Fireworks season begins. For many it’s a lot of fun, for others, mostly dog owners, it’s the hardest time of the year.
Not every dog reacts badly to fireworks. In fact as a teenage girl I had a lovely Doberman lady, who could be with us in the middle of the New Year’s celebration, completely not bothered by the sounds of the war all around. So for me it was always surprising to read post-New Year’s announcements about missing dogs, who run away terrified by the fireworks.
Till we got Bosfor, our beloved German Shepherd. I have never seen a dog so scared during end of the year celebration. Unfortunately fireworks, although illegal to fire other day than the 31 of December, start already much sooner. And this is so unpredictable, that if you have a dog who reacts strongly to the sound, by simply running away and not willing to go outside, you have a big problem. There are many drugs offered by vets to minimize the trauma, but you can’t drug your dog already in November, in case there will be some bangs. Also, after talking with one of the trusted vets, we found out that none of the drugs are really working. Most of them (the strong ones) would knock down your dog, who would be unable (in extreme cases) to walk, keep balance, eat or drink. But they wouldn’t eliminate the fear, so you would have the dog, who’s terrified inside, but is not even able to hide. Imagine, how much worse he must feel!
In our case, we probably tried everything possible so far. From the most recommended and expensive drugs to the most natural, homeopathic sprays, drops and diffusers. Nothing really helped. Our Bosfor was so terrified the first year he was with us, that he didn’t want to go out for 2 or even 3 days. As he’s very well trained, he would never do his business at home and for us it was heart breaking. With years his behavior during the New Year’s improved but he would be still running away when outside he hears a sudden bang.
And then, we got ourselves another bundle of fur, Ares. As it turned out, he is even more freaked our during New Years or even a storm than Bosfor was.
So this year we’ve decided to try the new approach. It’s called desensitizing and basically means, that you let your dog get used to the fireworks sound, by playing them on your computer, CD or TV. There are even special recordings to be found on YouTube, with the step-by-step explanation, how to do it. Well, we’ve started today and are determined to be very consistent. Let’s see the result, will definitely share it with you!