QUALIFIED INTERNATIONAL DOG TRAINING INSTRUCTOR

SARAH BARTLETT OFFERS SOME ADVICE ON HOW TO HELP YOUR PET DURING WHAT CAN BE A STRESSFUL TIME OF YEAR

It can be a scary time for our dogs and a frustrating time for us as we watch our dogs suffer.

Whether barking, shaking, quivering, hiding, howling, not eating or generally unsettled – all of these things tell us that are dogs are concerned about fireworks.

If you have a dog that’s a recent rescue or a puppy, you may not know how they will react to fireworks. Prevention is easier than the cure so following these easy steps to help your dog be confident and settled at this time of year can only be a good thing.

Shut your curtains or blinds

Keep your lights on to dim the flashes from outside.

Keep your dog out of your conservatory if you have one.

The glass will just magnify the sound and vibrations to your dog, never mind the light/flashes of them if you don’t have a fully blinded conservatory.

Feed them their meal earlier, in the light if possible.

Take them out to toilet / exercise in plenty of time before it goes dark.

There are some silly people who decide to let them off at dusk and many dog owners get caught out by this.

If you are working and unable to take them out earlier, missing a walk would be a better option than to get caught short when you are out with them.

Time when they need to go out into the garden to toilet around the fireworks where possible and take them out into the garden on lead.

If you do time it wrong and a firework goes off, they will not be able to bolt and hide or try to escape the garden.

You can reassure them and bring them back into the house instantly if you have them on lead.

Even dogs with the most impressive ability to come back to you the instant you call them can ignore you when scared. Having a lead on means you are not risking this happening.

If your dog has a crate, that they enjoy resting in, leave the door open and ensure as much as possible that they can go in there if they choose at any point while fireworks are being let off.

If it’s not already, you may want to cover the crate with a blanket or towel leaving the just the door part uncovered, making them their own little safe haven or cave.

If your dog is not crate trained then put a blanket across two arms on sitting room chairs or from the sofa to a nearby side table and place their bed under, again making a cave for them should they choose.

Have music or the TV on loud, almost drowning out the bangs.

If you have a dog that will normally pace and or bark at fireworks, then shut the doors and enclose them to the room where you will be.

The more they get to pace and bark the more stressed they will become. Lessening the area, they are getting to practice this will help.