28/10/2025
Bonfire Night prep is underway 🐾🔥
I gave all my Best Behaviour Dog Training class participants a handy guide to help their pups cope with the fireworks noise and stress 💖. From creating safe spaces to desensitisation tips, hoping it helps everyone have a calmer night 🐾
Helping Your Dog Through Bonfire Night
Preparation is key, and the best strategies involve layering different calming techniques.
1. Prepare Your Home: Create a Safe Haven
The goal is to create a secure, sound-dampened "den" where your dog can retreat and feel protected.
Create a Den: Dogs instinctively seek out enclosed spaces when stressed. Use a crate, cover a dining table with thick blankets, or designate a closet or interior room (like a bathroom or utility room).
Fill the space with familiar items: their bed, favourite blanket, and an item that smells like you (an old t-shirt).
Crucially, set this up days or weeks in advance so your dog associates it with comfort, not just fear.
Block Noise and Light:
Close all windows and draw curtains/blinds to block flashes and dampen sound.
Turn on the TV, radio, or calming dog-specific music (classical or reggae have been recommended) to help mask the sound of explosions. Turn it up slightly louder than normal.
Secure the Exits: Ensure all doors, windows, and garden gates are securely fastened, as a panicked dog can injure themselves or try to escape.
2. Manage Routine and Exercise
Stick to a normal routine as much as possible, but adjust the timing.
Walk Early: Take your dog out for their main walk of the day well before dusk (e.g., before 4:00 PM). Ensure they get plenty of exercise and mental stimulation (sniffing, training) to tire them out.
Final Toilet Break: Take your dog outside for their last potty break on a secure lead, even if you have a fenced garden. A sudden firework could cause them to bolt.
Feed Early: Ensure their dinner is served early so they have time to digest it before the noise starts. An anxious dog may refuse food later.
3. Stay Calm and Offer Comfort
Your dog takes emotional cues from you. How you act is vital.
Stay Calm: Act as normally as possible. If you appear stressed or fuss over them excessively, it can reinforce to the dog that there is something to be worried about.
Provide Reassurance (When Sought): The old advice to ignore a frightened dog is generally considered outdated and harmful. If your dog seeks comfort, give it calmly.
Speak in a quiet, soothing voice.
Allow them to lean on you or hide near you.
Offer a gentle, sustained touch, but avoid frantic petting.
Distraction: When the fireworks start, try to distract them with a long-lasting, high-value chew, a frozen Kong stuffed with their favourite treat, or a puzzle toy. Licking and chewing are naturally calming activities.
Never Punish: If your dog whines, paces, barks, or has an accident, never punish them. This is a fear response and punishment will only increase their stress.
4. Calming and Veterinary Aids
If your dog is severely phobic, these aids can help, but should ideally be introduced in advance.
Pheromone Diffusers: Products like Adaptil (Dog Appeasing Pheromone) release a synthetic version of the pheromone a mother dog produces to comfort her puppies. Plug these into the room where your dog will be resting. They need time to build up an effect, so plug them in about a week before.
Compression Garments: Items like the ThunderShirt or anxiety wraps apply gentle, constant pressure, which can have a calming, swaddling effect for some dogs.
Desensitisation (Long-Term): For next year, you can start a desensitisation and counter-conditioning program using firework sound recordings played at a low volume while rewarding your dog for calm behaviour. Gradually increase the volume over time.
Medication/Supplements: If your dog suffers severely, consult your vet well in advance. They may recommend:
Natural calming supplements
Prescription anti-anxiety medication. These must be discussed with and prescribed by a vet, and often need to be administered hours before the fireworks start.
5. Safety First
Check ID: Ensure your dog is microchipped and that your contact details are up to date on the registry.
Collar and Tag: Make sure your dog is wearing a collar with an ID tag showing your current phone number, just in case they panic and escape.
