# Fear of fireworks



## jujuli (Sep 20, 2012)

We have had our little rescue girl now for 3 months and she is settling in beautifully and is such a joy. Being a rescue pup we did not know how she would react to certain things. Unfortunately I have just discovered the hard way that she is afraid of fireworks. Our Fireworks Night is 5th Nov but I forgot that people can set them off early, so when I took her out of course some fireworks were let off in a garden pretty nearby and she went crazy. I took her home straight away and she shook like a leaf for quite a while, our cocker spanie lCharlie is not bothered by bangs and loud noises so I have not experienced this. She jumped into his bed and lay there with Charlie, and with her head on my leg. Gradually she calmed down. I am going to see if I can get a Thunder vest for her tomorrow for the real fireworks night, now that I know this is going to be a problem for her. I know you shouldnt give them extra fuss but be calm and natural. I wondered if there was any other advice on how to lessen the fear that she will probably feel on the 5th November? Has anyone tried DAP diffusers? When I think about it, she heard some distant gunshot on the dunes and she was quite agitated for a while and would not relax.


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## redbirddog (Apr 23, 2010)

http://redbirddog.blogspot.com/2012/01/thundershirt-and-new-years-eve.html

These do work but I'd advise putting it on her hours early so she does not associate the thundershirt to the sound. The pressure on her will calm her down. I was amazed. 

We had some thunder surprise us a couple nights ago and without the Thundershirt on Chloe was a complete wreck, trying to crawl under the bed and shaking. 

I know the principle is sound and I have noticed it works. 

Let that do the trick and pay her no extra special mind. Ours has a sleeping bag she can crawl into where there is a second layer of pressure and added layer of sound supression.

But put it on early and keep it on longer than you think you should.

Good luck.
RBD


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## hotmischief (Mar 11, 2012)

Oh Jujuli I am sorry to hear about your pup being so frightened by fireworks. This is such an awful time in the UK as it is just not on the 5th that we seem to get fireworks going off, people seems to do it for all sorts of celebrations now.

We are supposedt to be going out to a party this saturday (really wanted to go as I only see some of these friends once a year) but we have been waiting to find out how our 10 month old boy is going to react to fireworks. We hope that he will see that our Gt Dane is totally not bothered so everything is okay but I guess we can't leave him on his own until we know.

Anyway, the thunder jackets do work well. However, go to your local vets and get an Adaptil difuser as well, they also help calm down a stressed dog. You can get them cheaper on ebay but as tonight and the weekend are likely to be very busy with fireworks I would go to your vets.

I do hope he witll be okay, it is horrible to see them so scared. Do let us all know how you get on as the feed back may help someone else.


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## SteelCityDozer (Aug 25, 2011)

Thundershirt plus keep keep the pup in a room with doors and windows closed and radio or tv going.


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## harrigab (Aug 21, 2011)

as it's saturday night a lot of people are setting fireworks off early (rather than wait till monday) Ruby is checking the garden for downed pheasants ;D


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## Angie NG (Jun 6, 2012)

We had fireworks very early here to, was a bit concerned how Bella would react. She slept through the whole thing 

Yesterday we looked after a friends vizsla and at tea time more fireworks went off. Both dogs started barking like mad, I am hoping Bella was only barking because Georgia was ???


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## jujuli (Sep 20, 2012)

Aaah I tried to get a thundershirt quickly but my local store didnt sell them, only the big store in town which I was not able to get to. We had lots of fireworks on Saturday night and she started to get very concerned and shivery. I came across a technique from a behaviourist which involves a squeezy tube of cheese. Whenever there is a bang just say "cheese" and let the dog lick a small bit of cheese at the end of the tube. I had nothing to lose so I gave this a go. I did this every time there was a firework, and I was amazed. By the end of the evening she was completely calm, I had both dogs patiently waiting for their turn to lick the tube and even ended up licking it together (and each others faces ). Hopefully she will gradually associate the loud noises with something good. I dont know if we will get much noise tonight as it has been pouring with rain all day long but tomorrow night will probably be a noisy one. 

Thanks Hotmischief I will go to my vets and see about the Adaptil, and get the thundershirt too by tomorrow.


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