dogs and the 4th of July

the 4th of july is like the coming of the 4 horsemen of the apocalypse for dogs.

Pacco has not shown fear, in the sense of cowering, before on the noisy July 4th weekends, but he does bark to ward off the noise from the homestead. Usually firecrackers start going off randomly on the days just before the 4th, and he barks away the first few times, and then settles down for a while, then starts barking at them again.

Always before I've been with him, so I was concerned, but I'd be only gone a couple of hours, those before dark settled in around nine, and I'd be home before the big noise from Winnetka, as it were. The thunder was a surprise to the evening, but he hasn't previously been cowery around thunder. Still, I was glad when I walked in the front door and he was Mr. Placid, possibly less frenetic than usual to see me, though he is never totally sanguine until I am back in his care.

I have to plan for it in fact. Others tell me that when I leave, he will stick by the door I've left at, sometimes for all day. Thus, I always leave an extra water bowl right by the door...

Re: dogs and the 4th of July

I'm betting it was you who hid under the bed.

ours (now 5 and almost 6 years old) are starting to get used to the loud booming after 3 years of midwestern thunderstorms. still scared of the thunder and of the fireworks, but it's not as bad as it used to be.

dogs, like kids, get scared of stuff. a little terror from time to time is part of life, and probably good for the circulation (joke). it's the day-to-day terrors of the dogs that concern me more...

That was the funniest thing I've read all day

It's so true, though. With our previous dogs, we'd just keep them in my bedroom with a walk outside every few hours to relieve themselves.

I'm tending to puppies now, and I didn't get home until later in the day on the fourth, worried to death that I'd find them cowering in the corner of their pen in the back yard. Amazingly, they didn't even seem to care about it.

I went back inside and watched them for a bit from a window to see how they reacted, and interestingly enough, they would perk their heads up at the louder reports, but generally kept playing amonst themselves and couldn't care less about the noise. It blew my mind.

So I just went back to the BBQ and beer... no harm, no foul!

My dogs don't get overly concerned about it. I think they fear thunder a lot more, because it means wind and the potential of getting wet.

My poor doggie, Jack, is seriously shaky-scared with fireworks, but moreso with thunder and storms. He runs to me first, then he runs around looking for cover.

Poor thing's heart races.

Sometimes, I let him sit in my lap, but he's still all shaky.

As soon as I can afford it, I'm getting him some doggie Valium. (Hope he's not addictive.)

Pacco is very capable of going berserk out of some combo of fear and-or aggression, but that is all about some wolf approaching the pack, me. He's got fabulous hearing, can hear the tiniest woof for miles.

I gather Sallydog got freaked with the combo of thunder and firecrackers, where she'd been fine until the whole thing orchestrated to a certain level.

Has anyone used valium with their dog due to this type of anxiety?

lash

Then theres doggie detox, and 12 step programs and counseling and your dog will have to give up its old freiends. I had a dog that used to drink beer. hed learned that Id have a beer can next to me and he would purposely knock it over and hed lap it up and start talking tough. So I switched to martinis, he hated them.

We spent the evening with the owners of a nine month old black lab. We were gathered on their dock watching the fireworks. The dog spent most of the evening fetching sticks that were thrown out into the lake from the dock. As soon as the fireworks started, I noticed he was hiding under the picnic table. He stayed there during the duration of the fireworks. Poor puppy.

We sometimes give Cleo a little bit of liquid Benadryl to take the edge off of her storm, fireworks anxiety. It also keeps her from biting the vet tech.

Lash, my cousin, a psychologist, gave her cat ritalin after she suggested it and the vet agreed, after it had nearly denuded itself from some kind of neurotic (my word) licking. Worked like a charm. Now, I am dumb about all this, don't know the diff between things like valium and ritalin - exact opposites I'd guess.

My only personal experience with any of that was having a lab friend hand me some librium as I was about to drive with my very depressed and otherwise troubled father across country to make sure he got there safely, in a time when all three of us in my family were easily subjects for counselling, if such a thing was available back then. I was fine with booze and had by then kinda liked pot, but wasn't all that conversant with them much less things like librium. So, I took a half of one. I swear, I couldn't barely lift my arms for about five hundred miles.

So, my point, talk to a veterinarian before just doing that, if half of one can affect a human so strongly.

This reaction is learned and, like training a hunting dog NOT to be gun-shy must start at a young age. Once the fear of sudden noises takes over, its sometimes too late. Its hard to reverse. BUT it can be done . It involves using sudden noises like clickers and then graduating to fireworks or guns . It includes making a fuss over the scared dog and TREATS, Its amazing how a stomach urge can override the fear of sounds.

If you leave it go and its not a working or a gun dog, theres probably no real harm other than, if the dog gets too afraid, it could make a mess under a bed or behind some furniture.

OMG! osso, Jack licks sort of obsessively, too! I never thought it may be a nervous disorder. I'm always looking for fleas. Thanks. You may have solved something..

Farmer-- Thanks for the mental pic of Jack sitting back with his legs crossed, holding a martini.

Some dogs are sensitive to noise--some dogs aren't.

Our very intelligent, highly neurotic mutt pup taught an 18 month old sunny-tempered, joyous collie/shepherd cross to cringe and cower by example.