Fireworks and Your Dog

Here's a brief story that points out how stressful the loud noises associated with fireworks can be for our pets. A dog's hearing is very sensitive, so taking them to an actual fireworks display is not wise. It's a good idea to keep your pet indoors during firework shows, even pets that have not shown problems around loud noises in the past.

Unfortunately, this video discusses using rawhide chews as a way to distract a dog nervous from the fireworks. While chewing can redirect a dog's attention, rawhide is a poor choice due to a multitude of health risks. Also, coddling or petting your dog should it be nervous will only reinforce the behavior and make matters worse.

If your dog is bothered by fireworks, consider playing ball with it, giving it a healthy chew toy (nylabone or kong), playing calming music indoors to mask the sound of fireworks, and / or taking your dog for a ride in the car.

If your dog has a history of anxiety from other loud noises (thunder, etc.), training can give you additional tools to help in such situations.