Fireworks And Storms.

[Tonymc]

Not only on this site, but out in the real World I get sick of hearing about Fireworks and Storms!!!!I personally like both.I love getting out and watching a Storm and seein the power of Nature!!!

So many get on this site and rant on and on about Fireworks and Storms and the effect it has on there Dogs.I guess the old Human Nature mainly seems to be reactive and not proactive.Many wait till something happens and then react and never plan ahead.

Some get really carried away about the Fireworks and say they should be banned!!!!I say why should the majority miss out on something because of a problem a minority has!!!!

I know it is harder with an older Dog that may tend to run on past experience, but I wonder why do people with Pups and younger Dogs not proof them against Storms and Fireworks?I get our dogs out,during Storms and so on.get them into Drive and have a big game with them so the Storm becomes a positive to them. Tony

[KatenNae]

I also love storms!

Our new boy Jack is scared of storms, we have tried to turn it into a positive experience. However, it was Kate my old girl, during a visit to my sister's place, who showed Jack that storms, and rain, are not something to be scared about. Jack was getting carried away a bit but calmed down when he noticed Kate wondering about in the rain not caring in the least about it.

It probably helped that Kate is completely deaf and obviously doesn't react to the thunderclaps... lol!!

[Monah]

I too LOVE a good thunder storm and lightening display. Makes you feel truly alive. Fantastic. Also really miss fireworks. Growing up (in the olden days ), Guy Fawkes was a big thing. Whole streets would get together and 'pool' their fireworks and have a ball. The sky would be ablaze with fireworks and rockets for hours, it was a huge celebration and one looked forward to all year by us kids. I was (as were most people) devastated when it was banned. My friends have just returned form the UK where their kids experienced guy fawkes for the first time. They were away 9 weeks and saw most of europe, but all the teenagers can talk about was the fireworks night they had!!!!!

Because it was one special night, all dogs would be locked up and OK. Now fireworks (professional) seem to go off for any reason and many people don't know about it so dogs take off. I had one dog who was terrified of storms/loud bangs etc. and could tell us about 5 hours before a storm would hit. Nothing worked with him, all our other dogs have been great and encouraged to have fun at these times, but Basil was not going to ever be persuaded, we were told it was to do with the electricity in the air? So, I watched the weather like a hawk, tied him up to our bed post with his rug etc. If he was given the run of the house during a storm he would try and get out and injure himself and wreck the house. You just have to find what works best for you and the dog. I would go straight home if a storm started but not many people can do that. I think if you have a dog who is like our Basil you have to be vigilant. He never got out etc. in 12 years of life, I made sure he didn't.

[stephenb]

I have never had a dog that was scared of storms or fireworks. We had a thunder storm in the middle of a trial once and only one dog out of 20 showed any real fear. What percentage of dogs do have an unreasonable fear of thunder?

[Just Midol]

You're brave Tony, last time I said this I was attacked.

[petmezz]

i agree Tonymc.

i have always been lucky enough to behome with storms and have raced outside to play with the dogs and any new dog or puppy, after the play in the rain i will sit under the verander and watch the remainder of the storm. if you catch the inital fear early and not incurage it by comferting the dog, insted show that your having fun and the dog/pup should come have fun to, their should be no problems.

in saying that a dog i grew up with Jesse was a storm phobic dog. she would start acting up hours befor the storm, and hide under anything when it hits (usually a blanket). this dog was like it from birth, the por thing was born in a server thunder storm, and even with the right desencatisation method she was always like it. fire works where simuler but not as intence.

i rember cracker night as a kid, going out to a creek having a BBQ and setting of crackers, the dogs would come have fun playing and running in the bush in the day, and had to be tetherd at night to stop them chasing the fire works. they loved it, we loved it their was not a problem.

one dose have to rember though that their are training, behavioral, and temproment issues when getting a dog use to noises and stormes, for both human and dog.

[Rom]

A few years back when the ex and I were building a house, we also had a pup. One afternoon when we were busy working on the house a sudden storm surprised us and announced itself with a huge lightning strike and immediate thunderclap. The strike was soo close that we physically felt the shock wave and could smell sulphur after it. It knocked glasses of benches and blew our phone up.

In the sudden ensuing down pour, we were busy getting tools etc out of the rain and when we were done realised that the pup was nowhere to be seen. We had a 6.5 acre block that we were also in the process of dog fencing. The pup had bolted in fear and luckily enough ran to one corner of the paddock that was fenced and sat there cowering in fear in the rain.

I didn't know anything about drive training back then, but this pup was ball obsessed. Thankfully that summer provided us with frequent afternoon storms and to help the pup out I'd pull her ball out and play with her during the storm gradually moving from inside, to the verandah and finally out in the rain with the thunder and lightening flashing away.

We got to the point over the course of that summer where the pup would get excited about approaching storms and get attacks of the zoomies and then sit willing one of us to get the ball out and play in the rain LOL.

[Kavik]

I used to assume all dogs were scared of storms and fireworks, as until I got Diesel all of my dogs had been.

I think whether the dog is scared or not comes down to temperament, I have done nothing different with Diesel and Kaos and they are OK while Zoe is a mess.

I worry about the dogs in storms, which I think is perfectly normal. I also worry during fireworks, and make sure the dogs are locked up on NYE. I enjoy watching fireworks and don't think they should be banned.

[JulesP]

I hate fireworks but more because of the horses than the dogs.

They had a fireworks display in Lilydale a couple of weeks ago and the local animal aid is now full with all the dogs that ran away. I can never work that one out as if you have decent fencing then how did the dogs get out in the first place.

My dogs aren't scared of storms but do tend to run around like idiots chasing the thunder.

[Tonymc]

Thank you all again for some wonderful input!!!Rom, a classic reply from you illustating so well the very thing I am talking about!!!

Midol,ol buddy if anybody says anthing I am going to say you put me up to it!!!!!LOL .No I wont really only have a stir!!

Again thank you as I love reading the diverse opinions and input. Tony

[wolfgirl]

My dogs love Thunderstoms they go out to play in them and they aren't fussed at all by fireworks but what gets my back up is we have ferals around here who let fireworks off through the week on the reserve after 12pm and that is annoying because I am a light sleeper and get woken up

I have always made these events enjoyable for my animals so I don't have to worry about sudden noises. It is good conditioning for them.

[Janba]

I know it is harder with an older Dog that may tend to run on past experience, but I wonder why do people with Pups and younger Dogs not proof them against Storms and Fireworks?I get our dogs out,during Storms and so on.get them into Drive and have a big game with them so the Storm becomes a positive to them. Tony

I did this with my old BC when a fireworks display started right overhead, complete with the 1417th overture playing over the loudspeakers, at a trial I was at and ended up with a dog that used to go out in the storm and leap in the air trying to catch the thunder or fire works

My two older dogs couldn't care less about thunder or fireworks but the 10 month old pup is frightened. One of his favouriite games is to try to kill any broom mop etc if you are using it and he is certainly in very high drive when he does this and consequently is crated or locked outside while I sweep etc. When I was home when the storm starts I got out the broom and sweep and let him attack it and it is the only time he is allowed to do this. Now he is starting to anticipate a game when the thunder comes and if I am not in a posn to start a game his anxiety levels are far less than a few months ago.

[rastus_froggy]

I didnt know that one of my dogs was scared of fireworks until one night when I got home after watching some fireworks near my house only to discover muddy paw prints all over the glass in the window where she had tried to jump in. So we have worked on desencatising.

With my male dog he LOVES fireworks, I have taken him to a number of displays and he sits there gazing up at the sky!

All of my dogs are ok with the noise of storms, Froggy just doesnt like the rain part of it

[MonElite]

I dont have a problem with the youngster and didnt have a problem with my old boy for many years.

I even took him to Darling Harbour for the Australia Day fireworks one year and he didnt care.

Until........... one day in late 2004 some idiot has let my dog out of the yard, this was during storm. He got hit by a bus and was gone missing for 2 days. I got back him in a very bad shape, physical and mental.

He now is affraid of storms and loud noises. And seems to be getting worse with age.

I took him out during storms tried playing etc with no effect, all he wants to do is be by my side, he doesnt panic but need the body contact. He does stupid things while Im at work and he is outside during storm.

Fear of loud noices can be a learned thing.

[sidoney]

My take on it is that dogs are born with a tendency to be more or less reactive, including to noise. This can include temperament and also ear shape (drop ears muffle noise more).

Then there is what the dog is exposed to, and how. Is noise associated with a positive or a negative? Is noise neutral?

I raise my pups to not worry about noise - crash metal plates together, gently then more loudly bang the aluminium roofing while they are eating, and so on. Yesterday we had tennis and golf ball sized hail stones crashing down on the aluminium roofing. The noise was extremely loud. Happily the pups coped fine with it. I sat with them while it was occurring. I think this was a pretty extreme test of noise tolerance.

There ARE individual differences. And then there is what you do about it.

Edited December 10, 2007 by sidoney

[jesomil]

It is very interesting with what happened to my old trial dog when i moved out of home and left her with mum.

She was 5 when I left and had never had a problem with storms or any noises. Soon after I left she developed fears of basically any noise and now at 10 years of age is completely petrified when a storm comes.

The main reason is that mum has spoilt her to death and always brought her inside when a storm was approaching. She used soothing tones just incase the dog was scared. So the poor dog was basically taught to be fearful of things. Very sad.

[jaybeece]

My dog's not fussed by thunder or firwworks, but with increasing numbers of fireworks being set off in my local area I'm a little worried about what will happen if I get a foster dog who's scared of loud noises.

I guess we'll see what happens.

[pawsaroundoz]

It is a funny thing, I too love storms.

Clancy just sleeps through them unless I get up and go out to watch from the balcony, then he will join me.

Carlin, who has worked in retrieving and has no fear of gunshot used to be ok about storms but as he is going more and more blind he has been getting more and more scared, he 'feels' when a storm is coming long before it gets here and is shaking scared of even the lightning let alone the noise.

Annie

[Nevafollo]

not one of our seven are scared of storms or fireworks