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dogs and fireworks
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22-10-2012 10:38am#1
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Try a thundershirt - there is a link somewhere on here to them. It was recommended for my collie who's a nervous wreck at the best of times:D
At the time I couldn't afford one, so improvised:o. We 'borrowed' on of our sons old t-shirts (tight fitting) and put it on the dog - it didn't cure it but made him a lot more settled. Course we fell about laughing
:D
Worth a try?
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angeldaisy wrote: »Try a thundershirt - there is a link somewhere on here to them. It was recommended for my collie who's a nervous wreck at the best of times:D
At the time I couldn't afford one, so improvised:o. We 'borrowed' on of our sons old t-shirts (tight fitting) and put it on the dog - it didn't cure it but made him a lot more settled. Course we fell about laughing:D
Worth a try?
Just had a leaflet from Equipet dropped through my door for the Thundershirt. They are selling them at the momemnt for €39.99.0 -
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Jeez Maggiepip, that's horrible for your poor dog. I haven't heard of a dog dying from the fright, I must say.
The problem with sedatives is that, generally, it's ACP (Acepromazine) that's used. As I understand it, this is no longer available for dogs, which I must say, is about time.
To put it simply, ACP sedates the body, but not the brain. It's the same sedative often used for dogs who are difficult to clip. So, the body is in a state of torpor, but the brain knows exactly what is going on... but the dog can do nothing about it due to his sedated body. I can only imagine how utterly terrifying this is, and it is no surprise that dogs treated with ACP for behavioural problems often get worse and worse as time goes on.
Not only that, but ACP disinhibits aggressive behaviour, and so a dog who would never normally bite, may bite. Or a dog who would not normally bite hard, bites hard.
So, in short, sedation is no way to treat firework phobia: it is entirely inappropriate to use for any behavioural problem, whether it's fear of fireworks, or fear of being clipped.
The main problem, which I think is highlighted in this thread, is that firework phobia needs to start being treated for many months before Halloween ever comes along. Trying to deal with it once the bangers and fireworks are going off is too late. The treatment protocol involves very gradually desensitising the dog to firework noises, starting them off at a very low level and building up the volume, using a recording of firework noises. The dog should never be exposed to a sound level so high that it elicits a reaction, during the course of the treatment.
The dog also needs to be counterconditioned by introducing food, games, fun whilst the firework recordings are happening at a very low volume.
It is slow, painstaking, and gradual, and during the process the dog should not be exposed to the fully-fledged sound of fireworks, which is why trying to deal with it at this time of the year is a waste of time.
In support of the above program of gradual desensitisation and counterconditioning, gear such as DAP (Adaptil) Diffusers, Thundershirts (some dogs, like Maggiepip's, may need to be gradually introduced to wearing a Thundershirt), stuffed Kongs/Stag Bars/tripe sticks (or the like), soft blankets piled high for dog to snuggle into, Kalm-Aid (which I'm a bit skeptical of) or Zylkene, and in bad cases, appropriate psychoactive drugs may need to be used at least for a short time.
For anyone who has a youngster who hasn't lived through a Halloween yet, make it your business to do fun stuff whilst fireworks are going off: let out a "woohoo!" when a firework goes off and throw a toy for your pup immediately, or scatter treats on the floor immediately, or do anything else which makes your dog "laugh":o, but do it immediately, each time you hear a banger or firework going off.
For those who have dogs who suffer so badly, and who'd like to go through the above process when it's all over for this year, it might indeed be a good option to get your dog offside for the few nights around Halloween, be it kennels, rural relatives, or an excuse to take off on a family holiday to the countryside for the duration
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Jeez Maggiepip, that's horrible for your poor dog. I haven't heard of a dog dying from the fright, I must say.
The problem with sedatives is that, generally, it's ACP (Acepromazine) that's used. As I understand it, this is no longer available for dogs, which I must say, is about time.
To put it simply, ACP sedates the body, but not the brain. It's the same sedative often used for dogs who are difficult to clip. So, the body is in a state of torpor, but the brain knows exactly what is going on... but the dog can do nothing about it due to his sedated body. I can only imagine how utterly terrifying this is, and it is no surprise that dogs treated with ACP for behavioural problems often get worse and worse as time goes on.
Not only that, but ACP disinhibits aggressive behaviour, and so a dog who would never normally bite, may bite. Or a dog who would not normally bite hard, bites hard.
So, in short, sedation is no way to treat firework phobia: it is entirely inappropriate to use for any behavioural problem, whether it's fear of fireworks, or fear of being clipped.
The main problem, which I think is highlighted in this thread, is that firework phobia needs to start being treated for many months before Halloween ever comes along. Trying to deal with it once the bangers and fireworks are going off is too late. The treatment protocol involves very gradually desensitising the dog to firework noises, starting them off at a very low level and building up the volume, using a recording of firework noises. The dog should never be exposed to a sound level so high that it elicits a reaction, during the course of the treatment.
The dog also needs to be counterconditioned by introducing food, games, fun whilst the firework recordings are happening at a very low volume.
It is slow, painstaking, and gradual, and during the process the dog should not be exposed to the fully-fledged sound of fireworks, which is why trying to deal with it at this time of the year is a waste of time.
In support of the above program of gradual desensitisation and counterconditioning, gear such as DAP (Adaptil) Diffusers, Thundershirts (some dogs, like Maggiepip's, may need to be gradually introduced to wearing a Thundershirt), stuffed Kongs/Stag Bars/tripe sticks (or the like), soft blankets piled high for dog to snuggle into, Kalm-Aid (which I'm a bit skeptical of) or Zylkene, and in bad cases, appropriate psychoactive drugs may need to be used at least for a short time.
For anyone who has a youngster who hasn't lived through a Halloween yet, make it your business to do fun stuff whilst fireworks are going off: let out a "woohoo!" when a firework goes off and throw a toy for your pup immediately, or scatter treats on the floor immediately, or do anything else which makes your dog "laugh":o, but do it immediately, each time you hear a banger or firework going off.
For those who have dogs who suffer so badly, and who'd like to go through the above process when it's all over for this year, it might indeed be a good option to get your dog offside for the few nights around Halloween, be it kennels, rural relatives, or an excuse to take off on a family holiday to the countryside for the duration
Well thanks be to god you havent heard of a dog dying from fright:eek: bloody hell I got scared there - I looked it up and cant find anything that says a dog can actually die of fright from fireworks......they can die of injuries from running scared alright.
I should have done the desensitization thing but I didnt:o Thanks for the very informative information on the sedation medication - I never did want to use this route. Maybe I should try the thundershirt again at short intervals (when I put it on her last year she seemed to shut down completely and lay rigid and wouldnt move) so to me it seemed to be doing more harm than good. For the first six months after we adopted her I used a DAP plug in and I actually used it last halloween as well (had forgotten that) but it didnt seem to do loads either (or perhaps she would have been worse without it. Ill try some of your other advice also. Hopefully this year will be quieter (we have had none yet) some years are quieter than others. Thanks a mil!0 -
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In NO way affiliated with these people but it has a number of tips for Hallowe'en on their page.
It's probably a bit late now but further down [around the 9th October] there are links that can help in incrementally desensitizing your dog to loud noises. It also mentions an alternative to thunder shirts.
Our guy has gone on "holidays" while this extended madness continues
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