Puppy Afraid Of Fireworks, What To Do?

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 Taking the fear of fires out of the puppy will not always be possible, especially if he has unpredictable reactions or very ingrained in his behavior. However, working with him to gradually raise awareness is possible, and there are also some tips that can help make the puppy calmer and more peaceful.


These are very useful and simple tricks to carry out, appropriate for times of artificial fires, so that our dog feels comfort and security while redirecting his behavior to something more appropriate.


Read on and find out what to do if your dog is afraid of fireworks.

 


Why is the dog afraid of fireworks?

It is completely normal for a puppy to be frightened by loud noises. In the most severe cases, these animals have the impulse to run away, to hide, to bark, to drool, to shake and even to break objects. But why do they do this?

Among the most common causes are bad experiences, an aspect of the dog's own personality (it is very shy, distrustful, and fearful), or on the other hand, poor socialization related to a lack of habituation in the face of loud noises and pyrotechnics.

However, fear of fires can also develop without bad experiences, even if the dog since puppyhood has been well socialized with this type of noises and situations. Some diseases or the loss of some of its senses (deafness, blindness...) can foster the appearance of fears and phobias.

The Importance of Our Reaction

Although you may not believe it, our reaction to the dog's behavior is fundamental to the acquisition of phobias. Running away at full speed with him, petting him, dedicating words of reassurance, etc, are acts that reinforce the behavior that the dog is having without us realizing it. by trying to reassure we are only reinforcing a fearful and evasive attitude that does not benefit our best friend at all.

The best thing is to try to maintain a normal attitude (as much as possible) by trying to ignore the fearful behaviors that the puppy may have, doing this with a calm and quiet attitude. We should not touch, pet or reward him in any case.

Removing the fear of fires through awareness
If we have time before the holidays arrive, we can try to carry out a gradual sensitization process that will help us get the puppy used to the presence of fires, noises, and lues in general.

This process is suitable for many different types of phobias and fears, but we must be very cautious and carry it out step by step with great caution. Never follow this process if your puppy reacts aggressively or unpredictably to fires. Find out how to sensitize your puppy step by step:

1. Choose a reinforcer for your puppy

Since we are going to work on sensitization using positive reinforcement, it is essential to have a potent motivation for the puppy at our fingertips. A handful of puppy snacks will usually suffice, but it can also be helpful to use his toys. You should always choose with the dog's preferences in mind.

2. Relax Puppy

Before starting the awareness session we should prepare the puppy to be calm and relaxed. This will favor the acceptance of the stimulus to which we intend to habituate him. For this we can carry out a game of fetch, which consists in scattering pieces of food, that we have previously chosen, on the floor. The puppy will spend time sniffing and searching, and this provides him with relaxation and well-being. Cuddles, kisses, and a very positive attitude cannot be missed. You can also help yourself with the use of synthetic pheromones.

3. Prepare a video with fireworks

It is important that you prepare in advance so that the volume is not at maximum and provoke fear and confusion in the dog. Choose a video where you can clearly hear the fires, but keep the volume very low, almost imperceptible. This Japanese artificial fireworks can help.

4. Continue the search game and the video for 5 minutes

Scatter pieces of food on the floor again so that the puppy continues to search for the food and does not focus his attention on the noise of the fires. Do not attempt to pet or reward directly. This process will help keep him distracted and relate the fires to a fantastic reward. After 5 minutes turn off the video or audio and continue as if nothing happened. Our attitude should be calm and cool.

Probably in this first session your puppy may be a little scared and suspicious and will not achieve 100% a state of relaxation. No matter, it is better to advance a little than not advance at all, feel satisfied if for a moment he was distracted from the noise and kept looking for food.

5. Practice daily

The key to sensitization is to continue the process for as long as necessary: a week, a fortnight, a month... It doesn't matter how long, but that the puppy at all times feels comfortable, safe and rewarded.

The sessions should last about 5 minutes to overload or overstimulate the puppy. It is very important that we keep in mind that this is a gradual process that may cost time and effort on our part.

Finally, we recommend that you stop the session if at any time you observe an aggressive, excessively altered or inappropriate attitude from your puppy. Your puppy's well-being and yours must come first.



Tips to keep your puppy from being afraid of fires

However, if you don't have time to follow an awareness process or don't have the skills to do so, you can follow these tips for the day of fires:

To begin with, it is recommended not to leave a puppy with fears alone, especially if it is a severe case, since you run the risk of an accident occurring. More than a destroyed furniture, the real panic can cause damage in your home and favor a domestic accident. It is best that you accompany him these days or supervise him every x amount of time.

Choose the quietest place in the house to create a "nest" where it can take refuge. You can use his own bed, a blanket, and a couple of large pillows to create a makeshift refuge where he can hide. This is very useful since it will feel comfortable. In this quiet place there should be no lack of water and food, they should be close by so that it doesn't have to move all over the house.

Keep him away from noise by lowering the blinds and preparing a playlist with relaxing music.

Don't reinforce the fearful behavior with treats or cuddles. Only treat him when he is calm, and try playing with the little ball or practicing intelligence games to distract him.
Following these tricks will isolate the puppy from the environment, favoring a state of calm and relaxation, away from the stress of the holidays or June parties.

Severe cases of fear of fires

In these situations the ideal is to resort to a professional, whether it is a veterinarian, a canine educator, an ethologist or a trainer. It is very important to resort to people who have been trained specifically for this if we fear a bad reaction or if our dog's well-being is severely affected by showing symptoms of stress and anxiety.

Specific medication or homeopathic remedies that relax our puppy in such circumstances are usually recommended.

Advice

*Thoroughly review the effectiveness of your puppy's collar or harness
*Don't force his interaction to the stimulus that causes him fear
*Don't reinforce fearful behavior
*Consult a professional if the situation is serious



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