In my neighborhood fireworks are a big deal. About two weeks before July 4th, tents start showing up in the parking lots around town. Then about a week before the 4th they are ready to go. Most offer a buy-one-get-one free deal so that the neighbors can really stock up.
Our neighbors don’t wait until the 4th to use their stash. Usually we are treated to fireworks the entire week before the holiday and sometimes the week after too. But the 4th is still the biggest day for fireworks in our hood.
This was one of our neighbor’s fireworks trash the day after their 4th of July celebration last year.
Since fireworks are such a serious business in our neighborhood, it is a good idea to have a plan to help our dogs cope.
Storm could sleep through a nuclear bomb. She is not bothered by fireworks, thunder or lightening. But Thunder and Freighter are, especially fireworks. They are not panicked, just concerned.
Our plan to help them deal with the stress of fireworks is pretty simple. We try to act like nothing is happening. Literally. We try not to make a big deal of it. We hang out in the house and watch tv and carry on like it is a normal evening.
Usually we have the air conditioning going so we can keep the windows shut because it is annoying after a while. (And secretly I am praying that one of the neighbor’s rockets doesn’t land on our roof. Our neighborhood is not wide open spaces. It is made up of city-sized lots lined up in a row.)
If we have to air the dogs in the yard, we normally take them out on lead. Their recall is good, but no sense risking them bolting should there be a particularly loud bang. We would never take them to a fireworks celebration where the bangs can be very loud. They are used to gunfire, but the sound of a firework exploding is a whole different sound.
Since the 4th is on a Friday this year and the weather is predicted to be good, we expect a lot of “celebrating” in the hood. That’s OK because we have a plan.
Do you have a plan to help your dogs cope with fireworks noise?
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The selling of fireworks to the general public is actually banned in South Africa but that doesn’t stop people buying them illegally. We obviously don’t celebrate the 4th of July but New Years and the end of Eid (a Muslim feast day) are big fireworks days here.
Happy 4th of July guys – we hope things don’t get too crazy 🙂
Wally & Sammy
I like your way to “survive” a firework. We fortunately have only a public firework on 7/14 and I think I will spend the time with Easy in the wardrobe… next year we probably will cross the channel to seek asylum in UK for this day :o)
Bailie and I sleep through everything. Katie gets bothered by the fireworks, don’t know why people spend so much money on the stuff, but it is what it is! Katie goes in the bathroom and can then relax, she feels safe there. Do you know Mary Hanson? She is in our Nose Work class, and is one of Bailie’s tracking instructors. Last night at our ORT we finally had time to talk a bit and I asked her if by chance she knows you. Couldn’t think of your name, but Mom knew the dogs names and she for sure knows of Storm and Thunder. She has the “Chessie” license plate which is why I know she has Chessies and I know she does hunt tests. She was president of the region or something a while back and thinks she knows you too. Small world.
Good for Storm she can sleep through it! I guess I could feel left out if it’s a big deal for everyone but people with dogs are kept from it because it scares the dogs. We don’t have this sort of celebration in Singapore 🙂
July 5th is one of the busiest days at animal shelters. So many animals bolt from home in panic during fireworks.
Hi Y’all!
Happy July 4th.
Sadly it isn’t just the dogs the fireworks bother…the huge herons roosting in the trees and other birds and waterfowl flee their roosts, screaming and shedding feathers in their haste to depart.
Since I’ve gotten older I don’t like the sound of fireworks and retreat to my crate.
Y’all come by now,
Hawk aka BrownDog
Sounds like you have a great plan in place. We have never been home on the 4th before, so I have no idea what to expect this year! I was thinking we might not have much to worry about since we live in a “city” without much wide open space, but after reading this I guess we might! The last several years, we’ve spent the 4th in a neighborhood where fireworks also go off for days (weeks/months) ahead of the 4th. Barley does get panicked (she tries to squeeze behind the toilet–and the space under the tank between the toilet and wall is not big enough for a 50+ lb. dog!) and won’t even take treats from me or play touch or other games to make the experience more positive, so our plan involves waking up early for a nice long morning walk, going outside to potty before it gets dark, and then coming inside where I’ll probably read a book while my pup hides. Then when she decides it’s safe enough to come out of her hiding spot, which probably won’t be until long after midnight, we’ll go outside one last time before bed. Thanks for the tip about leaving the AC on and closing the windows–I hadn’t even though of that (mostly, because my parents’ house had central air, so the last few years the windows have always been closed–but my windows are often open!).
Great to have a plan! Some people really get carried away with the festivities. My gang isn’t bothered with them, but we also live in the country where we only hear the distant ones. Have a great fouth!
Good plan, I think they pick up a lot from their humans. We’re fortunate to live in a fairly rural setting and that our neighbors aren’t fireworks people. I’ve never really understood the attraction – the big displays, yes they are beautiful, but the ones that just make a big noise…what’s the point. Anyways – love the picture.
Our big fireworks day is July 1st (Canada), so we already passed it. My one neighbour is really into fireworks, which is frustrating, because it means that it sounds like it’s coming from all around our house, the entire evening. Gwynn isn’t a huge fan of the fireworks, so we try to get him out for a last pee before they start. He isn’t panicked – like your guys, he’s just… concerned. but concerned enough that, with the increased noise level outside, he’d prefer to just hold it, and beat a hasty retreat. My room is quite soundproofed too, so I usually just let him up there for the nights that are particularly loud.
I try to walk my dogs early in the day. Fireworks start going off early in the afternoon. If Chloe hears fireworks while we are out, she stands up , gives me a hug, and insists we immediately return home .
Fireworks are illegal here, so they’re not being sold locally. But people still get them from out of state and fire them off anyway. And every year there are more newspaper reports about how many ER emergencies there were due to burns and fingers getting blown off by either faulty fireworks or people who don’t know what they’re doing. Only professional fireworks are allowed, and every town has its special “town day” during summer, so we hear a lot of fireworks shows from June-August. Daisy isn’t bothered. She growls at the first few explosions, sometimes barks at the next few if she’s so inclined, but generally she just ends up plopping back down and ignoring them. We’re lucky – I used to babysit a friend’s Schnauzer who would tremble in my lap during fireworks and even RAIN storms, and she couldn’t calm down for over an hour after it was all over. I’m so glad Daisy’s not like that! We started her off with the same technique you’re using – we acted calm and like nothing was happening, and she caught on right away. Hope it works for you too, and happy 4th!
Bauer, Snoopy and Kelinn all don’t care about fireworks (in fact I was working Kelinn in front of the house the other day and someone set off fireworks in their driveway about five houses down – he didn’t miss a beat!) but Jeni is very noisephobic. We use melatonin and a thundershirt which seems to help for fireworks but not for thunderstorms for some reason. She gets MUCH more stressed out during storms than fireworks. It is frustrating because once they start she won’t go outside, so we have to make sure she goes out to potty as close as possible to the start of the fireworks before bed.
Well, your neighborhood sounds exactly like mine. We are expecting that we will be “treated” to fireworks all weekend long. I am not afraid of them but we don’t venture out once the neighborhood starts “lighting up”. Better to be inside and safe than sorry. Enjoy your 4th and your long weekend!
Luckily me and Nalle totally ignore the fireworks! Wooooowoooooooo!
We have those idiots in our neighborhood too, thankfully my dogs aren’t overly concerned with it, but we will still have the air conditioning running to help combat the noise. Something interesting was pointed out to me the other day too, some of our vets have PTSD and the fireworks can be horrible for them as well. Personally I’d have no problem if they banned the sale of fireworks or at the very least set an area up for people to blast them off safely. It’s really not particularly safe for this kind of thing to be shot off in neighborhoods.
Fireworks are illegal here, but it doesn’t stop people from going across the border to get them. Katy isn’t so bad, but they make Bailey crazy. We are going to try the suggestion of exhausting them before it gets dark. We keep the A/C on and play music and it does drown out some of the noise. However, Bailey just stresses badly.
Wow, they really get into it in your neighborhood! They are much harder to find for sale around here. We typically just have one neighbor that sets them off. You are right that it is best to just act like things are normal. We just go to the basement where it’s quieter (our bedroom is on the top floor where it’s the worst), and we often watch TV down there anyway in the summer so it’s nothing new.
We also have fireworks stands not far from our home. We experience the same week long firework noise. Pierre feels the need to bark at them, while Bentley is a nervous wreck. We put his ThunderShirt on every evening and it seems to work. The big test is tomorrow. I always do a backyard check in the mornings, because I have actually found burnt bottlerockets. Bentley grabbed one and took off running! Have a wonderfully safe time!
Thunder and shotguns don’t bother them, but rifle fire and fireworks do.
That’s one thing I’ve learned to do too. Act as if nothing is happening. I have to stay up late tonight anyway (plus I can’t sleep through the noise) so I’ll watch a few movies 🙂
Personal fireworks are illegal here in Massachusetts, but we STILL have people in our neighborhood (on a lake) whose trash piles look like the photo you posted here! They get the fireworks across the border in New Hampshire, and they have a huge party (which will be tonight). The fireworks go off right over our house, because they light them on the beach, and our driveway is behind the beach. I always am afraid one will land on the house. It is pretty, but… that’s about it. They have “contests” on the three beaches on the three sides of the peninsula, so it goes on all night long with each one taking turns. Like I said, it’s pretty… Hobie and Hector used to be terrified. Hector is now gone (RIP), Hobie is hearing-impaired, and our two younger dogs are gun dogs from Tennessee so they ain’t bothered one little bit. They just bark when all the other neighborhood dogs bark. Everyone in this neighborhood has dogs. I’ve always been kinda surprised that there is such an abundance of fireworks, given that we are all great dog parents. Well, not to get all preachy, just sharing my two cents.