10 Things That Will Help Your Dog Deal With Fireworks
Almost everyone likes fieworks just like every dog owner wants to spend quality time with their dog. However no matter how much you enjoy watching firework displays its exstremly your unlikely your dog will want to come, and they may even need your help to cope with them. The ten tips below are some unique suggestions paired with highly reccomended advice for how to help you and your dog navigate around the pitfalls many dogs and their owners fall into when trying to ''surivive" rather than thrive fireworks. So hopefully after reading this blog you won't join them and will never have to wonder how you can try to solve the firework problem again when festive periods are in sight!
1. One thing that might not be as widly known about by dog lovers is the use of aromatherapy to help dogs relax during firework night. By spraying prouducts like ZenPet Calming Spray on things around where your dogs will be when fireworks are likely to go off like their bed or favrioute toy they will inhale the compleatly organic smell of calming spray. Which includes well known relaxants such as Lavender, Chamomile and Bergamot
2. Anouther less talked about method that has been very successful with many dogs is the ZenPet calming jacket. Stimulating swaddling (applying gentle pressure) similar to what we do too calm human babies this jacket helps calm even the most anxious dogs. It also helps to keep them cool by having a cooling system that activates if the dog is overheating.
3. feeding games are good fun and a usefull distraction even when fireworks are not causing distress. Especially as they make a dog work for their food and so are less likely to encourage a dog to mimic distressed behaviour around fireworks in the hope of getting more attention and rewards.
4. While most exsperianced dog owners will have heard about turning on the T.V. or Radio to cancel out firework nosies or at least make them less of a supprising noise. Not as many will know about DVDs like CLIX Noises & Sounds CD which are specially made to make a firework noise be nothing but anouther noise.
5. Although the sound of the fireworks is often enough to terrify many dogs, the sight of them can also be a terrifying exsperiance. So make sure to close the curtains and not let your dog into anywhere they could come to eye contact with them.
6. A common theme amoung successfull attempts at getting dogs to be calm during fireworks is creating a place they will be calm in, even if outside of it they are compleatly terrified. Often creating these places are not as hard as many dog owners think it has to be, for example it could be a dog bed under a desk which has had some Zen Pet Calming Spray applied to it. Or perhaps it could be a pillow fort that encourages the dog to stay in with feeding games such as K9 Pursuits Switchers Teal and their favrioute teddy bear!
7. Dogs react to your every movement, as they rely on you for almost everything. If you act like your nervous it puts them on edge. So try to be calm about what is or could happen on fireworks night. Its also not to give them treats and attention when they show distressted behaviour as this could encourage them to display this behaviour.
8. Give them a walk earlier in the day so they hopefully dont have to go outside later in the day when it is more likely that fireworks will be going off. Also if they have more time to release their energy then they might be too tired to worry about the noises and fall fast asleep!
9. Many people make the mistake of doing something with their dog they would like someone to do with them, and it ends up being a disaster. Dogs are not humans so dont be one of the handfull of dog owners that decide their dog would love to watch the beautifull fireworks with them. Your dog will have no idea what they are and to them fireworks are exstremly nasty sounding exsplosions that have no exsplanation. They will not enjoy them and at best they will be compleatly disinterested in them.
10. Its a legal requiment for dogs to be microchipped in the UK, however despite this thousands of dogs every year are kept in kenals after getting lost before being reunited with their owners as their microchips are out of date. Fireworks can be unexspected and also something that causes dogs to behave in ways they never had before. Even if you everything to prevent a catastrophy like them running away, mistakes can happen so make sure your pooch dosn't have to spent some time in a kennel by getting their microchip up to date.