04/07/2025
Excellent advice and reminders from my mentor, Julia V. McDonough, at Fortunate K9 Dog & Owner Training.
Welcome to another Training Tip Tuesday!
Since it’s July 2nd it only makes sense that we talk about the giant sparkling wicked loud exploding elephant in the room: FIREWORKS.
The rules are the same every year, so I decided to re-run a 2021 post from the Fortunate K9 student group. But before we begin, please indulge a brief appearance by Captain Obvious:
- Make sure any fencing and gates to your yard are truly secure to prevent a dog escape from your yard.
-Even better, if your dog is spooky, only bring him out ON LEASH and an INESCAPABLE COLLAR to do his business, preferably before the fireworks really start.
- Does your dog have any sort of visible ID with your contact info on it attached to him? Now’s a good time to make that right, just in case.
- If you’re on good terms with your neighbors who host a fireworks party, ask ahead of time what time they’re thinking about starting the festivities so that you can get your dog out before they get going.
- Don’t be the dummy who brings their dog right to Ground Zero where the town is doing their official display or your neighbors are doing theirs. Way too many things can go wrong even if your dog has no issue with the fireworks themselves: big crowds of possibly tipsy people who are wearing minimal-coverage summer clothes while staring into the sky? Sounds like a great place to bring a dog (NOT). Do your dog a huge favor and leave him home for this stuff. Please.
And now, from July 2021, a word to the wise about fireworks and your dogs.
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Hi all, I've seen a couple of posts here and also gotten a few private messages regarding fireworks reactions in dogs.
Right now we're in the thick of it, and my house in East Derry sounds like a warzone. There are four dogs in the house right now: Fox and Pizza don't really care about the fireworks at all. Foster boy Riku is slightly whiny but not freaking out. And Boarding Student Oakley started out nervous but is now much more relaxed even as the intensity of the display hasn't changed.
Best advice right out of the gate?
-If your dog is crate trained, put him in his crate. He will feel much more secure in a familiar place. If necessary, cover it partially (not entirely). Is he safe with a super valuable chew like a marrow bone or a peanut-butter-stuffed Kong? Now's a good time for him to have one IN HIS CRATE.
- If a crate isn't possible for some reason, give your dog access to the bathroom and if he wants to get in the tub, allow him to (this is a common stress reaction in some dogs during loud times). Do NOT allow him to pace or go from window to window.
- Put on some competing noise. Paul has some Miles Davis playing at a decent volume on the first floor where the dogs are. I have students who use white noise machines or who watch action movies with their dogs during loud events.
- DO NOT CODDLE FEARFULNESS. Acting super concerned and nervous yourself is only going to exacerbate the behavior. A calm, matter-of-fact demeanor is a lot more reassuring than a panicky or coddling one. When Oakley was first reacting with nervousness my most involved verbal response was "Wow, that was a big boom! Who cares! Let's go over here and sit for a minute." It's fine to acknowledge a change in environmental distraction but it's a huge mistake to invest a lot of importance in it as you'll create more of a problem than you started with.
- Use your obedience. If your dog hasn't gone completely off the deep end, get into his head with something he can do to control himself: a sit/stay, a place command, a down underfoot. Calm, quiet praise for successful completion. EDITED TO ADD: this suggestion appeared originally in the FK9 student group and was intended for people who train with us. We train in a way that the dog has an understanding of the expectations and will often derive stress relief from “doing his job”. If your dog is unfamiliar or unreliable with obedience training ,ie, you have to bribe or bully him just to get his attention, then please do NOT make things worse for him by demanding something he may not be able to give you. Stay with the management suggestions instead (and pro-tip: get some better training for yourselves! 😊 )
Like all good training and behavior rehab/modification, conditioning a dog to remain calm under this kind of duress may take time, effort and commitment. But other than dogs who have genetic shyness or dogs who are going through age-related hearing changes, there actually are few reasons for dogs to panic at typical levels of fireworks.
Act like you want your dog to act, give him a safe, small place to feel secure, and put on some tunes. This stuff will probably be going on all day and night tomorrow too!
Have a safe and Happy Independence Day!
(That's FK9 student Maverick watching the show from his porch.)
