Fireworks Season Not Enjoyed by All

[Molpet]

FW going off since last weekend ! I have been posting this pic on FB in the local town group. Seems like people think they are just having fun and that people who aren't are just crabby... Prayers for all who who do not have fun w/the FW

 

[21hens-incharge]

Personally... My 120 pound dogs (2 of them) are so terrified that they are perfectly capable of harming me or themselves in their efforts to get away from whatever that noise is.

I am not putting them through it this year. No we don't go to the displays. Our neighbors seem to think that the laws about fireworks do not apply to ones bought from the next state.

My dogs have had to be drugged twice already and I expect at least two more times.

 

[centrarchid]

Drugging dogs every night for 2 weeks would likely be worse than they already suffer. The fireworks are almost random here with four nights likely to have them irregularly from all directions. Most neighbors do launching in their own yards. This is in addition to state sanctioned that occurs on the 4th.

 

[21hens-incharge]

The meds I am using are prescribed by my vet and are being given at the lowest dose possible.

I think panicking and crashing into walls is a bit worse then sleeping a bit.

 

[centrarchid]

We are not panicking, rather hiding under deck or even going into bedroom in basement to hide under kids bed. Normally dogs outside except for doing this. Dogs inside even now hen regular firework displays not ongoing. They still go off every once in a while even during the day. Same dogs not bothered by dynamite use in quarry about 1/2 mile way. Dynamite not in the air and used at same time every day.

 

[21hens-incharge]

I do understand that different dogs will have different reactions to the noise and smell.

Mine happen to panic and crash into things as well as upturning furniture and knocking me down.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

I do understand that different dogs will have different reactions to the noise and smell.

Mine happen to panic and crash into things as well as upturning furniture and knocking me down.

I just hope it isn't the "ace" one... that does sound like a nightmare.

Funny mentioning what dogs are used to (dynamite)... I had a couple of dogs visit the city (from their remote home) and boy were they alarmed to hear people driving by with their stereos on loud. Even the engine noises were unnerving to them. So as mentioned by another poster... conditioning and exposure *can* help *some* dogs. It's a lot more difficult when having more than one and they feed off each others' and your energy.

Now I know fear is real... not stupid, as I may have thought in the past. No matter how much somebody else enjoys climbing, I am afraid or heights... dizzy feeling, adrenalin pumping, heart racing, hands shaking, even the people I trust can't make it better. Even unwarranted fear is real in the mind of the person experiencing it.

Yep, I have a neighbor who sets off pop bottle rockets all the time, randomly. My dogs usually head for the house, tail tucked.

Hope y'all have a SAFE and sane fourth!

 

[Member 482121]

My dog, recently passed away from old age and cancer at the ripe old age of 15 1/2 years, loved fireworks, shots, explosions... Since she was going to be a hunting dog (she was a Lab) I began to get her used to sudden, violent noises when she was a puppy. Every time I fed her I banged with a hammer on an old kettle. She associated noise with food. Later on I fired a pistol in the air when she was eating. Then, when she was almost full grown, I took her to the trap range with me and tied her up by the clubhouse while the other members and I banged away at clay pigeons. Between rounds I gave her treats. I trained her to retrieve with a dummy launcher that used loud blanks to propel the dummies. When there was a firework display on the Fourth of July I took her with me to watch it. Useless to say, she never feared shots or fireworks. Yes, dogs have feelings. The trick is to be able to manipulate those feelings positively with training.
As to my chickens, I often sit on the back deck at about 15 yards from the chicken house and pen and bang away at passing crows with a shotgun. Now the chickens don't even flinch when I shoot but keep on eating, scratching, and doing all the things chickens do. In my country of origin it was and still is legal to hunt using live birds as decoys. After a while the domesticated mallards and pigeons thus used don't even notice the shots. The pigeons that are trained to fly from the blind and back to it come back to the blind even while the hunters are loosing a fusillade at the wild ones (the stool pigeons trail a long string tied to a leg so they don't get shot by mistake).

 

[EggSighted4Life]

@herman 48 Sorry for the loss of your beloved friend. Wow, 15 years seems awesome for a lab! Also, welcome to BYC! I hope you are enjoying it here.

That is a great story! Also pretty informative, thanks for sharing. I have wondered how hunting dogs do it, especially if their hearing is more sensitive than ours and even with ear muffs on I still jump. We only hunt paper.. but the dogs love to go everywhere and it would be great to have a ride along.

 

[Member 482121]

@herman 48 Sorry for the loss of your beloved friend. Wow, 15 years seems awesome for a lab! Also, welcome to BYC! I hope you are enjoying it here.

That is a great story! Also pretty informative, thanks for sharing. I have wondered how hunting dogs do it, especially if their hearing is more sensitive than ours and even with ear muffs on I still jump. We only hunt paper.. but the dogs love to go everywhere and it would be great to have a ride along.

Thanks. Yes, we were blessed to have her for so long. She was a splendid dog, an excellent hunter and a delightful companion. But all this made it much harder to bear her loss. How much we loved her? We loved her so much that we buried her on our property in the spot where my wife and I are going to be buried when it's our turn to go. It may sound morbid, but those who have lost a piece of their hearts with their beloved canine family members know it's just natural.
Yes, I enjoy this forum and the spirit of friendship that is such a great part of it.