Terrified Dog on the 4th of July

[zoomer]

Sorry I've been posting like crazy, I've just got a lot of things to post about :rolleyes:

On the 4th of July Alaska is absoulutly terrified! The fire works really scare him to death. Whenever he hears them, he starts howling, and barking, and hiding. Last July he jumped the kennel fence and chewed the door knob until he got inside. Is there something we can do to prevent this? Some kind of medicine or something...?

[Flatcoatluver]

Keep her and all the animals inside. I might get flamed by saying this but saying stuff like Alaska, it's alright make's everything worse, basically making a big deal about it makes it worse.
ETA: At our dog kennel we have a really loud fan and the dogs don't hear anything over that.

[Aspen and Misty]

I would bring him inside, it's not fare to leave him outside, it's not like he knows whats going on. If you aren't going to be home I would put him in a safe place (inside kennel or your bedroom) and play LOUD music. Hopefully he won't be able to hear the fire works. This works for a foster dog I had that was terrified of lightning. I would put her in my bedroom and turn on the T.V. really loud, she just slept through the whole storm.

Also, people do stupid stuff on July 4th, I would never leave any animals unattended outside. Even my dog's get supervised potty visits. Teenage boys think it's fun to tie fire crakers to dog's and cats tails and watch them run.

Ashley

[zoomer]

Thank you


Teenage boys think it's fun to tie fire crakers to dog's and cats tails and watch them run.

Ashley

That's terrible! :(

[IRescue452]

I'd bring the dogs inside, especially if your neighborhood has a lot of people who do bottle rockets and roman candles. Me and Autumn only go to the dog park during firework season, we never go for walks around town. Last year we went for a walk in daylight in the afternoon and when we walked past a hedge a bottle rocket came shooting past us at eye level only a foot away from my head. Yesterday the neighbors shot a roman candle and a large burning piece of cardboard landed on the other neighbor's roof, luckily it fell off instead of starting a fire. Its not worth it to leave a dog outside while all this is going on, especially one at risk of running away and getting hurt.

[animal_rescue]

Both my RB German Shepherds were terrified of firecrackers. Hannah would jump the fence and take off, once she tried to jump threw someone's window trying to get in the house! On the 4th we kept them in the basement and gave them sedatives the vet gave us. You might want to talk to him about some for her.

[Muddy4paws]

Are you nervous around her? If you are she will pick up on it, I would definatly bring her in as someone said before people do stupid things with fireworks and its not worth risking her life for their jokes.

Have you tried rescue remedy? I have seen it calm down a few dogs where I work so maybe try that?

[elizabethann]

Fenway is very scared of fireworks. Last night was the worse so far. They were all over the neighborhood. Unfortunately, I was one of those who when he was a puppy, would coddle him and say it was okay. So now he has to be right near me when the fireworks go off.

Try putting your a/c on. That tends to help a little bit with Fenway.

In a couple of months, my town will have its Old Home Day and they have fireworks right outside my front door. I bring Fenway to my sister's in the next town over.

Good luck.

[lute]

don't cuddle him! it will only make his fear worse. act like you have it all under control and aren't scared. put him in his crate with music or tv on loud enough so he can't hear what's goin on outside. they make de-stress sprays and what not, but i personally have never used them and don't think i ever will. also bring him in the house! no animals should be outside around 4th of july. there are way too many stupid people out there!

i myself love setting off fireworks and uh...blowing things up. :o so it's good that not any of my animals are scared of fireworks. i get a lil crazy witht them. about blew up the house last night. :o

[luvofallhorses]

please keep all of your babies inside.

here's an article on keeping your pets safe from http://www.hsus.org

http://www.hsus.org/pets/pet_care/summer_care_tips_for_you_and_your_pets/keep_your_pet_safe_on_july_4th.html

[zoomer]

Okay. Thank you all!

[bckrazy]

The only thing I REALLY hate about the location of our new house is that the 4th of July park is 1 block away. So, they've been having a huge fireworks show for 1 hour every night for 5 days. -_- Gonzo is, of course, skittish about it, but I make sure he is inside and I'm home with him. If not, he is in his crate in my room and so is Fozzie. I turn the music on and the ceiling fan, and close the window & door. If I am home, I turn the TV/radio up and keep Gonzo on a long leash inside to prevent him from running in circles. I give him commands and use treats to distract him, and keep him on a down.