If your dog has only recently developed a sensitivity to fireworks or noises, try to act as if there is nothing to be scared of
If your dog has a serious or long-standing phobia try to find out what helps him to cope and be sure to let him do this – e.g. letting him hide under the table, don’t try to coax him out, if this is where he feels safest – he’ll come out when he’s ready and then you can praise him.
Provide your dog with a safe hiding place and close the curtains and remember not to shut any internal doors, as he may feel trapped and panic. Doodle felt happiest in the downstairs loo with the light off but the fan on and I also put a large room fan directed into the room to keep him cool. His fear diminished over the years to the point that he didn't notice them as he went into late middle age. Hector just snores his way through them !
Don’t leave your dog alone in the house, as he may panic and injure himself.
A stodgy high-carbohydrate meal (e.g. well-cooked white rice, pasta or mashed potato) with cooked chicken, turkey or white fish, in the late afternoon may help make your dog feel more sleepy and calm during the evening. Also make sure he goes out to toilet before it gets dark and the fireworks start.
Some dogs respond better to games or reward based training to keep his mind off the noises. If this suits your dog, try to keep his mind busy and organise yourself beforehand so that you can get the games started immediately
Ask your vet about DAP – Dog Appeasing Pheromone. This is a scent which you can’t smell that comes in a plug-in diffuser, spray or collar that can comfort your dog and help him cope with his fears. This will be more effective if you start using it a couple of weeks before the firework season starts.
For dogs with very severe fears on the worst nights, your vet may be able to prescribe a diazepam-type drug. This will not stop your dog from being scared on the night, but causes short term memory loss, so that he won’t remember being scared in the morning. This stops the cycle of fear becoming worse, but it is important to do some training to lessen the problem for the next time. Other sedative drugs tend to make the problem worse.
Ask your vet about other drugs – there are now several drugs and ‘nutraceuticals’ available which reduce anxiety levels for dogs. They tend to take some days to have an effect so they cannot be used for short periods but they are often useful to help during behavioural therapy.
Ask your vet about homeopathic remedies that some owners find may help – such as Bach Rescue Remedy.
Some people have found that their dog responds to the T-Tellington Touch Technique and some of my clients have trialled the Relaxopet device I bought for them to try.
Start preparing your dog for fireworks NOW by slightly turning up the volume of the t.v. or radio every so often so that if you do that when the fireworks start he is used to the idea of the extra noise. Do not react to the noise or lights of the fireworks yourself – keep yourself calm and carry on as normal. Do not soothe your dog – dogs see this as confirmation that there must be something to worry about. Start making really loud noises as part of your general day to day and evening routine. Bang saucepan lids together. Get a child’s cap gun and use it (but not right next to the dog) – start at a distance with all of these noises and then get closer little by little. (This works with dogs that are scared of the vacuum – you start in another room and gradually over weeks get closer with the vacuum). Bang doors (alert your neighbours to your plans beforehand !). Buy a fireworks C.D. (details of suppliers below) or use the sound therapy link below and follow the directions carefully. De-sensitise your dog gently and kindly..
Habituating your puppy to firework noises
‘Habituation’ is teaching a puppy that something is not scary and should be ignored. It is always easier to prevent problems from occurring, than to fix them, so it can really help to habituate your puppy to loud noises while he is still young – preferably when he still has the support of his mum and littermates, so hopefully some of this work will already have been done by your breeder or the Rehoming Centre in the case of a rescue puppy.
This habituation programme can be used with confident puppies. However, if your puppy is generally anxious you need to be very careful not to make this worse and actually create a fear of noises with this programme! If your puppy is at all anxious and is the only dog in the house, having a nice, friendly, calm adult dog around to visit and act as a surrogate mum or dad during this programme will really help – but remember that the older dog must already be well-habituated to noises, or the pup may learn to be scared by watching the reaction of the adult dog. If you are in any doubt as to your puppy’s ability to cope with this programme, please do not use it and seek the advice of your vet.
The trick is to associate firework noise with something nice for your puppy, so that he learns that noises are nothing to be scared of. You can do this by playing firework noise very quietly and then gradually louder, whenever he is enjoying himself. Remember - it is essential that your puppy is not scared at any time during this programme, or you may do more harm than good.
Here’s what you need to do:
Obtain a sound recording of fireworks noises. here are some links to other noises too.
https://soundcloud.com/dogstrust/sets/sound-therapy-sounds-scary
www.amazon.co.uk/Sounds-Scary-phobias-including-fireworks/dp/B000XPA5MU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XSrzTBHL58 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KXYfW8AUh0c https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVtWcYQaQvc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ThXOxCJ7G4
Now make a list of all the things that your dog loves in life and which produces natural excitement. A list may look like this:
When you are having a tug toy game.
When you get your dog's lead out prior to a walk.
When a family member returns home, having been out without the dog.
When you are playing a scent hunting game or playing hide and seek with your dog
List as many things as you can ( this should not include feeding times).
The programme
1. Have your puppy in the room with you, making sure he is quite relaxed and lying down. Do not make him lie down; wait until he does so of his own accord.
Put your CD (or whatever) on and make sure the volume is set as low as it can be.
Start the CD and watch your dog carefully. Slowly turn the volume up whilst watching your dog until he shows a sign that he can hear the noise by acknowledging it. This may be by lifting one ear or his head up, but under no circumstances should he show any fear behaviour. Then reduce the volume one notch.
Mark the volume and then switch it off.
2. For the next two weeks you will need to use the following programme:
Every day, use the CD at the volume which you have previously set, just prior to starting the fun things that he gets naturally excited by
Leave the recording running all the time the puppy is naturally excited and engaged, switching it off again as the excitement dies down or you lose engagement.
On completion of the above over the two weeks, the puppy should be showing no fear when the CD is playing at the set volume, but instead should be associating the noise with the exciting events on your list.
3. Then the following should be done until your dog is happy and relaxed with the recording playing:
gradually increase the volume every day, linking this to exciting events on your list. Mark each increase in volume and start it the next day one notch below that volume.
If you reach a level on the volume that causes any fear reaction in your dog, reduce the volume a little until there is no fear reaction and slowly work it up again. If you have completed this programme successfully, the reaction you should expect from your dog when you play the noises is one of excitement (or at the very least he’ll just ignore it), rather than fear behaviour, as he’ll now associate the noise with exciting events that he enjoys.