Just A Reminder

[sheepdog 10]

The fourth of July holiday is amost upon us. I just wanted to make my yearly post about the dangers of fire works and pets. So many dogs are terrified of loud noises and panic and escape this time of year. Remember to check your fences and gates and make sure your pets are secure this holiday weekend. If your dog is staked out or you take them on frequent walks, check your leash, tie out cables and make sure to look his colar over carefully, making sure there are no worn or thing places or stitches coming undone.

 

Also, there is now a fairly new product on the market called the Thunder shirt. It is said to ease the stress dogs feel from loud noise, like thunder and fire works, and some other fear conditions. I personally haven't tried it, none of my dogs are that whimpy, but I have read many comments from people who have used it and found it to be fairly helpful in many cases. It wraps around the dogs body snugging him up securly and somehow this give the dog more confidence and makes them less nervous. It might be worth a try if your dog is paranoid about thunder storms and the like.

 

[demonboy1990 0]

I like the way you got the joke in there sheepdog about none of your dogs being that wimpy (least I think it was can not tell American Humour) best that people keep their dogs in when fireworks are going to be used. and just have a good Independence Day (I think that's what you are celebrating on the 4th July yah pretty sure, well just read about the 4th Of July sheepdog sounds a great day with lots of fun for everyone, hope you have a great day on that day and the family, as for the dog thing (your Original Point) my advice would be to keep your dogs in the House during fireworks if you must go out with your dog then keep them on the lead and you should have a great time, don't be stupid bringing the dog right near the fireworks otherwise you are going to get them going crazy.

otherwise happy holidays you lucky American's

[Iniyila 2]

Fire works can make animals frighten and this can cause them to harm themselves. I think horses are more sensitive to loud sounds rather than dogs but anyway i don't have any dog and most people that have dogs around us are keeping their dogs inside their houses so loud sounds of fireworks will not frighten them a lot.Thunder shirts seems to be working ! i have seen many ads about them on TV and also you can see many clips about them on youtube which showing you behavior of a dog before and after wearing it. these shirts are even working for other animals like dogs, i have seen some dogs wearing them outside. Clothes give humans confidence but seems to working on animals too !

[sheepdog 10]

Yes, I was making a joke, glad you caught it.

Oddly, the only dog we have that is afraid of loud noises is our house dog, a mini Schnauzer. And thunder doesn't bother her, the only thing that does in gun shots. I have no idea why. She has certainly never been shot at, we raised her here. But if a gun goes off within a quarter mile of here she heads off for the bedroom and hides under the bed. Poor dog, our neighbor across the road gets in more target practise than we do, so Sissy, (aptly named) gets in a lot of under the bed time. At least fireworks off in the distance aren't bothering her, she's napping on the floor behind me as I type this, and I can hear some fireworks aways off.

 

Bringing your dogs inside is probably the best idea, and if you are going to be home with them that would be fine. However, if you are planing on going out, the dog could also panic while home alone and hurt themselves, or do considerable damage to the inside of the home. I have even heard of an Irish Wolfhound who dove threw a plate glass window. Although that was not because of loud noises. There was a young toddler in the household who had been playing out in the yard and had fallen into a swimming poold and was drowning. The dog saved her life.

The best option would be a dog that is crate trained and having it spend some time during the firworks safe and secure in it's crate.

 

The good news is that dogs can be trained or conditioned to overcome these fears. Gun dogs for example, know it is their job to retrieve birds that have been shot down, so they actually enjoy loud noises, since it means it's time for them to do the job they were born and bred and trained to do.

[demonboy1990 0]

thanks for your comment Sheepdog as always your comment is great to get, I Can't add anything to what i already commented.

[sheepdog 10]

Well, making this post got me to thinking about something else totally unrelated.

Have you ever noticed how old people like to repeat the same old stories over and over when you are having conversations with them? Seriously, if you've ever spent a lot of time around one particular old person, you probably know all of their stories by heart. But of course, you listen again anyway, because if you are a kind and patient person, you wouldn't want to hurt the old fool's feelings by interupting them and telling them to shut up because they had already told you that story.

So....now that I am getting up there, and the fact that I have been here over 6 years now, I'm starting to worry about repeating myself and sounding stupid. Really, I've made so many posts here by now, nearly 2,000, I'm afraid I'm going to start doing the repeat thing. I suppose I thought about this because I do try to remind everyone just before the fourth of July to be careful with their pets, and I do try to make each yearly warning a little different, like this time I added the new information about the Thundershirts, but it is starting to concern me that I may start repeating other posts. I sure don't want to get in trouble for repeating myself, anymore than I want to look like a dummy but I can't possibly remember all the things I have babbled on about in the past 6 years.