The 4th of July, especially all of the fireworks and festivities that accompany it, can be one of the most stressful times of the year for your dog. Dogs have more sensitive senses than us, so the smell, flashes, and especially the sound and vibration of the fireworks are heightened for them. If you live in a place where the festivities go on all day and all night for multiple days, the stress brought on by fireworks can also last for days. This can make it difficult for your dogs to settle down because their nervous system is on high alert for a long period of time and they are not getting the opportunity to rest and digest.
Regardless if the festivities are going on for days or just one night, it is our responsibility as dog owners to ensure our dogs are in the best state of mind as possible during this overstimulating and overwhelming time.
Preparing For Constant Craziness
If you have a dog that is already sensitive and skittish, or a younger dog that has never experienced something like fireworks before, it is important to prepare them for the 4th of July chaos before it begins.
Desensitizing your dog and normalizing the idea of big loud noises is a good place to start. We suggest going around your house at random times and slamming cabinets, dropping big boxes, shaking the silverware drawer, or finding any other sudden loud noise you can make. The goal is to look for opportunities to throw your dog off, but in small increments. For example, start off with slamming the cabinet just once, when your dog is already in a good mood, then moving on with your day and feeding the dog directly after. Then the next day, slam it twice and move on. Then later slam it a couple more times and move on. By doing it in small increments, that sound becomes insignificant and your dog will understand that the big noise that was once startling is just a part of life.
Explosions however are hard to recreate. It is not only a loud noise, but a physical feeling as well, and it’s generally hard to prepare a dog for that. Using a TV or sound system and turning up the base to watch really loud action movies with lots of explosions, or even Youtube videos of fireworks, is one way to mimic that. Another option is to start off with firecrackers, however you will need to be careful to take a slow approach with lots of positive reinforcement so that you don’t end up making your dog more scared.
Containment Is Key
As you are desensitizing your dog, preparing them to be in their crate or in a contained environment is also important, especially if they aren’t used to being crated. Being in a confined space ensures that they can’t make a lot of choices. If a dog can flee, run and hide, or react to the sound of the fireworks it amplifies their reaction and not only makes their response progressively get worse but makes the whole experience way harder than it was going to be for them. Try to make a sanctuary space for the dog. A quiet and contained environment with a white noise machine and lots of chew items or treat puzzles to distract them is a great place to start. If you don’t have a separate room or crate to put your dog in, put your dog on a leash and have them with you. This will ensure they can’t run and amplify their own anxiety. Similar to desensitizing with slamming cabinets, merely sitting through the scary experience and having nothing traumatizing happen helps the dog to learn it isn’t as terrifying as they think.
Whether you plan to have your dog with you on a leash, in a crate, or put away in a separate room, when the festivities begin make sure your dog is tired before then. It will only help if your dog is in a state of mind where they can’t overreact or think that the things happening in the world are their responsibility to react to.
Tools Available
Depending on your dog’s breed, history, and natural temperament, there may be no amount of preparation to ensure a calm and stress free experience during the 4th of July. There are other options for helping soothe your dog. This can include products like pheromone diffusers or getting your vet involved and asking them about melatonin or having a prescription medication on hand.
If Your Dog Is Already Freaking Out
Redirection is going to be your best bet if your dog is already reacting to the fireworks. By giving them other things to do instead of freaking out, it will help shift their attention and energy to something more productive. You are going to have to be persistent and not give up. Since dogs live in the moment and can only think about one thing at a time, if there is a lot of stimulation from the fireworks and things going on outside, trying to redirect the dog just once is not going to be enough. Every time that your dog turns its head to be on high alert, move through your obedience with lots of treats (come, sit, down, get in your bed, let’s play with this toy, etc). Then wait for the next firework to redirect again. Doing that type of redirection enough times will give the dog something to do with their mind and body so they are not preoccupied with the explosion and will know what to do next time it happens.
What NOT To Do
First and foremost don’t take your dog to a fireworks show. That is asking them to come face to face with the problem with nowhere safe for them to escape to. Going to something like that is asking for your dog to have a traumatic experience and will lead to them having an intense fear of fireworks, explosions, and even thunder in the future.
Parades & Parties
If your dog is 2-5 years old, unreactive to fireworks, and does okay with crowds, you can probably get away with taking them to a parade. But you should know that parades are an extremely high stress environment for your dog. There be a lot of people in your dog’s personal space, other dogs will undoubtedly be around, floats and groups of performers passing by, and a high level of auditory stimulation, but it’s also not an experience that happens all the time so it’s hard to prepare your dog for that kind of environment. Especially this year, coming off of the tail end of COVID restrictions, your dog may be more freaked out since for the past year they have been so sheltered and under socialized. It’s important that you are aware and careful of the types of environments you are putting your dog in. If you want to bring your dog to the parade, a good practice is to only bring them for a short while, ensure you are off of the high traffic areas, and walk them away from the parade often enough to allow them to relax and decompress before they have to go back into the stress of the crowd.
In terms of parties, sometimes it can actually help your dog process the fireworks and all the other stimuli. Since there is so much going on and happening, they can’t deal with it all at once so they choose to sit and do nothing but absorb information rather than react. However, they could also do the exact opposite and react to every single thing. Your dog could be on edge because there are strangers in their house, people addressing them from all angles, and have none of their regular spots to go to be alone. If they are already on edge and then the fireworks start they may become even more freaked out because they are looking at monsters while explosions are going off around them. If your dog is so far gone and reacting to every little thing, or trying to run and hide because they are not confined, this is the point where you need to go put your dog away. They will likely bark and freak out , or go inwards and be scared for the rest of the night.
“Walk the stress off”
The best way to snap your dog out of that state of mind and “reset” them is with exercise. Once a dog is so lost in their own fear, they need to move their bodies to get out of that funk. The only way to help your dog process those feelings is by moving their feet. Take them to a quiet place outside for them to run around, put them on a leash and go on a long walk or run, play with your dog; do something that is going to have them moving their feet and it will help to process that anxiety and fear off of them.
At the end of the day, the biggest thing is to be prepared for how your dog may react, have a plan in place, use all your tools, and above all keep your dog safe!
The Canine Mind 