Firework Season
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Is anyone making preparations for the firework season if their pet is terrified by the noises & flashes? I know several dog owners that book holiday cottages in the middle of Dartmoor for instance, just to get away from the worst of it!
I'm lucky in that my dogs & cats are not particularly bothered by the noises or at least they are easily placated by a warm body to cuddle up to:). But I know other people whose dogs are too terrified to leave the house after dark once they've heard the first firework of the autumn.
I'm lucky in that my dogs & cats are not particularly bothered by the noises or at least they are easily placated by a warm body to cuddle up to:). But I know other people whose dogs are too terrified to leave the house after dark once they've heard the first firework of the autumn.
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She doesn't go out at night anyway so I don't foresee any problems.
LOL at the cat that 'loves' fireworks
So we will do what we usually do - close windows play music as loud as our neighbours can stand and try and ignore them. :mad:
She said the dogs picked up on her reactions to see if they should be frightened. If she tried to reassure them (which is what I used to do) they decided it must definitely be scary! But if she ignored them, and acted like everything was fine, her dogs relaxed and weren't bothered. I tried it with my cats, and ended up watching a display from the window with one of my cats on my lap enjoying it too! So now I never reassure them or fuss round them, I just carry on like nothing's happening. I make sure I get them in early so they're not at risk outdoors though.
I noticed at the vet's yesterday they are promoting a new product for 'stress' called Zylkene which was said to be helpful during firework season.
Totally agree ~ it must be terrifying for the poor things.
Both cats sit in the window and try to 'catch' them :rolleyes:
I know it's an awful time for anyone who's pet is afraid of them. My last dog was terrified and used to turn into a trembling, jumpy, wreck at this time of year. We made up a safe area in the bathroom for him on the actual night and left him in there with the radio on loud enough to cover up most the bangs. Our bathroom has no windows which helps with soundproofing. Beware of local radio stations though. Ours decided to play the sound of bloody fireworks to advertise the local display which sent my poor dog into complete and utter panic.:eek:
Good on her:D. My view is that fireworks should be restricted to proper organised displays in a few locations & on only one day a year ~ not intermittantly from now till next year! But perhaps I'm just a killjoy.
You get my vote.:)
Not me, don't have a cat or a dog (thankfully). I just hope the owners keep 'em indoors or put muzzles on them to stop the flippin' things barking as I have lots of the damn things near me!.
My cats couldn't care less about fireworks. My dog sits in the window and watches them, it's the smell of smoke he doesn't like.
How awful for you, best thing in life is a furry body that loves you !
What pets do you have then?
Never been the same since the wife stopped using immac.:D
My vote too! Hate the flippin things. Not sure how Alf will be as its his first, he's heard a couple so far that have just made him stop what he was doing. Will have to see how he goes bearing in mind he's scared of a cardboard box I think I'm in for a time.
Nice long afternoon walk to get them physically & mentally tired but finishing before any hint of early fireworks.
Large dinner early evening before fireworks start, possibly finishing with bones, rawhide chew, pig's ear etc.
Then draw the curtains, close the windows, turn the heating up (warm dogs tend to be sleepier than chilly dogs!) & put the TV on ~ if planned in advance you can arrange to watch DVD with large bottle of wine & big box of chocs:D.
Cuddle up with your dog & enjoy the evening. Any whizz, bangs, flashes or screams should be totally ignored by all members of the family.
Before you go to bed let the dog out for its toiletting but check the garden first to make sure that there are no fireworks still going on.
Only potential problem with this is if this is completely different from your normal evenings at home ~ your dog may be on edge wondering why the routine is so different from usual. Luckily for me, this is a typical evening:D.
Happy Bonfire Night!
Our other dog before her didn't like fireworks too much either but as long as she could see you then she seemed ok, just a little on edge.
I now have a cat and he is fine, but then he always cuddles up to us every night in front of the TV whatever, and I never let him out after dark anyway, as he seems to like having scraps with the local foxes, and the vet bills were getting a bit much. So he has his freedom during the day, and at night when fireworks are around his cat flap is locked.
Round my way the fireworks have already started, seems to last for over a month, the locals seem to love them!
It won't be a problem this year anyway, due to H&S rules our village isn't having a firework display.
I'm with you on that one. And no, you are not being a killjoy at all.
What annoys me most is the ongoing bangs and flashes for months after bonfire night.
My two cents.