What are your honest thoughts on Fireworks?

[Thorilicious]

Last night, we had fireworks going off all night. Last year, ddog was a puppy, and was fine inside. Last night, he was cowering and shaking with fear. He spent the majority of the evening on my lap (not easy as he thinks he's a lap dog, despite his size 😊)
I'm all for organised fireworks events, but allowing people to set them off into the early hours is wrong in my opinion. I think they should be banned for personal use.

I absolutely love fireworks. The bigger the better. Home displays are always a let down compared to the big organised events. We live very close to one and can watch from our garden. DD is very sensitive to loud noises and has to wear ear defenders.

@PinkHeadphones , same here. Very fond memories!

Think they are fine at organised events for Diwali, bonfire night, NYE, Chinese New Year etc. Think they should not be allowed for use at home.

The thing is that a lot of the objections to fireworks actually apply to dog ownership (irresponsible people in either case frighten children, vulnerable adults, can be dangerous, case injuries, harm grazing animals and wildlife, create a lot of noise in residential areas etc.)

I worked for several years in a residential setting for adults with learning disabilities who couldn't attend big public fireworks displays and for one resident, who had no family who stayed in touch and not much positive in his life, setting off fireworks in the supported living garden was genuinely the highlight of the year - anticipated and planned months in advance and reminisced about all year.

So I don't think they should be banned any more than keeping pet dogs in private homes should - but both should be better controlled probably, perhaps by applying and paying for a licence annually and agreeing to the possibility of home checks and an interview as part of that...

I'm neurodivergent and have misophonia so I really hate them. The constant noise and the exhausting hypervigilance about when they will go off again. (All year round in parts of West Yorkshire, it seems!) Why are members of the public allowed to get hold of these explosives all year? And every year there are petitions to limit them but to no avail. My nerves are already shattered as it is, and I'm definitely not alone.

I like them but one day a year is enough, I don't want them constantly going off. Now that ds is much older we do do them in the garden, but we do them at about 8 o'clock and get the low noise ones from Tesco. No one wants them going off late into the night, night after night.

I think they should do laser shows instead. No one 'needs' loud bangs.

I HATE them

Agree to ban personal use - displays only.

dangerous & pressure on NHS from idiots harming themselves
terrifies children, those with dementia/PTSD/learning disabilities etc
terrifies pets, horses and other animals die of fright, harms wildlife/birds etc who are just as scared but unseen. My dog shakes/cowers and tries to climb inside me every night this time of year, it’s heartbreaking and stressful.

Not to mention the damn unnecessary pollution!

Fireworks need to stop. Other countries have done it, time we move into the modern world.

This

A waste of money.

Organised public events for specific festivals only.

I love them. You really need to train your dog for load noises including fireworks. You’re not doing him any favours to pet him while he is showing signs of fear, you are reinforcing his behaviour. There’s loads of information on what you can do. For now, as you know they will be fireworks at this time of year for Diwali and later for bonfire night you need to exhaust him. Take him for much longer walks than you normally do. I tired dog is less likely to be stressed. Then crate him.

I love them, but I can see issues with them being antisocial, I’d be okay to restrict them to organised displays. We’ve done home displays for birthdays before, dd is November birthday and they were fun.

i can’t get onboard with restrictions because of domestic pets, seems a bit much.

I love them. I love to see people enjoying them.

When I had dogs as a child my mum was very insistent that we made sure they were trained to not mind fireworks, so I do get that they require extra effort from dog owners.

I have 3 dogs. 1 is 6 months old.

I love fireworks BUT I think they should be restricted to organised displays only and they shouldn't be on sale to the general public.

Our dog never used to be bothered by them. But the last few years more people did them (as no organised display) so start from around 6:30 onto 10pm And before instead of just being on the 5th they seem to start around Halloween & go on for two weeks! They are so loud now.

She is now a nervous wreck, we’ve tried gentle exposure, plug ins, anxiety wrap. Safe place to hide - she was regardless panting and distressed last night :( we now dreading the state of her over the next two weeks.

Id prefer organised displays and any fireworks for home display not sounding like a bomb :(

I loved family get together on the 5th, sparklers Catherine wheels, small fire in the garden, hot dogs and setting off a couple of fireworks- but they didn’t sound so bloomin loud as a kid!! Why do they need to go boom & shake the house!

You really need to train your dog for load noises including fireworks. You’re not doing him any favours to pet him while he is showing signs of fear, you are reinforcing his behaviour

With respect, you cannot reinforce fear (as in, it's impossible to do).

www.patriciamcconnell.com/theotherendoftheleash/you-cant-reinforce-fear-dogs-and-thunderstorms

Both of our neighbours set off fireworks last night for Diwali - silent ones. One of the neighbours child is Autistic & terrified of the bangs so all the neighbour’s were considerate of him.

Lovely display and no horrible booms! More importantly inclusive of him :)

I love fireworks but I think they should not be sold to the public and silent ones should be used wherever possible. With public displays people can plan ahead to deal with pets etc. If they are sold to the public the minimum age should be 25, at least, and supplying fireworks to minors should be a criminal offence.

Well if you had read my post you would have seen that I DID train my dog for loud noises including fireworks and it worked well for a good few years.

Unfortunately a moron let off a firework mid afternoon (yes it was still light) just as we walked past their garden and my dog was petrified. Tried to bolt but thankfully I had a good grip on his lead. He is a big strong dog.

It was not close to Divali or firework night so goodness knows why someone decided to let off fireworks.

He has been scared ever since and nothing I do helps.

A friend has tried training her dog with no success. Her dog shakes and pants so much she is terrified the dog will have a heart attack. Poor dog has to be sedated which is not good when where friend lives fireworks are night after night for around 3 weeks.

Crating a dog would, in a lot of cases, make it worse. My dog if scared wants to sit next to me.

Don't mind fireworks at all on NOV 5th!!
Outside that time, they really piss me off.

I never really had an opinion on them until I saw what they do to my sister's dog. From 6pm when the first went off until almost midnight, shaking, panting, drooling, trying to wedge himself into the smallest gaps he could find, eventually he almost seemed to shut down and just sat with his nose pressed into a corner silently quivering. I was scared for him (in terms of, is he actually going to be ok at the end of the evening?) but apparently it happens every time, even with a thunderjacket and calming tablets. Heartbreaking. He won't have an evening walk (she takes him at 3pm instead) until January now because of the risk of people setting them off on any evening between Diwali and NYE in her area. Restricting them for use only in organised events would still be distressing for him but at least it would be one night, for a limited period of time.

What about non domestic animals? Horses, cows, sheep, rabbits, birds, mice etc etc etc.

What about children that are scared, elderly people? My dad had dementia and could not understand what the noise was. He thought he was hearing bombs going off - memories of the war I assume.

Yes that is my friend's dog exactly. My dog is not quite as bad but bad enough.

My friend has to sedate her dog which, although not great, she is willing to do once or twice a year but where she lives the fireworks go on for a good 3 weeks starting around 5pm and often not ending until midnight. I used to live near her and it drove me mad.

Hate them