To be sick of people moaning about their pets and fireworks?

[Sophiehoney]

There's currently a debate on my local Facebook page as the people in the street behind me let off a long, spectacular firework display in their back garden which was very loud.
It was absolutely brilliant and my kids loved it.

Someone has moaned that her four cats are terrified and others are joining in and saying their cats/dogs are also distressed.

They are all saying they should have had a warning?? Even though it's the weekend before bonfire night??

But what really annoys me is that if you click on this woman's name and see all her past posts, she's moaned about the same bloody thing at the same time of year for the past SIX years!!!

Why has she done nothing to prepare for this even though she knows full well it happens around the same time??!!!

My dog is terrified and won’t go out in the dark now. Today I took him out at midday and he was fine until someone thought it would be a good idea to let some off. So now he is terrified to go out at all - even for a wee in our garden. It is horrible to see him cowering in the corner and not being able to do anything to help.

Fireworks are not a couple of nights a year. They have been going off for a week for Diwali, then Halloween, and now spreading into fireworks night. Just because that doesn’t happen in your area don’t be so short sighted. It’s what happens in multicultural areas.

My dog is not in people’s social spaces 😂😂. He gets walked in a big park and that’s it. So you can calm down.

There is zero justification for the public having access to explosives that they can randomly set off whenever they fancy. It should be organised displays only, only on specific dates and all done by 11pm with the only exception being New Year’s Eve.
Fireworks are louder and more powerful than they were in years past so actually no animals and fireworks haven’t coexisted. Not to mention the vast amounts of housing being built further and further into what was farm land forcing livestock much closer to fireworks than ever before.
Someone in my village has only recently returned home after a horrific car accident last December which was caused by cattle bolting across the road directly in front of cars. They were spooked by fireworks set off in their neighbouring field by teenagers. Several people were hurt and it’s miraculous that nobody was killed.

There was a huge pile up on the M5 years ago and again fireworks and the smoke from them were a contributing factor. People died as a result of that incident.

But the OP isn’t affected so it’s alright then!

Would you say that if they went off randomly at 11pm on Thursday next week and you had been experiencing it happening frequently for the last few weeks and your dog was afraid but you had no way to prepare because they were letting them off at random times and days??

all these people who are experiencing it happening so frequently over such a long period aren’t making it up just because wherever you are people aren’t letting off fireworks!

One person posted yesterday on our village Facebook to say they'll be letting off fireworks on Wednesday evening around 7pm. Pretty pointless post as it will actually be 5th November so I'm sure people will be expecting them anyway. But there were fireworks going off here at 7.30pm this evening and there were some yesterday evening with no pre warning. We also live a few miles as the crow flies from a posh wedding venue where firework displays are a regular feature throughout the year. We live in a fairly rural area with lots of livestock around. I can only assume that the cows and sheep aren't bothered by them as it's never the farmers complaining on Facebook - just the horse owners and dog and cat owners.

It’s sickening isn’t it?
I don’t particularly like children but I would never wish one harm or want to see one hurt or distressed. Because I’m not sick in the head.

Unlike some of vile creatures on this thread.

I truly don't care about fireworks. I just think ''they scare my dog so they must be banned'' is a poor argument considering how many people scared of dogs have to put up with them and that's year round too.

Official firework displays only and maybe considering a law as to how loud they can be absolutely has some valid arguments. I just don't think ''they scare my dog'' is one of them.

Fireworks are just so tedious and so boring!! People staring up at some lights in the sky and ooing and arring!! Whoopie bloody do!! I also loathe kids that are scared of dogs! Pathetic.

Nice.

The trouble with organised displays is that they often feature big, mega bang fireworks. When I was a child the usual back garden fireworks were small and not very noisy - and hardly anyone moaned.
BTW Classic FM will be having a Bonfire Night Special for pets.

I used to put classical music on for our dog, who would be scared of the noise. Around here there are some very expensive houses where they go in for a lot of mega-bang fireworks.

@Kirbert2but it’s not just dogs is it?

If she can campaign about dogs as you say, then you can campaign for fireworks to be banned for the public to purchase.

If she can sit at home peacefully and lock herself away never going out which is obviously an inconvenience, then you can put ear defenders on. But at least your inconvenience would only be this time of year.

So dogs are allowed to be scared of fireworks but children aren't allowed to be scared of dogs?

Why keep pets in the first place? They are bred purely for human comfort and pleasure - forced to live in a human’s world, dragged to coffee shops, dressed up like dolls, then owners get upset when they are distressed by human activity. I find the whole concept odd in modern times.

I have a great deal of sympathy for guide dogs, wildlife and for people who may have conditions that prevent them from understanding or tolerating fireworks.

No. Which is why I clearly stated that some arguments for displays only etc are valid.

Both things can be true though.

for me fireworks are annoying/loud and unnecessary and affect some people (as well as the flipping dogs!).

also

dogs being everywhere and barking, jumping at me and killing people - also a PITA.

Killed one and terrified my hens one year.

Many other years of watching my dog on the edge of a heart attack in total distress, trying to get her out of the house and away from the noise was always terrible, as usually a bang would go off just as we tried to leave. Ended up having to drug her up every year and take her out up hills many nights in Nov/Halloween.

I swear I have ptsd, dog is gone now but I still went out and sat up in the hills as I still can't cope with the noise.

People who just don't care how much distress this causes other people are just arseholes.

I’ve had several dogs and cats over the years. None have shown any sign of being distressed. I love fireworks. I’d hat to see them banned or restricted to overpriced ticketed events.

Ridiculous comment - it’s just good sense to be at least a little bit wary of dogs considering they literally maul people to death sometimes

I drove down the M5 on that dreadful night, you could barely see in front of you because the fog was so thick. As expected, eventually the coroner ruled that it absolutely was fog, not the fireworks that caused it. It was tragic and it was terrifying, but it was not fireworks.

Last night I was up until midnight with one of my rescue horses. , because one of my brand new neighbours decided to set off display level fireworks , with no warning . None . In a village where literally every other house has horses . She went absolutely fucking spare . She went up in her stable , smacked her head and fell , and cut her leg open when she fell over . She was shaking , sweating , and literally shitting herself constantly , from the first almighty bang , until an hour after it ended . And even then , I had to stay with her for another 3 hours , until I was happy she probably wouldn’t get colic, a life threatening illness which is often caused by stress . Another one of my neighbours horses actually did , and is currently at a vetinary hospital. All because someone didn’t have the actual common sense to warn people .

I can put cotton wool in their ears , I can sedate them if need be . But sedation or calmers can take 2 hours to kick in , so I need some warning. Whilst I prefer people not launching flaming missiles into the sky in an area full of hay and straw , I understand that some people fell they must. Just put out a bloody warning . It doesn’t cost anything . Unlike the vets bill my friend is looking at , which is upwards of 8k . And I’m going to have to speak to the rescue organisation and explain to them why the pony I’m guardian of , got hurt . Great .

See your vet and get some drugs for him, honestly I hated the idea but it did make life better for the dog.

Most people’s scared of dogs when out is not distressed for hours, hiding under a table shaking, hyperventilating, losing control of their bowel/bladder function… let’s be honest.
So no, you cannot compare the two.
My dog is frightened of bikes. But the bike passes for a few moments on a walk and then disappears. Dog haters escape dogs by going to their safe dog-free house.
My dog’s house isn’t very ‘safe’ to them when there are fireworks going off. They cannot escape the noise. Their safe place is no longer safe. This makes their distress even worse.

Anyone using that comparison is frankly a bit thick.

Yes, it goes to my point on the first thread about how people immediately try to widen the scope. They know that the arguments about frightened pets are hypocritical, so they want to bolt them onto points that are actually valid.

Honestly though, the best thing anyone who wants fewer fireworks could do is to support and advocate for more organised displays.

I have no problem with fireworks per se, but I do have a huge issue with people being able to buy them and hold their own displays. I think that you should need council approval for a fireworks event, and have to show proof from the council to purchase the fireworks. The event should be clearly advertised so that people can prepare. Where I live, we have fireworks going off most nights for a couple of weeks. My dog is fine with them but I find it bizarre how few controls there are on buying pyrotechnics and letting them off in your garden.