Hi All

My westie is terrible with fireworks, but only when we are around him, if he has gone to bed in the conservatory and they start going off he does not make a sound but if they go off in the evening when we are up with him he is terrible, pacing up and down whining and panting, i cannot do anything with him, i have tried to calm him down but this does not work, he gets out the garden barking his head off then comes back in pacing and whining again. I cannot seem to think he is frightened of them as surely he would bark when he was on his own but he doesn't, we don't hear anything from him.
He is not scared to go into the garden when they are going off, if only i could stop him pacing and whining, has anybody got any suggestions as to what i can do with him as he is driving us mad!!! I feel sorry for him but cannot understand why when he is on his own he does not make a noise, but when we are up makes a terrible din. Any suggestions i would be very grateful to hear, or if anybody else has got a dog that reacts like this when they are around people but when on there own is fine with fireworks.

Thanks
Helen

Just a thought, has anyone tried L-Theanine?

HI

What is L-Theanine?

Most holistic vets will prescribe it. It is a calming aminoacid http://www.painstresscenter.com/mall/LT.asp. this page will explain it more in detail. sorry cant do links yet
Kay

I would say that you trying to console him is making him worse, as he perhaps thinks he has to protect you from these things that worry you?  Ignore his reactions completely or shut him on his own if that is when he does not react.

My youngest (13 months) at the moment is reacting to them by running in and out the kitchen and barking at them, at times setting the others off.  Now on walks they don't bat an eyelid at them, so irritating as her behaviour is I don't want to foster a worry by consoling her.

The last few nights here it is like Beirut :( :(

I think you have answered your question yourself. If he is only like that around you. Have you tried ignoring him? I ignore mine who I thought was frightened and now he has a bit grump and thats it, before he would bark for ages but that was when I was trying to console him. A bit like when kids fall down, if you console them they can cry forever but if you ignore them they get up and carry on playing. (sometimes) Its worth trying. It might take a couple of days.  Don't even make eye contact as he is looking to see your reaction. If you don't give one hopefully he won't. If that doesn't work do a search on fireworks there are loads of sugesstions on here.

Yes we ignore Tally too..she is ok with them, someone told me that dogs see yawning as meaning that you are relxed so I throw a couple of fake yawns in too if there are loads going on! my mothin in Laws dog is scared of them (cinamon is 13 so not really going to change) she gets some plug in hormone things from the vets - makes them both sleep tho!!!!

Hi

Thanks for you reply, we have tried to ignore him but it did not seem to work, my Mum was concerned last night that he was going to have a heart attack where he was panting so much, his body was totally rigid where he was so tense, he was just pacing the house whining and shaking his head around and could not settle, i told my Mum to just ignore him as she was sitting on the floor with him, he was not taking a blind bit of notice of her because he was listening for the bangs all the time.
Tonight i will ignore him and not make eye contact and see if that helps, he gets so worked up and he loves getting out the garden barking his head off at them, i know some dogs are terrified to go outside but he doesn't care he goes beserk to get out the garden, Mum was not keen to leave him out there incase they frightened him but i really don't think he is that scared i think he is just protecting us. It is just not nice to hear him whining and panting so much, he gets himself in such a state!!
Thanks again
Helen

My westie is the same first it was all the people dressed up for halloween (he hates masks) then the fireworks I don't know who gets more of a fright  because the stupid people who set them off really late at night when we are in bed. He starts barking and howling wish I could catch them and I know where I would put the rockets and bangers................

Hi

Thanks for your reply, i think it must just be westie's in general that seem to all react to the fireworks, hamish has been awful the last 2 nights they have been really loud and overhead and he has been pacing the floor panting and whining it sounds as if he is going to have a heartattack!!! I asked at the vets and they said other than sedating him with pills it pays just to completely ignore him not even making eye contact with him, we have tried this but it has done no good, when he gets out the garden he barks and barks and jumps around trying to find where the noise is coming from, it is a shame really because they don't know what the noise is. Hopefully they will stop soon, but the damn things seem to go on for weeks at a time, and they get louder each year!!!
How old is your westie? Does yours pant and whine or just bark?

Helen

None of my westies get in a state over the fireworks. They will let the odd bark out of they hear loud ones but dont bother much.  I am sure 2 of my girls would chase them if they got the opportunity :-)  Our labrador is the one that has been a bit shaken this year as we had more than the usual around us even at 3am this morning. :-( I got the fright of my life.

Pam

Could he be reacting because he cannot get out to bark rather than reacting to the fireworks?

You say he is okay in the conservatory on his own. Have you tried putting him there on his own when he starts reacting?

Sheena

Have you tried popping cottonwool in his ears, to dull the noise.

Some dogs just react really badly to the high pitch of the fireworks, as their hearing is super sensitive and it hurts their ears.

Just a thought as you siad he was shaking his head.

My 2year old border collie has for the first time reacted to fireworks the last two years she wasnt bothered. it was distressing to see her so scared poor wee mite was actually shaking but we ignored her and carried on as usuall I did find turning the telly up a wee bit helped her and she settled down once they had stopped but I found she wouldnt go out side and evenutally she ended up weeing on the kitchen floor some thing that only very rarely happens if she is left for a long time.

Maisie starts barking at the door, i think she thinks someones there, when i open the door and she sees no one is she stops and they dont bother her. Its her first bombfire night, shes more protective than scared. 

I was talking with neighbour yesterday about the fireworks she has a staffie and had to get the vet to give her stuff to sedate the poor thing last year as she was totally beside herself I just wish the people who have the fireworks could see some of the damage those things do to our poor dogs but I guess they wouldnt care

I tried the yawning thing with Millie last night (she alternates between completely ignoring fireworks, or barking like mad - last night was a barking night).  Made no difference unfortunately, but was worth a try!

Anyway, OH was in the dining room on the PC and got up and closed the door when she was barking loudly. I was so outraged that he chose to do this, leaving me to deal with the barking dog that I went in there too, closed the door behind me and sat down at my pc and left her barking at the kitchen door on her own.

She stopped.

I went back out and sat in the living room and she came in to see me.  Five minutes later, she started barking madly at the kitchen door again.

So I went back into the dining room and closed the door behind me again.  She stopped.

I went back to the living room, she went into the hall and laid down and slept for the next two hours.

Bliss!  I know what I'll be doing in future! :-D