4th of July Fireworks and Your Dog – Tips to Keep You Both Sane

For every dog who is not afraid of fireworks, or thunder and lightning for that matter, there’s a dog who is afraid, who may pant heavily, look for someplace to hide, panics and gets destructive, or just plain runs.

Here are some quick tips and tricks I’ve learned in how to handle dogs and fireworks (or other loud noises) from close to 35 years of owning dogs.

Tip 1: Know where your dog is at all times

This can be somewhat difficult especially if you have pool parties, barbeques, and other fun going on, and you’d like Bella or Max to join in the fun.  But all it takes is a door or gate left open, from people coming and going, and you’re liable to have no dog faster than you can say, I have no dog.  And in my area, the booms and firecrackers are at all different times of the day from the 3rd to the 5th.

Tip 2: Keep your dog in a safe and comfortable place

If you know that your dog gets nervous or scared, and you can’t be with him/her, put your pup in its crate, and drape a blanket over the crate.  Or, let them go to their favorite room in the house, whether it’s under the bed, in a favorite comfy chair, etc. This suggestion is based on if you know your pup is not going to be destructive.  Turn on some music or the TV to help drown out the sound of the fireworks.  Also, close the shades or blinds and leave a light on which will help if your home happens to face the direction of the fireworks, as mine does.  

Tip 3: How to acclimate a new puppy to the 4th

If you have a new dog or puppy, and this is their first time with fireworks, then try to be with them so you can watch their reaction.  Act normally, like fireworks are no big deal.  Remember, your dog feeds off your moods and actions. Have a play toy for the puppy, or a few snacks so they don’t equate booms with fear. Or, you can introduce them to the fireworks as I did.

When I first moved into my home in mid-June, it was three weeks later that my little Boston Terrier puppy, Poco, and I went outside to watch the fireworks.  We could see the city’s fireworks display from our backyard. Poco sat in my lap, with my arms around her, and as I held her, I kept petting her, saying, ooh, aah. And I lucked out, she was mesmerized by the fireworks’ lights and she was fine the rest of her life.

Tip 4: Don’t let your behavior feed your dog’s anxiety

What you don’t want to do if your dog is scared or nervous, is feed into their anxiety, by the tone of your voice, “oh poor baby” etc., because that doesn’t help the situation.  Dogs are very keen on voices and pick up immediately if they sense worry in their owners. My Boston Chipper was an absolute mess during fireworks and thunderstorms.  I would just pick him up, wrap my arms around him, or snuggle him up next to me on the blankets and hold him, stroke, and talk to him in a calm manner. Even rock him back and forth a little until he got calmer.

Now some people might suggest thunder shirts, and quite frankly, I’ve never tried one before, but from what I’ve read, they work in much the same was as I mentioned with me wrapping my arms around Chip.

In closing, with the 4^th of July upon us, the point is to keep your dog safe and you sane.  Try what I suggested in Tips 2 and 3.  If your dog is nervous and anxious, put them somewhere where they can calm down from the noise and excitement from not only the fireworks, but even noisy, runaround family members, if you know what I mean.