Don't Ignore Your Dog's Fireworks Anxiety

With America’s birthday around the corner, pet parents are prepping for all the separate segments that celebrating the holiday entails, including, of course, fireworks. And pet parents know what that means: a fearful Fido who can’t take the noise of the loud firecrackers cowering in a corner, wondering when the onslaught will end. For the most part, we’ve always been told that the best course of action is to ignore the pooch and hope he “gets over it,” so to speak. That, however, may not be the best advice.

In preparation for July 4th, Petside had the opportunity to catch up with Debbie Jacobs (CPDT-KA, CAP2), a dog enthusiast who has dedicated her time to helping owners and trainers deal with their fearful dogs. Jacobs offered some sound advice for Petside readers in easing a not-so-sound anxiety this holiday. What she had to say may surprise you.

Dogs and Fireworks: Comfort Isn’t Contraband

A common myth is that if you comfort a dog when they are afraid, or speak soothingly to them, you will reinforce their fears. In reality, this could not be farther from the truth.

“When we tell a dog everything is going to be OK, we’re not telling them to keep it up, or that they are right to be afraid,” Jacobs said. “Anything that we can do that lowers a dog’s stress and anxiety will help us get an improvement in their behavior.”

According to Jacobs, being kind, supportive, comforting, or giving a dog “rewards” when they are afraid do not increase behaviors which are caused by emotional distress.

“When we bring a frightened, crying child to the doctor and give them stickers or balloons, we do not expect to get an increase in their crying, and our goal is to get the behavior to stop, which we hope it eventually will,” Jacobs says. “Dogs are the same way.”

Dogs and Fireworks: You Don’t Have to Ignore Your Dog

According to Jacobs, the idea that we should ignore our dog is also incorrect.

“Dogs are social animals,” Jacobs says. “This means that they derive comfort from being with the people or animals whom they have trusting relationships.”

Jacobs paints the picture of a dog’s sound anxiety as a parallel to our own human behaviors.

“Imagine being frightened and having your support system, your friends and family, ignore you,” she says. “This is not likely to contribute to your sense of security or feelings of safety. When a dog is extremely scared we need to pay attention to their reactions to our responses to them.”

If a dog solicits for handling and attention when they are frightened, they’re more than likely seeking ways to lower their anxiety.

“As their ‘best friend’ it would be insensitive to ignore them,” Jacobs says.

Dogs are individuals and what makes one feel better may not make another feel better; what one dog finds comforting, another may find annoying. Thus, it’s important to pay attention and find what works for your dog. If they feel better you are likely to see an improvement in their behavior.

Dogs and Fireworks: Acknowledge Fido's Fear

After dispelling some common myths, Jacobs asserted that the first step that a pet owner needs to take in working with their fearful Fido is to acknowledge that there is an issue. Because dogs cannot tell us how they are feeling, their behavior is the only indication we have in how upset they might actually be.

Dogs and Fireworks: Prepare Your Pup and Your Pup’s Environment

In preparing your dog for loud noises, Jacobs offers some advice:

“Some people help prepare their dogs for storms or startling noises by desensitizing and counter conditioning them to particular noises,” she says. “To do this, a sound is played at a low enough level so that the dog can hear it, but does not respond adversely to it.

During or immediately following the sound a high value reward is given to the dog. This reward could be a super good food treat, or a game of tug or ball toss if a dog enjoys these activities. The sound is gradually increased and rewards provided until the dog hears a loud sound and is able to predict that something tasty or fun is going to happen.”

The process can take a bit of time and not always be effective, but can be applied routinely in a dog’s life.

In addition to preparing your pup using this increasing sound method, Jacobs asserts that it's important to prepare your pup’s environment.

“Provide your dog with a safe, cozy place to be in,” she says. “Some dogs hide in closets, under beds and even in bath tubs. Allow your dog access to whatever space they choose to hunker down in. Close windows and doors to your home and pull the blinds or shades if flashes of lightning or fireworks are visible.”

Jacobs also suggests that playing calming music in the background may be helpful for both pets and pet owners.

“One of our goals with storm (and loud noise) phobic dogs is to change the context of the experience for them,” she says. “Instead of a storm predicting that they are going to feel scared, the hope is that a storm will predict wonderful things, such as certain treats or fun.”

Dogs and Fireworks: Other Remedies

There are some remedies that pet owners can consider for their firework-phobic pups.

The Thundershirt, a comforting body wrap that works in conjunction with melatonin (a naturally occurring hormone), can provide some relief for Fido during storms or fireworks displays.

Additionally, there are also a variety of herbs and amino acids that can be bought over the counter that may ease your pup’s anxieties.

It is important, however, to remember that a dog cannot be forced to stop feeling anxious during storms or fireworks, and sometimes no amount of comforting or over the counter remedies can help. If this is the case pet owners should speak with their vet about anti-anxiety medications which they can use during storms or fireworks.

“Being scared is stressful and stress can contribute to poor health in our dogs,” Jacobs says. “Be a friend and responsible caregiver, do whatever it takes to make them feel better.”

For more ways to keep your pet safe and happy this holiday, read Pet Safety on the 4th of July from LifeGoesStrong.com.