My first bonfire night as a dog owner

[Madsometimes]

Do I need to do anything special?

My dog is just over a year old, and this time last year he was a very tiny puppy still with his mother, so I did not have him.

We live in a city, and there are LOTS of fireworks that go off at this time of year. Today and tomorrow are going to be particularly chaotic, so any tips would be welcome.

To make it worse, we have concert tickets for tonight, and my mum is babysitting the children at her house. She has agreed to take the dog too, so at least he will not be on his own. He is familiar with her house, so should be OK with her.

Some calming stuff just incase? Your vets should have some. My older dog is fine, but the puppy is horrified.

I got my new puppy a couple of weeks before bonfire night two years ago, and we have people letting fireworks off in back gardens near us, so I was worried about this too - but he seemed absolutely oblivious, and was fine last year too.

Has your dog shown signs of being easily startled? I'd say if you keep him mainly indoors after dark, preferably in the quietest room, it shouldn't be an issue. I've heard it's also best if you completely ignore the fact that there are loud bangs, and don't try to comfort the dog or make a fuss of him, so he assumes from your behaviour that there is nothing to be frightened of.

He barked at fireworks last night, but then he often barks at car doors closing and other sounds in the evening. He didn't seem too frightened, just more vigilant.

The main fireworks show is on Saturday, but the whole weekend will be bad. I remember when dd1 was little she was absolutely terrified of fireworks, so this is partly why I am feeling anxious for my dog.

Yes, def don't make a fuss over him, treat him any different. Our old dog hated fireworks & used to shake & cower, dog we have now is ok. Have always tried to not make a fuss but might sometimes say 'whats that?' in an excitable way as if something fun/interesting if she seems to notice bangs.

Make sure your dog is able to eat and toilet before it gets too dark, and that you keep him under very close control while taking him over to your mum's. The loud bangs can startle and make dogs run off. At your mum's make sure the TV is turned up a little louder than usual, and that your dog has somewhere "safe" to go e.g. in a corner, behind the sofa.

Your vet will be inundated with people today who have left it till the last minute. For next year, you have several options. You can do a desensitisation programme with a CD which gradually accustoms your dog to assorted bangs. You can use a DAP diffuser which can be helpful in mild cases. For more severe cases, diazepan can be prescribed by the vet but if this is used, you must be there to keep an eye on them, as it can make them unsteady on their feet and a bit wobbly. One of ours has Valium and it has helped considerably, though fortunately this year there have been fewer bangs than last year in the run up. We also went away for a few days over the weekend.

Depending on how things go this weekend as well (there will be lots going off on Saturday too) you might want to think ahead to New Years Eve, and if necessary discuss remedial steps with vet well in advance. Round here, NYE is as bad as Nov 5th for fireworks. Finally, the option for future years is to go away with dog if it is particularly bad in your area.

What breed is your dog?

My dog is a gundog and even though he has never been used on shoots, loud bangs seem to have no effect on him whatsoever......it seems to be the sheep dogs and other herders that suffer most - my friend's Rhodesian Ridgeback jumped out of a second floor window on its first bonfire night :-( and incredibly survived. They hadn't even thought to shut it as it was quite a high window too.

Depends on the dog, really. My bitch has never turned a hair, but my old boy used to cower and need to be right next to me- once he even jumped in the shower with me after a volley of bangs! happily (?) he is now deaf and mad, so cares not a jot.

Many dogs try to get into small spaces- they dig frantically, try to get in behind the tv, into cupboards, so sometimes if you can make a little "den" for them (eg their crate, covered with a blanket) they will be happier.

Bach's rescue remedy can be bought at any chemist, and can work surprisingly well in some dogs. As scuttle has said, DAP diffusers/ collars can also help. There are also the desensitisation programmes mentioned (although I've yet to see anyone who has tried this too successfully- not sure if it is down to not following it rigidly enough!) and finally sedatives (usually diazepam) for the worst cases. There is also zylkene, a behavioural modificant drug, but it's best given for a few weeks beforehand, and I didn't really have many great successes with it last year- although I guess we tend to see the ones where all else has failed!

The chap from battersea dogs home said on classic fm this morning that they'll shut all the curtains/blinds so the dogs can't see the flashes and then put classical music on moderately loudly to muffle the bangs a bit.

Madsometimes, does your dog have a crate or bed? If he does I'd def take that along to your mum's. As it is his first year and you don't know how he'll react I'd do what exexpat says and just be uber chilled and nonchalant about it all.

I'm in the same boat too, this is our pup's first bonfire night.

My dog is a cockapoo. We do have a main road behind our house, so he is used to noise and hopefully he will be OK.

My mum is a bit deaf, so the the TV is always on very loud. Plus her house will be busy because she is having people around to dinner tonight, and Patch adores meeting new people and being the centre of attention.

My friend's border collie puppy had a terrible experience with a firework being thrown at her by a teenager last week. She bolted, and went to her favourite place in the world - the park (which was shut). The family got a call 6 hours later from the park security guard to say that a dog was waiting patiently outside the gates. She had crossed a very busy main road to get there, and is very lucky to have not been run over.

poor thing. Thank goodness it was alright.

I hope there is a special circle of hell designated for fuckwits who throw fireworks at animals.

One of ours is absolutely petrified of fireworks. Not helped by a local hotel having them almost every Saturday, due to weddings. The other two don't bat an eyelid.

Tonight we have three local school all have big displays tonight and there's another big local display tomorrow.

We close all the blinds and curtains, have the tv up loud in the living room and the radio in the kitchen and put a blanket over her crate. We have tried a DAP infuser and DAP spray, Bach flower remedies and a desensitisation CD over the years, but none of them really helped.

When she was a youngster we used to start her on scullcap and valerian a few weeks beforehands so that she was slightly more chilled out by bonfire night and that was the only thing that seemed to help.

She's now getting slightly deaf due to a chronic skin condition that affects her ear canals. There have been quite a few fireworks going off here and there this week and she hasn't reacted so far, so we are hoping things might be a little easier for her this year.

Other than making sure the dog has a safe place/den and reducing the affects of the flashing and noise as far as possible, I'd say, with a pup, the most important thing is for whoever has the dog to behave as normally as possible and not fuss over him. He needs to see that you/they aren't worried by it all and to be allowed to deal with it in his own way, be that hiding behind the sofa or 'denning' in his crate.

Hope he's ok with it.

Have just picked up some diazepam for mine. They hate fireworks and the neighbours have a big party each year. It will be an ealy meal and walk. A couple of tablets each and then to bed with the radio on.

Hopefully they will settle and not be too stressed.

My dog (a retreiver for goodness sake!) used to dig a hole too! She completely ruined a carpet once when there was a thunderstorm during the day when we were out and got part way through a wooden floor during another one. She went frantic during storms and fireworks.

All the other retrievers we have had have been oblivious though - they come and enjoy the bonfire with the rest of us!

Can definitely second the loud music - worked for her.

Deffo shut the curtains and turn up the TV or radio louder

Hope he's ok. My dog is oblivious - there's a lot of shooting in the fields near us so I suppose he's used to bangs.

I think I read that a carb-rich meal beforehand can be calming, that'd be an easy thing to try I guess.

Keep him in wee and poo etc before or after the worst of the fireworks.

Turn the telly up loud
If there is a really big bang and he notices get all excited and and talk in that high pitched jolly baby voice. " wow look at that" as if it is the most exciting thing in the world

He will learn to luuuurve fireworks.

I am so glad someone else asked this (I was going to) but my Labrador seems totally uneffected

One of my dogs is nervous of fireworks but we practice tough love in this household (for dh,dcs and the dogs!) - we have our own display in our garden. Yes one of the dogs is nervous and can be heard barking and whining a little in the utility room whilst we make a big bang outside - but it won't kill her, she just has to deal with it

mine haven't taken any notice so far, but since my collie loves party poppers and rushes over to bird scarers to bite them when they go off I think I'll keep her in!

my dog is much better when she's outside -weird!!

Purpleduck, my PILs had a Golden Retriever X Rottie who used to whine to be let out when the school behind their house had their big display each year. She absolutely loved it and would only come back in when the fireworks were over.

Mine are hating it, but we just turn up the telly and comfort them, lets hope after tomorrow it's over until new years, used to love fireworks before we had the dogs too...

We have a lab who is a complete mess every year at this time, gets very very distressed, diazepam is the only thing that has worked for the poor soul. He is currently snoring his head off, gently stoned!

my westie loves them,she sits on the doorstep watching them all and you see her head following them up.