Keeping Your Dog Calm During Fireworks

Does your dog hate fireworks? Many dogs do. It’s not the bright lights that bother them, but the sound of the explosions that send dogs into a panic.

You don’t have to hunker down and hope for the best. There are some things you can do to minimize your dog’s expected distress.

1. Use white noise to drown out the firework sounds. Turn on portable fans, the television or some music to block outside noise. This is especially important if you are going to be gone from the house.

2. Put a Thunder Shirt or an Anxiety Wrap on your dog. Don’t have one? Put your dog in a snug t-shirt. Like a swaddled baby, this can make some dogs feel more secure.

3. Ask the vet for a mild tranquilizer for your dog.  Some dogs just can’t do it alone.

4. Keep your dog in a room or their kennel (only if they are crate-trained) so they don’t destroy the house. You can put a blanket over the kennel to further insulate your dog from the firework sounds. (Note: Do not leave them alone in their kennel if you think they will still panic. They can hurt themselves trying to get out.)

5. Keep their minds busy by giving them a rawhide to chew. This only works with mildly panicked dogs. Severely panicked dogs can not focus on anything else but the noise, so blocking the noise is your only solution.

Remember to not over soothe them verbally or give them too much extra attention as that may simply reinforce the behavior for next time. But don’t ignore them either. They are counting on you to help them forget their troubles.

Source: 5 ways to keep your dogs calm during fireworks;Posted on December 30, 2013 | BY CATHY M. ROSENTHAL; http://blog.mysanantonio.com/animals/2013/12/5-ways-to-keep-your-dogs-ca...