HAPPY NEW YEAR ! New Year's Eve was certainly celebrated with a bang in our area. We had fireworks going off intermittently from around 6.o'clock. The Curate and I intended having a quiet night together as he had landed the early service plus rural morning service the next day. Now I know - 'quiet' wasn't going to be very likely and the fireworks do seem to have got louder and louder every year. In previous years we have put the dogs in the back of the car and driven around until the fireworks were over. I had prepared The Collie for the evening by giving him a good walk and we had pheromones wafting around the room from a room defuser from early on in the evening. These are suppose to calm and relax your dog. (Shame they don't work on humans!) Both The Lakeland and The Collie were suitably laid back until the first random bang. The Collie started panting and scratching the floor. He tried to hide under the settee or any tight corner he can get into. Squirts of pheromone spray into the air didn't live up to its claim of being 'the secret to a happy dog'! Eventually a very unhappy dog climbed up onto an equally unhappyThe Curate but still he didn't really settle.
Now The Lakeland slept through all this - she is either deaf or too old and experienced to be bothered by a bit of a bang. Only when she noticed that The Collie was being allowed to climb onto the settee, did she decide that she ought to be included. So I ended up squashed by a couple of dogs - a very cosy New year's Eve!It surprises me that the dogs sat and watched the London fireworks, The Edinburgh fireworks, The Moscow Fireworks and all the others featured on the midnight news, without flinching. We settled them down after this and headed for bed - only for someone, somewhere, to remember they had fireworks too and at 12.50, they set them off and set off our dog all over again.....It seemed a very long night and a very tired Curate for the early service!
Do you have the solution to firework fearing dogs? We would appreciate any advice!
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| The Collie (who looks bolder than he is). |
Oh, poor collie - he looks absolutely terrified sitting on your lap! I agree, the fireworks do indeed seem to be getting louder. As for a "cure", sorry - no. I had a sweet, beauty of a large dog a few years ago, and she would get so frightened with thunderstorms and fireworks, she would scoot off to hide in the bathtub! That was fine, until she was older, and developed arthritis; then I had to go help her in and out of the tub. It was no small feat to accomplish with a large, stiff- with-terror dog!
ReplyDeleteI'm no help, I don't like fireworks myself - or thunder and lightning for that matter. Shooting off guns used to be a big New Years thrill here but I think the police have cracked down on that.
ReplyDeleteDarla
Poor dear doggie - our Jack Russell barks at them, but is not afraid. It must be very sad to see your dog so scared, but I'm sure they both appreciated the cuddles. Hope you catch up on your sleep soon!
ReplyDeleteWell, you really had a bad NYE.
ReplyDeleteWe have had dogs for 33 years, and none of them have feared the fire works. But then, all, but one,have been retrievers, which are trained to tolerate the bang of a gun.
Perhaps your vet could prescribe some relaxing pills for the next time?
I believe, that a dog has to be trained at a very young age to tolerate the banging ( maybe an experienced dog trainer could help ).
The other option is to drive to some quiet place for the evening.
I heard from our news, that lots of dogs had fled this NYE from their homes, and now the owners are trying to track them down.
Yes - The Collie would be in the bathtub if the door was open - or any confining space. Once there he shakes and scrabbles at the floor and would do some damage if we left him. At least it's not guns! But this Collie is part flat coated retriever (one grandparent I believe) but not a hope of him being trained as a gun dog!
ReplyDeleteSorry, no solution here.
ReplyDeleteWhat we did was to sing a merry 'good dog, lovely dog' tune every time a banger went off and broke a piece off a meat stick as a treat each time. He still trembled, even while he was chewing. Poor sweeties.
Happy New Year, Harriet.
The word verification is pests!
Hello Friko, it took me a while to work out what you meant about 'pests' - Got it now but I wonder who else is puzzling at that comment!!! Happy New Year to you too.
ReplyDeleteWhile I do not have first hand experience...Goggle "Thunderwear". Dog owners swear it helps their dogs during thunderstorms.
ReplyDeleteGood luck.
barb