How to prepare your dog around Fireworks:

It's that time of year again when fireworks light up the sky for Halloween, Bonfire Night, Christmas, and New Year's. So here is a blog about how to help your dog with the loud bangs, making it a little less stressful for the both of you.

Desensitise your dog to fireworks

Throughout the next few months you can practise in preparation for Christmas and New years playing fireworks on Youtube at a low volume, gradually increasing the sound as your dog becomes desensitised.  If your dog is calm and relaxed you can reward with their food to reinforce the calm behaviour whilst they get used to the noise. I recommend hand feeding your dogs daily food allowance as treats during these moments to help provide a positive association with the fireworks. This means that you get rid of the food bowl and pop your dog’s daily food allowance in a treat pouch for a few training sessions each day. (If you feed raw then you can put the food in a squeezy bottle or a silicone treat pouch and gloves if you don’t want to touch it). These sessions don’t need to be long, just a few 5 minute sessions per day to keep them nice and short. This means that all their food comes from you, building your relationship and providing a positive association with firework noises. You can also use a toy to play with your dog or give them a chew whilst the fireworks are going off to provide a positive association and keep them occupied, learning that the bangs are nothing to be scared of.

Crate Training Crate training can be beneficial for many reasons. A crate can provide a safe place for your dog to settle in a den-like environment. You can even use a blanket over the crate (leave a gap at the bottom to allow some air ventilation) to make it seem more enclosed. This can help them settle and relax, especially whilst the fireworks are going off. However, you need to crate train them first so that they are comfortable in the crate and understand that it is a place for them to settle. You cannot just put them in a crate during fireworks without them having been in one before and understanding how to behave in a crate. Place Training You can teach your dog to settle on a place command. A place is any obvious boundary, such as a bed or mat. Your dog should remain on the place until told otherwise and be released from the bed. This can teach your dog to settle, giving them something to focus on as they shouldn’t be able to just get up, and so once they understand this command and behaviour you can practise whilst you play the fireworks on Youtube, rewarding any calm behaviour and work on desensitisation.

No over reassuring If your dog appears frightened from the fireworks the last thing you want to do is start stroking and baby talking to your dog saying ‘it’s ok’. If that worked then it would make everything a lot easier with dogs and I probably wouldn’t have a job! However, it doesn’t and actually can reinforce the nervous behaviour as you are stroking and rewarding the dog. Instead, you want to remain calm and confident around your dog as they will feed off your own emotions. 

Background noise Whilst the fireworks are going off you can put the TV, radio or some white noise on in the background to help fade out the firework bangs. 

Walks before dark If your dog is nervous of firework noises then you can walk them during the day to avoid taking them out at night when fireworks may be going off.

If you have any questions about this blog, your dog's training or a specific issue you need help with don’t hesitate to get in contact! The email is training@raecanine.com