While I'm in question mode ...

Beyond DAP, which hasn't seemed to have made any difference in the past, does anyone have any recommendations for firework remedies. I guess I'm thinking of a supplement that I can start giving now to my veteran girl to build up before the dreaded fireworks start?

M.

Ah I am very interested in any replies you get, as two of my dogs hate the fireworks, one will keep barking at them and the other will sit close to me not leaving my side. :(
It has always been that we stay at home on Bonfire night to keep the dogs calm, but this year my children have asked if we can go to a display.  But I am not leaving my dogs for NO ONE!
I am trying to convince my husband to take the children to a display while I stay at home with the dogs (suits me, I hate that time of year) but I could be interested in any remedies that I may be able to use on my dogs to help keep them calmer.

Have you tried distraction/linkning the sound with a positive experience?

My last dog was 4 yrs old when we got him from a shelter, come Novemeber we realised he didn't like fireworks :( He was a complete ball-game addict and loved playing fetch with a tennis ball, so we would have a ball at the ready & lob it (in the house) for him to catch as soon as there was a bang, making lots of game noises to keep him excited about the ball (waaazzzz this, go get it, yeahhhhh etc..). Before long, fireworks meant playtime :)
The only problem we had was after he lost his hearing with age, the sight of firworks would send him into a frenzy (reflections/lighting up the room etc), obviuosly the ball-game had been linked to the sound of the fireworks, not the sight, so once he didn't have the audio cue (BANG) for 'ball game' he only payed attention to the sight, but we only has to ensure all curtains were closd to sort that out :)

Afterall, it's much easier to get rid of unwanted behaviour (eg being frightened of fireworks) if you give an alternative behaviour to replace it with (playing ball), rather than simply trying to stop the unwanted behaviour.

ETA, if the dog is too freaked by the fireworks to be interested in the ball to start with, you could try having the TV/music on so the fireworks can only just be heard, as the dog gets more interested with the distraction lower the volume untill the dog can be 'distracted' by the toy with no other sounds to block out the bangs (at the dogs pace).

Funnily enough mastifflover, she is that ball obsessed that on occasion we've had her playing ball outside as the only way to get her out for a wee! Would prefer to try and calm her though, as she is getting less tolerant of them as she gets older (or maybe as they get louder).

M.

The idea with the ball game is to give a positive association, once that is ingrained you can then move on to just keeping them calm as they have learnt not to fear the noise.

I do agree that the fireworks are getting much louder, they really shake the windows now. Thankfully, with a deaf, older dog to take the lead from as a pup, my current dog doesn't bother with the firewroks, but I'm dreading it because of the cat, bless her, she hates them :(

Best of luck, I hope you manage to help your girl, even if it's something that just takes the 'edge' off the fear, at least that's a step in the right direction.

> Would prefer to try and calm her though

Would a stuffed kong or cardboard box with hidden treats distract her? (thinking along the lines of they can lay down while occupying thierselfs with them). It depends on what her motivation is, my Buster is food obsessed so treats/food will teach him anything but my last dog was motivated by toys.

We've had some good reports from wners who've tried Zylkene with their pets.

I was also going to reccommend zylkene. I've used dorest herbs sculcap and valerian tablets in the past to good effect, but my dogs aren't too phobic so not sure how effective they would be on a really scared dog. Closing all the curtains and playing loudish music (with a drum beat is usually quite useful) and somewhere nice and dark and comfy for the dog to hide in undisturned is probably the best bet.
Long term its worth considering desensitistion using cds.

ive used sculcap and valerian and it didnt make a difference to my dog.  Ive just googled zylkene, I might give that a try this year ......... it will save him trying to jump into bed with me everytime a firework goes off

I don't believe there is anything that can calm my dog - it has started already.  We were out for a walk just after 4 and I thought that I heard what could have been an air gun shot - Meg didn't panic at that point but let me put her lead back on.  Within a few minutes there was a mass of crackling as someone let off some sort of firecracker not far away.  Meg hauled me all the way home.  Will have to try and walk her before the children get out of school from now on.  I try to stay in as much as possible at this time of the year but it is impossible to not leave her alone once or twice in the next 3 months.  Week Sat. is Diwali - must ask the neighbours to check to see if our car is back before they start celebrating. 

Have to say the thing that worked with my lot was actually sitting on the settee with thm and us all staring out of the window watching them and me making silly excitable sounds as they went off.  Every year now for the last four years we all get on the settee and watch them.

Lastar actually smashed down my large wooden garden gates 5 years ago, suppose he'd never seen many fireworks in the Spanish mountains, now he absolutely adores sitting there watching them. 

Fortunately all my dogs are rock solid with fireworks and similar sounds - sorry, that's not a gloat.  Why?  'Cause they were raised with such sounds - a noise CD played by the breeder.  With my youngest, she didn't have this from ears opening stage, but I picked her up at 8 weeks, but had daily access from 7 weeks and played it to her then, with same result.  I also picked up her brother when he was 11 weeks, he was subjected to the noise CD programme and is also rock solid, just as well 'cause he works around helicopters!!
It is possible to desensitise an adult dog to sounds using such a programme, but it does take longer and has to be done 2 or 3 times a day.  Personally I wouldn't start it this close to firework time, but it might be worth considering for when they've subsided.
I have had a dog with a major problem at firework time, so I know how distressing it can be for you and the dog.  No consoling, that's a must.  I know people who use rescue remedy and Kalms.  With my old dog she had to have pills from the vet, very mild sedatives. 

Hi M

Positive reinforcement is the way I would suggest as well but these are very good if all else fails :-)

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00061MR18?ie=UTF8&tag=shopwiki-uk-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738

I used to give Min them after I decided that I wouldn't get her sedated at the vets anymore to get her claws clipped (it used to take two grown men to hold her down ). I was amazed how calm they made her as normally if I showed her some claw clippers and she would be off ! :-D My MIL has also tried them on her GR as she has great anxietyy attacks when she goes in the car and they worked a treat !

Now there's a good thought Lucy, I'm just trying to go through the softly softly approach with my other girl who thinks she's being murdered if you try and cut her front claws, stoopid dog. Be useful to get her out of the habit of worrying. How far in advance did you give them to Min before cutting her nails?

I have tried the CDs of fireworks before, but have never found mine to react to any fireworks on CD or TV, no matter how loud.

Have done some googling on Zylkene and found mixed responses, and have also looked back at some previous Champdogs responses once I remembered the internal google search, and Serene-um seemed recommended, so that's what I ordered this morning.

M.

I think if I remember (as it is a while since she sent to the bridge :-( ) that it was about an hour before I attempted to do it !

In August, there is a firework display on the island, as a culmination of the Regatta week.    Last year we had only just moved in and were not prepared for just how loud they would be, nor how prolonged (or good!) the display would be, and Loki was really freaking out about them.  The others were "oooh ....look at the pretty lights and wow they make more noise than us".   

This year, we thought it through, and decided that we would have to do something before Loki passed her anxiety on to Freya.   We decided that we would put them both into one cosy crate - they rushed to get in together - gave them both a kong and covered the crate with a couple of rugs - giving them a nice secure "cave".    We had the crate in the middle of the sitting room - up quite close to the TV, which we had on.     We went outside - to watch the fireworks - obviously keeping an ear and eye on the crate.   It worked!   They snoozed the night away - to the extent that they didn't even bark when No 1 son came in from the firework display!

I've used Serene-Um too with good results :)

mastiffflower - playing ball is a really interesting idea - inside of course.  It might get rid of some of the excess tension and distract my 13 yr old X collie who is incredibly sound aversive and gets into a terrible state.  Have tried all sorts over the years;last year or 2 have tried breaking her in gently to the noisesvia 'Sounds CD' - just made my Elkhound,Heidi, wary of the noises that she couldn't work out where they were coming from, and did nothing for Tinker

Ima's 1st bonfire night! This could be interesting, glad i have read this post as she is going through a very wierd phase at the moment and do not wish for her to get any worse with her behaviour.  I dread seeing a plastic bag on our walks at the moment, never mind a firework!

my liirt of puppies 35 wekd old have had a cd playing with different sounds it as fireworks on there the cd is crash bang whopp you can get fro pet at home,
i would start playing it now due to the too big events coming up hallown and guys fawks night.
play at a low level then increase over the days to high level

hi christine!i used to hate this time of year!bonfire night?more like bonfire season!but my old dog is partly deaf now and isnt agile enough to sit on my head in bed,anymore,and the pup hasnt learned to be scared yet!I DID find d.a.p. a help,the plug in.ive also seen cds for sale,with     firework noises on,to desensitise them,tho ive never tried one,Time it was banned!

Cautious optimism so far on the Serene-um. Have been giving it twice a day for about 3 weeks now. Thankfully there don't seem to have been many fireworks so far this year, but have had a fair lot going off tonight and she's just been having the odd shake but still lying on the floor instead of trying to bury herself in things or climb round my neck ... and she's even eaten her dinner after a slow start. This would have been unheard of in previous years, let's hope it's not a fluke and she continues to cope better tomorrow night and over the weekend.

M.

Well, lots of fireworks going off around me tonight ... and I don't even know where Lil is! Normally she'd be trying to sit on my head by now, but she's taken herself off somewhere.  Aah, on her bed, head in a corner, but calm. Hooray.

M.

I've used L-tryptophan(used in Serene-um tablets) for one of my dogs with great success.I buy mine from www.myprotein.co.uk,it works out much cheaper than the Serene-um.

We had the calmest night in 3 years with Ollie who is normally a quivering wreck around this time of year.

I have been giving him Serene-Um beginning of this week and just under the recommended dose.  He laid asleep in the middle of the floor not glued to our legs shaking from head too foot.

Brill glad it seems to be working ! :-D