Halloween and Dogs

ROS123

We have a rescue dog who is nervous at the best of times, but now that the bangers and rockets are starting again it really terrifies her. What can we do, its not just a one day a year thing its all the days from last week, up to and even after halloween.

Suggestions very welcome

star-pants

I think we had a thread recently about this.
People were suggesting obviously keep them in, maybe have music on to help drown out the sounds, some said that if you ignore the noise, don't react to the dog/the fireworks/make eye contact they'll see you're not stressed or reacting and they may learn to be the same. Someone said about a tape you can get of noises that you can get them accustomed slowly to the loud noise (obviously maybe not so close to hallowe'en)

ROS123

Sorry for repeating a thread, with the search down I couldn't find the previous one. The tape might have been a possibilty a few months ago, but she just freaks, pretending its not happening is not an option, If she could, she would jump right inside one of us. We are keeping her in, but that is tough on her, when we are at work. We live in the vicinty of a school so the problem is worse.

I often wondered if leaving a radio on in the room with her all day would actually cause her more distress. Do dogs like / dislike a radio?

star-pants

Oh no I wasn't giving out about repeating the thread, I was just thinking more aloud.
Depends on the dog really - as to whether they like radio/tv, some dogs don't mind it, and some might bark at it.
Have you tried her with a radio on?

ROS123

Yes but I felt it was kind of annoying her, although in this case it would be the lesser of two evils. I will probably give it a go....

jen_23

Hi Ros,

You could try DAP it's dog appeasing pheromone which relaxes them. It worked wonders a few times with my puppy.
You can get it on nutrecare.co.uk for about 20euro including delivery.
You can get it in spray form, collar and diffuser.

Also a friend of mine swears by Zylkene for calming dogs

The other thing you can do is try some rescue remedy. You can put a drop on her tongue and keep topping her up by putting a few drops in her water bowl.

I have DAP and rescue remedy at hand for halloween myself.

blackbetty69

i knew a fella once, his dog was afraid of his own sh...adow. anyway, this fella started bringin the dog with him in the tractor whenever he went farmin and soon enough the dog got used to the loud noises and the lime wather

star-pants

Ah that was the other thing jen - rescue remedy type stuff thank you

blackberry, I'm not quite sure what you mean... are you suggesting she go walking near fireworks with the dog?

olaola

Kalm aid is another thing the vet gave us.

Vel

I feel your pain! We use rescue remedy and it seems to help him a bit. Also, while the temptation is to try to comfort a dog who is distressed it is actually better to leave them alone to deal with it themselves. By comforting them, what you are actully doing is 'praising' their scared behaviour. Our dog heads off and lies in the dark bathroom and we leave him to it, as hard as that is sometimes.

jen_23

No problem star-pants

I think what blackbetty was trying to say is to bring the dog places where there is noise so she gets used to it. That way when they hear fireworks on halloween/new years they won't be as scared as they are already used to loud noise.

olaola I have kalm aid as well and I use it with the DAP collar. I find the rescue remedy slightly better though.

Vel I don't agree with that (with respect ). If they are scared they are scared and it can't be helped, it's not like bold behavior that they are doing out of boredom or for testing boundaries. To be honest i wouldn't let Gunnar go off scared as he usually has 'accidents' when he is so I definitly wouldn't want to end up stepping in anything !

What I plan to do Halloween night - as we are so close to where fire works will be going off - is to give him the dap collar and spray, a bit of rescue remedy and when the fireworks are going off I plan to distract him with his favourite squeaky toy and play games until they are over

Vel

jen_23 wrote: »

Vel I don't agree with that (with respect ). If they are scared they are scared and it can't be helped, it's not like bold behavior that they are doing out of boredom or for testing boundaries.

Don't agree with what? I am not bashing anyone for stepping in and cuddling their dogs or implying the dogs are being a nuisance, just pointing out that it won't actually help them. The message you are actually giving them is that you are praising their scared behaviour so it does nothing to help how they are feeling.. By all means cuddle your dog when they are shaking but they aren't human and they might not interpret it the way you mean it.

You really just need to leave them to it but cuddle away of you feel its doing any good. I bet it won't stop them being scared though

peasant

Vel wrote: »

The message you are actually giving them is that you are praising their scared behaviour so it does nothing to help how they are feeling.. By all means cuddle your dog when they are shaking but they aren't human and they might not interpret it the way you mean it.

Indeed, that is the case.
Replace "praise" in the above statement with "re-affirm" and you've even got it scientifically correct.

The dog is worried/scared and looks to you ...you make soothing sounds and calming gestures ...therefore you must be worried too (otherwise you'd be cool and calm) ...so the dog is re-affirmed in its belief that there actually IS something to be worried about.

Dogs don't understand "consolation".


EDITed to add
It doesn't help either to shout at them to shut up ...that just shows (to their mind) that you are stressed and not in control and does nothing to alleviate their fear.

Just stay cool and calm and act as if nothing special is going on. If you absolutely have to say or do something just tell them in a normal voice " it's allright ..now, go ...lie down" and continue with what you were doing.

hpsheba

The one great piece of advise I was given was a tight t shirt on the dog on the night when it is at its worst. I combined that with TFLN homeopathic drops, a CD with the sounds of fireworks and building a safe den under the stairs and it worked for me. The year before we had broken shower screens. acp from the vet and profuse diahorea from a well adjusted collie. I feel your pain :eek:

DUBLINHITMAN

some scum bags threw a banger over the fence my dog has been to the vet and got stitches on her paw couldn't care less about the money but i know who these fooks are and hopefully there throats get slit at some stage of there miserable life's .
there only around 15 16 years of age and there parents are dirty smelly kunts i hope they die in a car crash .

really p!$$ed of sorry about the choice words but i'm sure there's plenty of dog owners here that would feel the same .

ali is a a 2 year old staff absolute little dote
she's crying her little heart out as i'm typing
one painkiller a day from the vet for 8 days

here's a picture
http://

jen_23

Awh poor Ali. That's awful Hope she's on the mend soon.

If you know who they are would you speak to the parents and at the very least get them to pay for the vet bills!! That's a terrible thing to have happen

petchums.com

Good advice/tips on looking after your pet during halloween...:)

Stress busters for your pets!:

• Keep your pet indoors for safety, close curtains and turn on TV. Another great tip is to play classical music or a canine CD as this has a very calming effect on animals. 'Through a Dog's ears 'is a CD well worth a try for owners seeking to calm their dog during thunderstorms/fireworks, ease separation anxiety, and add some calm to stressful environments such as boarding kennels.
• If your pet doesn't settle and is prone to excessive stress then there are natural remedies available such as rescue remedy which will help soothe them. If this fails then a last resort would be to talk to your vet about using a mild sedative for those predictable times such as firework displays and forecasted thunderstorms. Occasional use of a mild sedative will not hurt your dog but it will help them stay calmer during a storm or around Halloween.
• Don't coddle your pet as this will only reinforce his fearful behaviour. How you react is crucial and fusing over them will only make them react more. Distracting your pet by playing with them and their favorite toy is a much healthier and effective way of helping your pet.

DUBLINHITMAN

jen_23 wrote: »

Awh poor Ali. That's awful Hope she's on the mend soon.

If you know who they are would you speak to the parents and at the very least get them to pay for the vet bills!! That's a terrible thing to have happen

i wouldn't even confront them they only have money for beer and i'd just wind myself up .
it happened Wednesday night and she didn't sleep at all last night nor did i.
have her in now and she probably wont go back to her pen till after Halloween..