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Originally Posted by Draco  Draco is 5 months too : ). And best bet is to try to desensitize them to loud sounds. Try to distract them toys, treats, and playing. Kind have to get them used to like you have to do with vacuum, sirens, motorcycles, etc. You can find videos with the same sounds to start them off raising the volume and giving them treats or whatever.
I live 2 blocks from a fire station, and 3 from a police station so luckily I don't have to worry about Draco too much and loud noises. |
Good post. During playing firecrackers going off on the stereo or computer, you can feed your dog a treat or get the dog busy chasing a ball or jumping around having fun with you. It really does help to plan ahead and get your dog used to loud sounds ahead of time and then stay very very calm and matter of fact when the fireworks do start. Don't look at the dog immediately or react in any way except to toss a ball or go get treats or get the dog working at running around jumping and playing. It's work but in the long run it helps your dog see loud noises as just another part of life. Also, playing your white noise or the stereo loudly with upbeat music can help to defuse the power of the sound from the fireworks if you are home and not at the park. If you go to the park, it is good to have a carrier for the dog and a blanket to cover it as a place to go inside if they won't play or interact with you during the loud display and want to "den" for solace. And if the dog is very panicked, you'll have to take the dog away to avoid a terrible fear situation later on and over time desensitize them for next year. Having a Thundershirt at the ready couldn't hurt either if you have gotten earlier signals that your dog has noise-related fear.