FIREWORK FEAR - CREATING FEEL-GOOD STARTS HERE

It's not far off that time of year again. Fireworks can be tricky for many dogs, especially those sensitive souls who aren't comfortable with unexpected noises. It's never too soon to help a noise-sensitive dog feel more settled around firework noises, and working on the issue now is likely to result in a much calmer pup by the time November 5th comes around.

ANXIETY AND NOISE SENSITIVITY

Firework fear is rarely an isolated anxiety - dogs who are noise reactive tend to be sensitive in other ways as well. Helping your dog learn to feel calm in stressful situations goes a long way to dealing with firework fear. Teaching her to love sniffing activities will help - sniffing lowers the pulse rate and helps dogs calm, so using Sniff Trails in the house and garden on a daily basis is a good start to creating a calmer dog.

Chewing can be another good way to soothe anxiety. Having a daily chew, such as a healthy dried rabbit or goat ear can be a daily high spot! Chewing and licking both have a soothing effect on the brain, flooding the body with calming hormones. Dogs who have regular daily chews tend to be calmer than those who don't.

NOISE APPS

There are many apps that you can download with fireworks and loud noises on them. I read once that the sounds replicated on our devices don't mirror the true sounds of fireworks, (even when turned up really loudly with huge super-woofers on your speakers!) It's all about the frequency, and recorded noises don't have the same frequency as live sounds. This could be why some people find the apps don't work for them. Desensitising is also often done too quickly, where the volume is raised too fast.

When you're playing the noises, your dog shouldn't react at all, so you need to start really quietly. It's a good idea to have your dog doing a Sniff Trail, or settled with a stuffed kong or chew so that she has feel-good associations with the noises. If she's not reacting to the noises, then it's ok to very gradually turn up the volume. Do this over several days for desensitisation to work.

BLOCKING SMELLS

The other thing that can really bother dogs is the smell of cordite in the air - sensitive dogs are often clever and it doesn't take long for an intelligent dog to associate the smell of cordite with the scary sound of fireworks. Laying Sniff Trails inside the house can help mask the smell and keeps a dog's brain busy, which often makes the brain less reactive to what she can smell outside. Essential oils can also help, and there is more detail about how to introduce them below.

CALMING PRODUCTS

Pet Remedy can be very successful and is available in most pet stores. It's a calming blend of essential oils, but the scent doesn't work as well if you just use it on the night while your dog is really stressed. The best way to use it is to create soothing feel-good associations with it by gradually getting your dog used to it during quiet, restful times. If you only use it on the night, the fireworks may feel so bad that you can never use Pet Remedy again because the overwhelming anxiety around the fireworks is too much for the therapeutic effect of the spray. And, because dogs navigate their world by association, your dog may link the smell with the sound of fireworks, which would be undo all the good work of the herbs.

Essential oils can also help calm, but it's important that you introduce them during restful times in the same way as you would Pet Remedy. With both these products, it's a good idea to put a small amount on a thin strip of kitchen roll and hold it out to your dog (about 5 cm from her nose) to see how she reacts to it. If she shows interest, then it may have a calming effect on her. If she moves away from it, then it will probably be less effective or she might be signalling that she doesn't like it at all.

Oils can be overwhelming to some dogs, so be sure that your dog is comfortable with any scented products that you use.

Calming essential oils are:

Lavender

Geranium

Clary Sage

Basil

Rose

Neroli

Always dilute oils in a diffuser or oil and never put them directly on your dog's skin, bedding or fur because she needs to be able to move away from them if she finds them a bit much. Sensitive noses don't need much of a hit for effect!

The best way to use oils to mask the smell of cordite and for their therapeutic affect to work is to start using essential oil diffusers from late afternoon for 2 weeks up to November the 5th. Make sure you choose oils that your dog likes, though, because they're powerful and some dogs really don't like certain scents.

Thundershirts or a Bodywrap (Mekuti - online) can help anxious dogs. Again, these need to be familiar and used for at least a fortnight before Bonfire night so that you're sure your dog is comfortable with one - some dogs really don't like being constrained, while others find it soothing.

Dorwest's Firework combination is a blend of skullcap and valerian and we've had many owners say that their dog has responded very well to them. Again, buy them now to see if they have a calming effect on your dog because the therapeutic properties can be cumulative.

If your dog is severely phobic, contact your vet for support. They may be able to intervene with either nutraceuticals (products which are made of amino acids that have a calming effect) or psych meds such as Sileo. Both can be used short term to help phobic dogs get through firework fear. Proflax Superchew Calming tablets have worked well for my dogs and are useful for various types of anxiety. Our clients get 15% discount on all Proflax Products by applying FERN15 at checkout. Click on the link for Proflax Calming Superchews

Proflax Superchew Calming Tablets - click!

USING A DEN

Having a safe place, such as a bed under a table (or even being allowed to get right underneath a bed) can be very reassuring for many dogs. If your dog wants to go into a certain room, let her. If she wants to hide under the bed: let her. We can't choose what makes our dogs feel good when they're afraid, and so we need to listen to what they're telling us.

Many dogs prefer to be alone when they're frightened. Some like to hide, but they like to know that we're sitting nearby (without really being close). Dogs who react like this often don't want any fuss or noise, so they're better left alone.

And then there's the velcro pup who wants to sit right next to us or on us (or wrapped around our neck like a scarf...). If you have a dog whose panting, pulse rate and trembling is soothed by being near you, then you may need to cancel any bonfire night plans!

If being close to your dog brings down stress signals like panting and trembling, then your input is helping her. But sometimes our input can make things feel worse. If her stress signals intensify when you talk to her or touch her (especially if her shaking intensifies) then input isn't helping. Instead, try sitting quietly near her and letting her lean on you if she wants to. But avoid touching or talking to her. I've recently worked with a dog whose owner thought she was soothing her by stroking her ears when she was stressed and shaking. The dog really didn't want that - she just wanted the back of her owner's hand laid on her shoulder, and doing this reduced her shaking within seconds.

BUFFERS

Drawing curtains and blinds and putting on music can help, as can any form of white noise because it tends to act as a buffer. Claire, our Admin Manager, lives with her little cavapoo (Henry the Brave!) who gets through fireworks with most appliances on in the house going at full blast! Washing machines and dryers can help as a noise buffer, but only if your dog is comfortable with them. You can also buy white noise machines online which many owners have found helpful. Trainers or tennis balls in the washing machine can work very effectively because (according to a sound engineer!) they replicate the sound frequency of thunder and fireworks. Japanese Taiko drums can have the same effect and can be found on YouTube.

Every dog is an individual and they all react differently. Because so many of our sensitive dogs are highly attuned to our reactions, we need to be mindful of how we feel and react to the sound of fireworks and thunder. I had to do some serious work on myself because I hate loud noises. I flinch at firework bangs. I'm not even that good with the sound of the hoover.... So there's been a lot of mindfulness and deep breathing around Bonfire night!

OUR REACTIONS COUNT!

This was really brought home to me over the summer when I almost managed to make my herd of hounds reactive over our local pigeons. They were flapping about and making a din most days (with some unspeakable acts going on in the cedar tree...) It was irritating me when I was trying to work, and I was getting snippy at them. Every time they flapped (and other stuff!) I reacted. Even if I was just tutting, I was reacting. Within about 2 days of this, Archie was starting to look at me and then bark at them. Fortunately, I realised what was going on and started a quick programme of habituation with them all and no one reacted to rude pigeons after about 4 days. Except me. I did very, very loud inside-my-head swears....

The best we can do for a dog who his firework sensitive is to start working on them as soon as we can and do it gradually, gently, and with masses of feel-good to help them get over it.

And here's to silent fireworks being sold throughout the UK!