Do people medicate their dogs during 'firework season'?

[cherrypez]

Is this even a thing? A neighbour says she gives her dogs tablets from the vet to calm them down when it's bonfire night. After a miserable night with ddog tonight I'm wondering if anyone has any solutions? It's quite upsetting seeing him like this.

Now is definitely the time to talk to your vet - there is much more chance of dealing with it successfully if you address it a long time in advance.

Medication may seem drastic but if it's that or horrible suffering then I really think it's important not to get bogged down in worrying about what are very short-term pharmaceutical solutions. Drugs like alprazolam relieve anxiety and have an amnesic effect so preventing the problem getting worse year on year, which is very common. Having said all that, medication is one of the few options open to a vet when they're given just a few days' notice, so getting help on board early on, and using things like sound desensitisation CDs, is a really worthwhile thing to do if you don't feel happy with using drugs. As Lonecat says, there are some complementary treatments which can help but often it's a case of trial and error, so thinking about it early in the year is sensible.

Thank you!
We don't know her breed Ender
Rottie looking but has some Collie I think. I will keep an eye out next year. Luckily here it only happens on NYE.

Just to add on the medication front, most vets now no longer prescribe a drug called ACP or acepromazine which used to be commonly prescribed drug to sedate dogs for fireworks. Owners liked it because the dog appears 'sleepy' and thus calm but the reality is that though the dog is physically sedated, it's mentally aware and still just as scared. Use of ACP is a welfare issue as it just prevents the dog from behaving fearfully, not from feeling fear. Because of this it tends to make phobias worse. I'm only mentioning in case any of you have vets (hopefully not) who still dispense it

As has been said alprazolam is a really useful drug for short term phobias and better (I think) than evenings spent in terror, though in the longterm, desensitisation is of course better

Coming from the behaviourists point of view - most dogs will show major improvements with a behaviour modification plan. It will take time and you will need to be gently working on it now to be solid for November BUT it is not hard to do and takes very little effort on the owners behalf.

The CD is a good place to start - when your dog is eating have the CD on in the background very very quietly so there is no reaction from the dog - gradually and I mean gradually turn up the volume - each time your do this the dog should not react to the increased sound - if it does go back a bit.

Also work on your dog having a calm area - a crate or covered area is good for this - encourage your dog to go here when they are sleepy and relaxed . Reward calm relaxed behaviour - I don't use treats for this just quiet reassuring praise.

This is a very basic starting point and any qualified behaviourist will be able to tailor a plan for your own dog. It is worth it - consider how many fireworks sessions your dogs will have to cope with over their life time

My dog likes to have both my arms tightly round her on both sides. This stops her shivering and calms her. But she does sleep on my bed.
When bonfire night fireworks started earlier and I was still up, she paced the room and was better when I put a lead on her and restricted her frantic movement.

She doesn't mind the rockets or even the crackers, it is the big bangers which even made me jump last night sounding like an explosion and the house vibrated with the noise.
Are they really necessary? Thankfully it seemed to stop after 20 minutes here.

Not sure about the breed theory, as a child we had 2 labs who were terrified of thunder and fireworks and I now I have a whippet and he's fine with thunder, fireworks and scare gun shots....we did use the cd with the whippet and worked on exposing him to lots of loud noises as a young pup.

Gingerfudge of course there are always exceptions.
A friend breeds working labs and despite carefully selecting parentage and training some still have to be sold as pets because they're scared of the sound of gunshots. But the majority are fine.

I would have thought the majority of gun dogs exposed to the sound of a gun at an early age, just like my whippet has and he is perfectly comfortable with the noise.

My dog was fine with fireworks - used to watch them with interest - until an idiot let one off within 20 feet of her. She is now a nervous wreck.

Not quite the same but similar-my parents had a dog that was a bad traveller. She was OK short distances but they used to take her on holiday to Ireland where they owned a property, which obviously involved a long car and ferry journey. The vet used to prescribe her a tranquilliser so she would sleep throughout.

I would imagine vets have heard the fireworks thing a million times before and I'm certain they can prescribe something.