04/11/2025
The F word.
Let's talk about fireworks.
Even though I'd rather not, as I've had more than enough of them already.
But I've seen that much well-meaning and not-so well-meaning nonsense in facebook groups in recent days, this post has been bubbling away in my head and now it's going to have to explode out. Like a firework if you will.
I’m not expecting this to educate anyone who has a difference of opinion to me. Because - fun fact - that’s never happened a single time in the whole history of the internet.
What I am hoping it will do is to help some of those people who have spent the last few nights (or weeks, depending on where you live) - to remind you that it’s not your fault, and you’re not alone.
So, here goes.
If your dog is scared of fireworks, you didn't make them scared because you don’t like fireworks.
I’m just going to put that again in capitals in case you missed it the first time.
IF YOUR DOG IS SCARED OF FIREWORKS, YOU DIDN’T MAKE THEM SCARED BECAUSE YOU DON’T LIKE FIREWORKS.
If your dog ISN'T scared of fireworks, it might be because you put in the time and effort to get them used to the sounds they make.
And if you did that, all credit to you.
But there are also tonnes of people that did that and their dogs STILL ended up scared of fireworks.
And there are also tonnes of people that didn’t do that and their dogs DIDN'T end up scared of fireworks.
Then there’s also the: “I’ve had dogs all my life and none of them have been scared of fireworks - you just need to train them”
If you’ve had dogs all your life - and by the way, any time you start a sentence with “I’ve had dogs all my life and…”, the rest of the sentence isn’t scientific evidence, it’s just your anecdote. I’m not doubting that it’s true, but it’s not relevant or helpful to anyone else.
I digress.
If you’ve had dogs all your life and none of them have been scared of fireworks, then I envy you greatly for never having to witness a dog panting, drooling, and shaking, with their little heart beating so hard and so fast it feels like it’s going to pop out of their body.
But just because none of your dogs have been, it doesn’t detract from the reality that literally millions of dogs (and cats and horses and wildlife and vulnerable people) ARE scared of fireworks every single year.
And there is a whole lot more as to whether a dog is sensitive to noises, and how resilient they are to that sensitivity - than just whether you've “trained them not to be scared” or not.
Off the top of my head: genetics, the temperament and disposition of the parents, stressful experiences of the mum during pregnancy, early learning history, single event learning, breed characteristics, the presence of pain or discomfort … all these things and more can play a part.
So the fact that you’ve had dogs all your life and none of them have been scared of fireworks? It’s not because you’re a dog whisperer. It’s just that when you rolled the nature and nurture dice for each of your dogs, you hit a six each time. It's just that you were lucky.
It saddens me that some people are also still trotting out the “if you reassure them then you're reinforcing their fear” line…
If you don’t comfort a sentient being who is petrified, if you just ignore them while they scrabble and scratch at the door in desperate panic because they think it’s safer outside, if you just ignore them while they spin and twist on the other end of lead because you took them out for a walk before it got dark and then some f*cking numpty set off a rocket in broad daylight - well I don’t honestly think you should be responsible for that sentient being anymore. I don’t think you should be responsible for any sentient being. Or probably even for tying your own shoelaces. And you definitely shouldn’t be giving out advice to anyone else.
I’m not hating on fireworks. Ironically I actually love a good firework display - it’s just I haven’t been able to go to one for the best part of ten years because we can't leave Alice by herself.
(She was fine the first year we had her, she used to sit on the window sill and watch them, not a care in the world. The next time bonfire night came round, she didn't like them at all and she's been the same ever since, regardless of what we've tried. This year she’s not been as bad in the house when she hears them - I do think her hearing might be going a bit with old age - but outside it’s the worst she's ever been… she doesn't even want to go out for a wee in the morning anymore, and if I carry her out she just stands and trembles 😭)
I'm not a firework hater. But personally, I would prefer it if the sale of fireworks to the public was banned, and there were only displays run by professionals, so you knew when and where they would be on, and could make arrangements to avoid them. Like we did on Saturday night when we parked up on the moor for half an hour to miss the big display at the cricket ground.
Alice’s physio made a stunningly good point at the weekend. How do we live in a country where you have to demonstrate your competence before you’re allowed to use a ladder at work, but yet the general public can buy explosives and set them off in their back gardens? I would say sign a petition, but I’ve signed so many of them that make the rounds this time of year, I’ve lost faith that any such legislation is ever going to come into force.
So instead, we will continue to camp out in our bedroom each evening, as for whatever reason that's the room that Alice feels most comfortable in (thank god she didn't pick the bathroom 🙈) with the laptop turned up loud, meds from the vets and peanut butter laden lickimats at the ready. And wish the week away til Friday night, when we're going away to a cottage in the middle of nowhere on Anglesey.
Ooof I feel better for writing / ranting that 🤣 I hope some of you feel better for reading it 🥰
