Tips & Advice for Your Dogs During Halloween & Fireworks Season

This can be a scary time for dogs, especially those that are anxious or nervous but in fact many dogs can find this period quite unsettling.

Please do take all the necessary measures to keep your dogs safe and supported as much as you possibly can around Halloween & when fireworks might be going off.

Halloween can be as challenging as fireworks for many dogs, with lots of knocking on the door and strange voices, children out on the streets and strange looking costumes and decorations both inside and outside homes.

SAFETY & MANAGEMENT

Ensure all family members know to secure your dog before opening the door. I hear all too often of dogs that have escaped through an open front door on both Halloween and around fireworks time.

Ensure all family members are aware that your dog may not wish to be touched when in a fearful state, especially children. A dog that is highly stressed and trying to cope with feeling afraid is highly likely to bite a child that tries to touch them, even though they may normally be the best of friends. Teach your children to give your dog space if they look upset or unsettled.

Walk your dog during daylight hours if at all possible. If you have to walk them of an evening, keep your walk as short as possible, do pee’s & poo’s (your dog not you!) and then head home and make up their walk time with alternative mentally stimulating activities and enrichment, that can also help settle them.

If you live in a busy and built up area and have to walk your dog in the evenings, is it possible to drive them anywhere quieter for their walk, even a quieter neighbourhood where it's less likely to have lots of activity or fireworks being let off randomly.

Ensure your equipment is appropriate for your dog. Have them wear an additional safety back up if there is any danger of them panicking and escaping a collar or harness. Have a double ended lead clipped on both a harness and a collar and if you think there is a very real danger of your dog escaping, use the back up of a slip lead but as a secondary measure (so your dog is not walked with the slip lead in play, it is only there in the event of an emergency)

Avoid having your dog off lead around this time of year. It can only take one incident for your dog to bolt in the unfortunate event of fireworks being let off unexpectedly, Keep them on a lead or long line for extra freedom so you can keep them safe. This can apply even in daytime (More details below)

Take your dog into the garden for pee’s and poo’s late afternoon before all the activities start. Most dogs would be able to hold then through the night, but if they need to, a quick visit to the garden as late as possible after everything has finished (hopefully!)

Always supervise your dogs in the garden at this time of year. Fireworks, as we know, can be let of at any time of the day and if you are there to offer them support should anything go off, this can help to minimize the degree of fear and ensure they don’t try to escape in a panic. Keep your nervous or anxious dog on a long line as these dogs could be determined to escape if terrified.

Make sure your microchip details and ID tags are up to date. Just in case the worst should happen.

RECOMMENDATIONS TO HELP YOUR FEARFUL/ANXIOUS DOG ON THE ACTUAL DAYS / NIGHTS

MEDICATION: If you know your dog struggles with fireworks, please do speak to your Vet well ahead of time, to see if they can support your dog with some fast acting anti-anxiety medication that could be given as and when needed.

BE NORMAL: Remain Calm Yourself and go about things as normal! Our body language and behaviour can have a significant impact on our dogs, they are very adept at social referencing! If we are all antsy and worrying about trying to help them feel better, our anxiety and weird behaviour can increase their anxiety. If you do find you're feeling a little anxious because your dog is getting upset, focus on taking some deep belly breaths, relaxing & dropping your shoulders, softening your face muscles to help shift your energy into a more relaxed and positive state.

FOOD: Feed your dog a good hour before any fireworks are expected. The 'full tummy feeling' can help them feel calmer.

EXERCISE: Provide your dog with an appropriate amount of exercise during the day - this does not necessarily mean run them around or go for a crazy long walk, a nice sniffing walk can actually be more tiring and relaxing than getting your dog ramped up by a high arousing long & energetic walk.

RELAXATION: Provide your dog with additional relaxation and decompression activities during the daytime as well as evening (see below for some suggestions of enrichment activities)

SPACE MANAGEMENT

Keep all doors and windows closed and draw all the curtains to keep the flashes minimized and help dull the noise.
Turn on the lights to help reduce the effect of the flashes
Allow your dog to choose what they want to do. Avoid trying to cajole them into doing something you feel will help them. Support them as best you can in the choices they make.
- Some want to run and hide and be left alone
- Some want to be cuddled tight
- Some want to be with you or close to you but not necessarily cuddled or touched

You could set up an area of the house especially for your dog, ideally a room where they are most comfortable and one you can close off to as much external noise as possible, as long as they aren't going to panic about being in a closed off room.

You can provide your dog with a safe space to hide if that’s what they want to do

Cover a crate and fill with cosy bedding to make a den
Make a blanket den behind a chair or sofa and fill with cosy bedding
Block off the sides of a table and create a cosy area underneath the table for them

POSSIBLE OPTIONS FOR ANXIETY REDUCTION

THUNDERSHIRT or ANXIETY WRAPS: These can be highly effective for some dogs and I do know of many Romanian dogs who have even shown improvement in terms of reduced anxiety and fear through simply wearing a jumper or one of the surgical suits - again, this will be dependent on your dog as an individual, please do not force your dog to wear something if this isn't something they're not used to doing.

NATURAL HERBAL REMEDIES: Ideally start giving these a couple of weeks before hand. These are things that can assist with calming anxious dogs alongside other measures, but they will not calm an anxious dog all by themselves.

Rescue Remedy (Bach Flowers)
Valerian & Scullcap
Adaptil plug in

TTOUCH OR MASSAGE: If your dog wants to be touched then doing TTouch or massage on them can be a great way to help them cope and relax a little - please bear in mind though, many dogs when in a fearful state don't want to be touched - know the signs.

Go ahead and reassure your dog if that's what they want or need and seek from you. YOU WILL NOT REINFORCE THEIR FEAR this has been scientifically disproven so please, support your dogs when they are scared, anything else is just inhumane. CLICK HERE to read a wonderful article by Patricia McConnell on this

SELF SOOTHING ENRICHMENT ACTIVITIES: If your dog is awake and reasonably ok but clearly concerned, then a super tasty enrichment activity may be great at helping distract them and remain calm. Enrichment activities are not just about novel ways to feed treats or food, they encourage our dogs to engage in instinctive behaviours that have a calming effect on them. Sniffing and snuffling, chewing and licking are all activities that help our dogs to naturally relax themselves.

Snuffle mats or sprinkled treats all over the floor
Folded towels full of sprinkled treats in all the folds so your dog has to rummage and snuffle
Bowls or boxes filled with scrunched up paper, plastic balls or your dogs toys, sprinkled with tasty treats so they have to rummage through the objects to snuffle out the treats.
Stuffed Kongs, K9 Connectables or Calcium Bones
Muffin trays smeared with yummy things and sprinkled with treats
Deer Antlers, Yak Chews and other such natural power chews

PLAY: Some dogs can even be encouraged to engage in games, which can be a great way to distract them and help them cope and relieve tension, but please do not keep on at your dog to play if they’re clearly not showing interest in doing so, this will only add to their anxiety. Tug, Rough and Tumble, Chase and find it games can all be great distracting tension busters.

I have been known to burst out laughing when a big bang goes off!… and I gotta tell you, in the space of less than 3 seconds my boy’s face went from ‘Shit! What was that bang!’ to ‘Ooooh Mother whatcha laughing at’ with a visible softening of his body, only slight but visible nonetheless.

This may have no impact at all on a dog that suffers with extreme fear or anxiety at this time of year, but for those that are more mildly affected it could be a useful interrupter and mood lightener.

Once the worst of the fireworks are over, calming or classical music can be ideal for helping soothe your dog and bring their anxiety levels back down together with TTouch, if your dog likes/wants to be touched and/or a licking, chewing type of enrichment activity to help them rebalance their stress levels.

CALMING MUSIC, WHITE NOISE & NOISE MASKING OPTIONS

You can play moderate to loud music depending on your dogs sensitivity. Many people recommend classical music, and although this has been found to have a calming effect on dogs, you could also try music with a louder and more regular beat which may be more effective at lessening the impact of the bangs, as long as they’re not upset by the music.

Putting the washing machine on can also be a good noise masking activity, depending on where it is in the house of course.

Also using fans in the room where your dog is, or is likely to be can be a good way to mask the external noises, as you then not only have the hum of the fan but also the fan pushes the air around the room, bouncing it off the walls and breaking up the sound waves.

Click HERE to download a Family Dog Mediation FREE GUIDE for using fans to mask noise.

You could also try a white noise app such as Rain which has been found to be effective at masking the noises and a member in our private Facebook group has also mentioned that Alexa has an app that provides a range of white noise options which may be useful.

I personally use Solfeggio frequency music and I know many of my clients and members in the Adopters Coaching Group report this as being beneficial. I also have my dogs pre-conditioned to this music, so it helps put them in a more relaxed state.

There has also been quite a few reports of Taiko Drumming music being effective at both calming and masking the bangs of fireworks. I've added some links below to some of these options.

Scientists have developed short films to soothe cats and dogs on Bonfire Night – narrated by Dr Who star David Tennant. In response, insurance firm More Than has launched the world’s first film antidotes, which they claim are scientifically designed to reduce stress in our pets. Click HERE to find a link to the Woofering Heights Video

Although the films may seem abstract to adults, we’re told they are perfect for pets, with content scientifically proven to induce ‘feelings of relaxation and sleep’. The film is even shot in a dog’s colour spectrum of blues and yellows.

In addition to compiling an in-depth academic report, expert Karen Wild consulted on both productions to ensure they would stay true to the research and counter the effects of noise phobia.

She said: “These films may seem strange to humans, but it’s important to realise that cats and dogs do not perceive the world in the same way we do and will respond to completely different audio and visual stimuli.

“Hopefully these films, in conjunction with other veterinary-approved measures, can have a positive effect on cats and dogs that suffer from noise phobia.”

CLICK HERE FOR A LINK TO 3 Hours of Relaxation Music specifically for dogs and animals

I have also found that playing calming frequency music on a regular basis during the days and evenings around firework season can have a positive impact on a dogs baseline stress level on a daily basis. This is also something that could also have a positive impact on how well they cope with Fireworks season.

CLICK HERE FOR A LINK TO Solfeggio frequency music

CLICK HERE FOR A LINK to Taiko Drum Music

START YOUR NOISE MASKING EARLY: Whatever music or white noise you choose, start playing it well before any planned fireworks are due to start, have it playing at a moderate level and then calmly increase the volume when you know the fireworks are about to begin. This can help prevent your dog getting into a panic state rather than you quickly dashing around putting things on once your dog has already heard the fireworks and escalated into a stress state, which then takes time for them to recover from.

BELT & BRACES AT WALKIES TIME THROUGHOUT THE HALLOWEEN & FIREWORKS PERIOD.

I usually recommend to people, especially those with anxious and nervous dogs and Romanian rescues or foreign rescues to restrict or avoid off lead walks altogether for a week or so around this time.

Even if you’re walking your dog during the daytime, if they have been upset by people knocking on your door, strange costumes and fireworks, their stress levels and anxiety can still be elevated even the next day, especially if there have been repeated incidents.

This means they could be more likely to react to things they wouldn’t normally and more likely to be affected by things they may not be normally.

This also means, for a dog that has been really upset by fireworks, you could let them off lead the day after an evening of fireworks around your home, and the mere sound of a car back firing or a gas gun going off could be enough to have your dog running in a complete panic reaction.

Keep them on a long line attached to a harness ideally so they can still roam and sniff but will be safely attached to you.

Your dog won’t die from not being let off lead for a couple of weeks or so, but they could die from bolting in panic because something startles them when they’re already in an elevated stress state.

LONGER TERM SOLUTIONS

You can of course use sound therapy to begin desensitising and counter conditioning your dogs to fireworks, thunder etc but this will be of little use if fireworks night is upon you. This work needs to be done over a long period and repeated often to ensure your dog is fully habituated and relaxed around the sounds.

There is some basic guidance on how to do this in this article by the Blue Cross HERE

Some dogs, however, are simply very sound sensitive and even with sound therapy can struggle to cope with bangs and fireworks. I would recommend speaking to your Vet to discuss possible medication options that may be able to support your dog through this period and at times when needed.

Please stay safe this Halloween and fireworks season and I hope these tips will help you to help your dog be less affected by all the shenanigans!

Categories: : Fearful Romanian Dogs, Living with Romanian Rescue Dogs, Understanding Your Romanian Dog