A Dog's Worst Holiday

Yikes!

TOP 13 SOLUTIONS

to help your dogs through the holidays

I received an emergency call from a family who  was frantic about their newly adopted Australian Shepard, Duffy.  Duffy had crashed through a second-story plate-glass window.  Thankfully, Duffy’s humans were home and heard the crash.

They ran outside, rescued Duffy from the bushes, and rushed him to the vet. 

What caused Duffy’s almost suicidal crash through the window?  He was trying to “escape” the sounds of the neighborhood’s July 4th celebrations.  The vet told Duffy’s family that they see a lot of dogs who are injured when they react to firecrackers and fireworks.  Duffy was lucky because he suffered only superficial cuts and bruises. Other dogs aren’t so lucky.

 Shelters all over the United States are filled on July 5^th and January 2 with lost dogs who escaped from yards and even, like Duffy, from inside homes.  Once on the street, these distressed dogs often become disoriented and fueled by the intermittent crack of fireworks and the smell of gunpowder in the air and run for miles until there is no hope of them finding their way back home by themselves.  Sometimes only luck and the help of kind-hearted rescuers bring a July 4^th dog back home. Sadly, many others are hit by cars and some dogs simply disappear and are never seen again, leaving families heartbroken. So what can we do to help our beloved dogs over the July 4^th holidays? 

The first safety key is prevention and management:  

1. Prevention and management means creating an environment that sets your dog up to not only be safe, but actually teaches them to relax. 

• First and foremost, be extra careful and anticipate problems before they occur. Supervise your dog and keep them close, tethered to you if necessary. And it is imperative that they always wear their collar with some kind of identification just in case they do manage to escape.

• Check your doors to make sure they are locked and if you have children or absent-minded guests, you might temporarily put a baby gate across the threshold for those who forget to close the doors.

• Unless your dog views their crate as a safety zone, never put a dog in a crate or tie her to something and leave her there.  They very likely would injure themselves while hysterically attempting to get free.

Speaking of safety zones, many dogs run to a bathroom and even hop in the tub. Others run under the bed. Safety zones are ok as long as they’re safe, but never let your dog outside.

2. Provide extra exercise so your dog may have less energy to pay attention to the fireworks or even sleep through the displays.

3. Massage your dog everyday so he or she loves the time with you. Then, when the storm or fireworks appear, the massage will help relieve her tension.

4. Be a good actor or actress.  Keep a happy attitude around your dog and maintain her daily routines. Dogs feed off our energy so if you act stressed, your dog will feel it. 

5. Turn on the air conditioner and TV or radio to help create a room filled with familiar sounds.  Often this can distract your dog or even help muffle the fireworks outside. There’s also a pretty good relaxing music tape on the market called :“Through a Dog’s Ear.” The trick to this though is to turn the radio or tv on 30 minutes before the fireworks start so there is some continuity and environmental familiarity.

6. Leave the area.                                                                                                              There are some dogs who can never be desensitized  to fireworks. I had such a dog, Molly who lived almost to 17.  Every holiday celebration that included fireworks, we would get a motel room and just chill. She loved motels! But visiting friends away from fireworks is another great option. I know families who plan a one or two day vacation around July 4th so they are away from fireworks.

7. Play your dog’s favorite games with favorite toys. Fear and fun cannot occupy the same space. So if feel-good chemicals associated with play are surging through your dog’s body, distress hormones are reduced.

8. Try holistic aids.  There are herbal remedies as well as Bach Flower remedies and CBD oil that can help many dogs. Also, some dogs (and people) seem to relax whenever a few drops of lavender oil or evergreen waft through the air.

9. Thundershirts  Several years ago a product appeared on the market called a Thundershirt.  It’s a wrap that comfortably fits around the dog’s body and has been found to work on a high percentage of dogs to help them relax.  I used one with my Golden Retriever, Grady for many years.

10. Additional remedies: I have found products like Nutricalm and Composure effective for some dogs as has pheromone therapy. Check out products called Dog Appeasing Pheromone and Thunderspray.

NOTE: No one product or potential remedy works for all dogs so you may have to experiment. Some folks find a combination of remedies working together helpful.

 11. Professional help: Whatever you experiment with, do so before the upsetting events happen in order to see what effects they have. Once again, I strongly suggest working with a qualified positive trainer who can show you exactly what to do and how to do it.

  12. Consult with your veterinarian. There are pharmacological aids that can be prescribed to help your dog get through the roughest time where fireworks are of greatest intensity.

13. Before the next holiday, start training your dog now.                             Training builds confidence and trust.  Your dog’s increased confidence helps him relax in stressful situations and diminishes his fear. In severe cases, to help a dog overcome the fear of fireworks, it’s best to consult  a professional trainer who uses positive methods. If your dog exhibits a mild degree of anxiety, you can get started training immediately on your own.

Most, but not all dogs can improve and learn to relax, or at least tolerate July 4^th and New Year’s Eve fireworks.  Always err on the side of safety and be understanding and compassionate with your animal friends.  Only you can help them overcome their fears.

By teaching your dog to stay relaxed even in the midst of intense daily distractions in the home like banging pots and popping bubble gift wrap, you can build your dog’s trust and raise his stress management threshold. This then can be a big help, months later when the fireworks start. Obviously training like this takes time and it’s very important to never ask more than what your dog can do. The process from sensitivity to security takes months and must be done in increments. Hiring a qualified professional trainer is a must

Paul Owens2025               www.originaldogwhisperer.com.