While families are having barbecues and celebrating by blowing up the neighborhood, we sat in our hot apartment in fear of opening the windows that the booms would be even louder. Zoe huddling in terror in the bathroom and Phoenix either glued to my side of hiding behind the recliner, every 2 seconds the sky sounded like it was falling. Boom after boom until early in the morning. The entire weekend consisted of booms with only a bit of relief during the hottest part of the day. By the end of Monday, I started to feel punished by the fireworks as well. Watching your dogs having a panic attack with no way to comfort them is the worst feeling in the whole world and I started to feel jumpy at the booms, too.
I feel so badly for all of our dogs at this time of year. I wish there was a way to explain to them that it was dumb humans celebrating and that the booms can't hurt them. I can't imagine how our war vets must be feeling with all the booms going off, too. It must be so hard for them! I wish people would be more considerate and keep their celebration to the day instead of extending it for days on end and I worry about all the misplaced pets in shelters. I wonder if they will find their owners again. At least my dogs had the luxury of being tucked safely inside.
Since the celebrations started, Zoe does not want to go outside. When we get outside she mostly refuses to walk. I have to really coax her to go. She gets to grass, goes potty and then attempts to drag me back inside. Phoenix has been pretty much the same way. Neither dog is comfortable going out. Zoe has also been refusing her meals and we have to really beg her to eat or add toppers to her food to get her eating. I am really hoping that people will stop lighting stuff off and that my dogs calm down soon.
Oh no! Your poor girls. Barley is terrified of fireworks when they're going off--I can't get her out of the bathroom and she won't accept treats--but once they stop, she's fine with going outside, so we usually stay up really late on the 4th and have a 2 a.m. potty break. She was in boarding this year, so I was extra worried, but our trainer said she did just fine--I, on the other hand, jumped every single time I heard a firework go off and there wasn't even a single dog at my grandparents' house! I used to love fireworks, but I guess my goofy dog has rubbed off on me. Hope that your neighbors stop the celebrations soon!
ReplyDeletePoor Barley! :( Same here with Zoe. I couldn't get her out of the bathroom, either. We tried the 2am potty break and people were still lighting them off. It was so awful. I hope everyone runs out of fireworks soon. That's awesome that Barley did good while she was being boarded! Also, same here about used to love this holiday and now hate it. It's just not fun watching my dogs panic so it's made me despise and dread this time of year. :(
DeleteHang in there girls! It's got to stop soon!
ReplyDeleteYeah, hopefully everyone will run out of fireworks soon!
DeleteWe live in the country and it has sounded like WWIII here for well over a week. Rudy feels the same as your dogs; Jeffie and Rosie are "just" nervous. I really dislike this holiday.
ReplyDeleteOh no! I'm so sorry! Poor pups! I used to like the holiday but now I hate it, too! I'm really over it and I hope everyone stops soon!
DeleteWe were right there with you. Horrible here too. Little Bit is finally back to somewhat normal. It's finally quiet here. Finally.
ReplyDeleteI hope your babies feel better soon. I hate it as much as you do. ♥♥♥
Thank you! I'm so glad Little Bit is feeling better! I hope it quiets down here soon, too!
DeleteYou are not alone in your angst! My next door neighbor (the houses are only a few feet apart) even set off the illegal heavy-duty fireworks right out front. Arrrgghhh! And of course all the firework stands sold off their remaining stock at 3 for 1 prices, so the kids will be shooting stuff off for many more days :-(
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh! I am so sorry about your neighbor! That's ridiculous! Poor pups! :( Same here about the fireworks stands. I am SO over it!
DeleteAw wow, I am so sorry :(
ReplyDeleteThe fireworks are always far enough away from us that the huskies are not affected, so I couldn't imagine how hard it must be.
ღ husky hugz ღ frum our pack at Love is being owned by a husky!
That's good! I'm glad your huskies did okay! We unfortunately are situated in the middle of a bunch of shows. When I went outside that night, everywhere I looked in the sky around us I could see them. It was SO loud and stank of fire so bad. Now that we're through with that we just have to deal with all the darn kids lighting them off around the neighborhood. :( I hope everyone runs out soon. The dogs are so sensitized that even those dumb snappers upset them.
DeleteThat is so miserable! I hope it stops soon so life can return to normal!
ReplyDeleteThanks! Me too!
DeleteUgh I use to love 4th of July and now I hate it. Thankfully for us the worst part of it only lasted a couple of hours, but poor Sampson. He was panting so bad and I finally got him settled and then something went off and boom, both dogs were up again! I really wish they would make them illegal again or provide a place for people to go and light them off. That way pet owners could take actions and move their pets away from the noise.
ReplyDeleteHope your girls are feeling better soon.
Thanks so much! Me too! I used to love the holiday but after several years of watching my dogs panic, I just hate it now. Poor Sampson! I'm sorry he was so scared. I totally relate. This year Phoenix was the same way and she's never cared about bangs before. The girls are so sensitized now that even the stupid snappers are upsetting them. :(
DeleteAwww, hope they calm down soon! Poor dogs!
ReplyDeleteThank you! Me too!
DeleteI'm so sorry. :( Poor girls! Do you think you'll try some kind of drug for them next year? My best friend has a lab that they have to give meds (can't remember what it is) to for July 2nd to July 8th, or she acts just like Zoe.
ReplyDeleteThanks! Yes, next year we are getting drugs for sure! After living with the inlaws (no fireworks allowed county) and moving back here, I forget how bad it was. Next year I'm going to try and get them valium.
DeleteI feel so bad that it has taken such a toll on them! As you know from my comment the other day, I was enraged about ours going off for days too. I like how you referenced it as "blowing up the neighborhood", that sure is what it sounded like.
ReplyDeleteI also felt helpless watching my dog bark incessantly, like a maniac for the duration. I tried Kongs, playing with him, turning up the TV (LOUD), etc etc, but to no avail.
Thankfully it didn't affect Dakota's appetite and he still will go out.
Home fireworks should be banned. Period.
I'm SO with you! I wish personal fireworks would be banned as well. Not just for our dogs but for our war vets, too. I feel so bad for everyone! I don't have any sort of PTSD but after 4 or 5 days the bangs are making me jumpy, too! I can't imagine what it's like for our vets. :( I am with you on feeling helpless, too. I wish there was a way we could explain to our pups that the noises can't hurt them. :(
DeleteI am so, so, sorry to hear that. That is terrible. While I am a believer in meds as a last resort, have you considered that?
ReplyDeleteWe had 5 nights of fireworks in 7 days . . . tonight we get a thunderstorm, that will be 6/8 nights with booms. I am proud of Hailey for how she has coped. She definitely gets a bit nervous as it turns to dusk, but has been overall ok.
Sigh! It is really a stupid tradition we should stop!
Thank you! It makes me so sad when they are afraid! We did give medication but it was OTC benadryl, melatonin and valerian root. Next year I am getting heavier stuff from the vet because I can't take this.
DeleteI'm glad Hailey was okay!
I'm so sorry that the weekend was so very rough. It is awful that the booms went on for so long. I hope that your girls start to calm down now that people should be back at work and not setting off booms.
ReplyDeleteGunfire is the biggy in our neck of the woods. This year, some poor camper sitting by a campfire was shot dead by a recreational shooter. We've all been telling the authorities that this was going to happen at some point. So, those booms can be very dangerous. Fortunately, neither of our dogs is noise-reactive, although our trainer has us play the game of giving them treats for every boom to make sure it stays that way!
Ugh. I am so sorry. I hope things get better soon.
ReplyDeleteI am sorry it has been so tough for them. One thing we have always done with fireworks and storms is to act as normally as possible ourselves and to keep a normal schedule. I know some people do the treats along with fireworks, but we never have. We have tried very hard not to call attention to fireworks. Now it might be a bit different because our dogs are used to gunfire (at one point Storm was looking for a bird to retrieve lol and Freighter was actually watching the flashes out the window). Despite there being more than ever in our neighborhood this year, the dogs did better than I expected and only reacted to the largest noisiest ones. We on the other hand were sleep deprived. The dogs actually seemed to calm as it went on (maybe because I just continued with what I was doing and did not acknowledge them). I think for next year we will do what we did this year or pray for rain on the 4th. :)
ReplyDeleteOne suggestion I would make now that it is over is to require whatever obedience you have taught your dog to help them "get over it". So if they know heel, make them heel out to potty and back. In my opinion this can go a long way to bolster the dog's confidence. You might remember that I did a post on Young Storm who had some issues as a young dog. It was the obedience and hunt test training that gave her confidence. Even with Freighter, when he was in mid-pee this year and a giant boom went off, I required him (he was on lead) to walk back into the house at heel. I think that helped to get his mind off it and was something he knew that he could fall back on. If that makes sense.
Fireworks and thunderstorms do tend to unnerve many a dog and its owner. I had one dog that crawled under the bed crying and shivering until it would end. Fortunately, my current dog, a coonhound, seems only slightly bothered.
ReplyDeleteI have found with my dogs I've had... The less I coddle them (and believe me that is not an easy task for me) the less reactive they are to the noise. I think dogs do not forget, so when another 4th of July or thundering storm rolls around, they do remember their anxiety and how we both dealt with it. I guess I just go for the positive reinforcement as much as possible and hope for the best results. That said, I disagree with attempts to force a dog to "get over it" so to speak. When the dog is totally freaked out over anything is not training time. I step back, first calm myself, and then I am better able to figure out a diversion tactic to take to help calm the dog.