Did you know that dogs need to be kept on a leash or in a fenced in area during fireworks? So many dogs go missing each yr over the 4th of July holiday. Even calm dogs can panic.
Keep em SAFE...And away from fireworks !!!
Yes---Cats, too !
We have a cat, and he's going to be strictly indoors for the next day or so. We are going to run the fans and a white noise machine to soften the loud sounds a bit.
By the way, folks-- you can use Rescue Remedy with animals (cats and dogs). This does help them to relax... a little. Poor critters.
This will be my first dogless 4th of July in 27 years.
It was always their most hated day of the year. Well, the 4th of July and Halloween....repeated doorbell ringing and NO Grandma!
We can barely get my dog out the door on the 4th...it takes us dragging her--poor thing!
P.S. I like your name:)
Hi kristen-
Funny you should post this...
We had just come home from dropping some kiddos off for fireworks...and found out from a neighbor that BOTH our dogs had managed to get out of our yard!!
NEVER happened before...and thanks to good neighbors...they got them back in our house!
Keep eyes out!
Thanks for the reminder!
michele/cat
VERY TRUE! Thanks for the reminder Kristen. Until you know how your dog will react, please don't leave them home alone if there are fireworks in your area. We had a Golden who was gun trained and didn't mind at all. When I was a kid we had a sheepdog who would hide under the bed. The clearance under that bed was much smaller than the dog and my parents had to get the bed off of the dog after the fireworks and closed the door the next years. :-(. This is a time I would use tranquilizers as they have NO idea what is going on!
Thank you for saying this! MORE DOGS RUN AWAY ON JULY 4TH THAN ANY OTHER SINGLE DAY OF THE YEAR! Keep your dogs inside and safe tomorrow!
We made the mistake of taking our dog to a 4th of July display when we lived in Iowa... fortunately he was on a leash.. (He was still a puppy, but quite strong... I don't remember how old he was...)
He absolutely FREAKED! Dragged us out of there as fast as he could, getting tangled in people's chairs...
Personal fireworks in Iowa were basically limited to sparklers and snakes...nothing else, so he had never heard them before....
Well, we certainly learned our lesson on that one!
Our Dogs don't go out at all on the fourth unless we are with them that includes our fenced in back yard. My poor little Carin is hiding under the couch right now. Our 14 year old shepard went deaf this year, I think this is probably his best 4th ever can't hear a thing. Thanks for reminding people about the fourth.
Um, yeah, so do cats.
crate training is a great tool for this time of year :) Leaving them in the yard OR having them outside on a leash is asking for trouble. I'd keep them inside and in a crate where they will feel safe. If your dog ISN'T crate trained, I'd suggest a bathroom with music playing.
Good call... thanks for the reminder, it is our first 4th with our dog, I am kind of concerned how she's gonna react.
Kristen:
Many dogs get freaked out over lightning as well.
We keep our baby inside when we set off the fireworks. He sits on his spot on the couch and looks at us like we are TOTALLY DERANGED for thinking those loud sparkly things are ANYTHING to oooh and ahhh over!!!
Have a wonderful 4th!!!
I recommend just keeping them inside, preferably crated or locked in small room where they can't escape or hurt themselves. For those whose dogs get freaked out over fireworks (and sometimes thunderstorms too), Xanax can help if you can give it an hour or 2 beforehand. Starting them on Prozac that they would take daily at the beginning of the season (i.e. spring) can also help - it takes about a month for it to reach therapeutic levels which is why you have to start early, and you can still give Xanax on top of it for the events as they occur. There are other treatment options as well, but please don't start medicating your pets yourself without talking with your vet first. They need to be dosed properly and with certain health conditions (that you might not even be aware of), such medications are contraindicated.
Both of our dogs HATE fireworks. They bark and hide under the bed for any bog noise. I can't help but feel bad for them.
my dogs LOVE fireworks! Both watch them avidly. Dorky dogs. :)
our dog(mini daschund) kept barking because he heard the neighbors popping fireworks. He's a inside door so you can imagine I was getting sick of the barking and couldn't have a moment of peace tonight. lucky i only have to deal with this maybe twice a year. ;)
Good reminder!
We always keep our pets inside during fireworks. Our fence is secure, but I don't want them to be stressed out.
Our is in the house with us. She doesn't freak out, but she is "aware" that something unusual is going on, anytime a neighbor shoots off a firework/firecracker or shoots a gun (periodically we have that, too, lol). Our neighborhood, while an actual neighborhood, is set in a very rural location, essentially surrounded on 3 sides by a hunting preserve. The hunters never get near us, but the game sometimes does. I've had a neighbor shoot a pesky armadillo, for example. And I suspect the one street through the woods has shot at some of the wild hogs (nuisance animals, those).
But all in all, our dog is very calm about such things. She doesn't stress over storms either. At most, she'll get up and come over near me and sit right at my feet--no hiding under furniture or anything like that.
But we don't do that stuff here at home, we watch what they shoot off on one of the islands (Jekyll or St. Simons). And we let the dog stay at home.
Our cats hide under the bed as soon as they hear the first big boom! That's the good thing about cats - they tend to have pretty good survival instincts. When we had dogs, we found it was best for them to be inside the house in their crates during fireworks. Otherwise they'd get traumatized, poor things.
The people sitting behind me at the fireworks brought two dogs with them, and they barked the whole time. Someone else's dog bolted just as the first firework went off.
I'm glad it's just been too hot here for fireworks. My cats were so happy last night. :-)
Inside the home is the best for dogs and cats. Both can jump fences when scared. Microchipping is great as well, we were able to return them that way. Often times their collars (if they even had one with tags) tend to get ripped off during escape.
