4th of July Fireworks

[lindasue]

The fireworks started around here a few weeks ago and Pegi is not happy. She will run to the end of the house (dining room, with most windows) and bark and whine forever. She will be one unhappy pup this weekend.

Do your cairns hate them too? Does anyone have a good way to keep the pups calm this weekend?

[Idaho Cairns]

I wouldn't say that my Cairns "enjoy" fireworks but they sure as the devil get excited about them. We had to keep them leashed in a campground last year to keep them from attacking the fountains and such. It is all, in my opinion, learned behavior, my first Cairn, a rescue, was an aggressive chaser of all loud noises, gunshots, fireworks, lightning, unmuffled vehicles, etc. and she passed that behavior on to the succeeding dogs in the house. Our dogs go to 4th of July fireworks shows, we sit right under the displays and the dogs just sit there and watch after the first few go off.

[pindrop]

Layla, unfortunately, is one of those dogs that goes crazy at ANY loud noise. Normally, in our neck of the woods, there are fireworks put on by the town which can last about one hour but once that is over, it's done. When it thunders, we have found that by putting Layla in her crate, she seems to calm down dramatically. Good luck with Pegi!

[kjwarnold]

Packy isn't too bad unless the neighbors are right outside our house setting them off, but Kirby is another story. They'll both go into their crates when it starts here. And it's not just the 4th of July. On New Year's Eve, the people around here go outside at midnight and shoot their shotguns in the air. That gets the dogs going, too.

[KShep]

We won't find out this year. There is a burn ban in my county.

[percy's_girl]

How could I forget all about the fireworks?! Percy is not a fan of them. In fact, someone is shooting them off nearby right now. P is standing at the front door, tail straight up, barking everytime one goes off. When I tell her to hush she looks at me and wags her tail, then looks back at the door and barks. It's going to be a long weekend...

[Dempsy's Mom]

Demps is well aware that it's the 4th, but doesn't go crazy. Digger, the lab, hates them and tries to find the best hiding spot. Poor old gal.

[beccadiane374]

I used to love fireworks...then along came Tanner. He dislikes fireworks, thunder, vacuum cleaners, pretty much anything loud. Really, the only way to calm him is to hold him or put him in his crate with a blanket over it.

[hheldorfer]

A few pops and bangs don't seem to bother Buffy but the big stuff drives her nuts. We'll be turning on the AC this weekend anyway - temps in the 90's coming - and keeping the dogs in the house during the worst of the fireworks. It we can keep them distracted the pups aren't too bad.

[Kathryn]

Both Allie and T Bone react to loud noises: thunder, fireworks. Allie trembles; T Bone growls and barks. I hate the 4th fireworks too for this reason, but I've found a solution.

DH has a "man cave" in our basement, his television room complete with 50 inch television and dolby sound (yes, and I think also every sports channel in the world...). The dogs love to go down there with him and cuddle on the couch and ottoman. There are no windows and, with the door closed and the air on, you really can't hear anything upstairs or outside. Why the booms from the car crashes in the guy flicks don't bother the dogs is beyond me, but they are not bothered.

DH has announced he will be watching "Independence Day" on the night of the 4th, and the dogs will be joining him. I may give in and go down too.

[Hawkeye]

Mine are not too bad. Neither react to t-storms and Bailey didn't have a problem with the neighborhood fireworks last year. We picked up Radar last 4th of July so we will see how things go this year. He could get Bailey going. Last night there were a few crackers going off and Radar started his monkey noises and running around the house. I kept calling him over and started playing fetch with him to distract him.

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