Dog Safety Tips For The Fourth of July

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I remember reading Marley & Me a few years back and the terror poor Marley felt the first time he was home alone when a thunderstorm struck. He tried all he could do to get out of the house (I believe he was in the garage). I recall that he even dug at the door or maybe dry wall so much that his paws were bleeding.

Photo by Foxypar4

Why am I bringing up Marley and thunderstorms? Because the Fourth of July is right around the corner and that means loud noises and scared dogs. In the past my black lab Stetson has not been afraid of thunderstorms. However, my Aussie mix, Linus is a completely different story. Fourth of July is Linus’s least favorite holiday.

Now you’re probably wondering what can I do to keep my dogs and puppies safe during the holidays? Something to remember is that your dog may be frightened when the fireworks start going off and it’s a good idea to keep him in doors (we don’t want him running away). If you’re like me and you lived in a neighborhood where they allow fireworks in the streets or some rowdy teens are firing off bottle rockets a couple house down then you are probably experiencing the loud sounds of piccolo petes or ground bloom flowers. Linus was more frightened the week prior to the Fourth because we had kids lighting fireworks all week within the close vicinity of our house.

Here are some tips on what you should do to keep your dog Safe on the Fourth of July:

Dog Safety Tips During the Fourth of July

• If you have an extremely nervous and anxious dog you can consult your vet for tranquilizers or other medication that might keep him calm, but please don’t administer anything without your veterinarians consent.
• Keep your dogs and other pets inside. The loud fireworks can scare the bravest of pets and send them running or even jumping your fence to get away.
• Just in case your pet does get out of the house and lost on the streets it’s a good idea to be sure your county pet ID tags and your personal pet tags are up to date. Its also a good idea to get your dog microchipped if you haven’t already done so. Updated pet tags and microchips will help you recover your dog if he happens to get lost over the holiday weekend.
• I would urge you not to take your dog to the firework show. Just a few months ago I was at the Disney firework show and let me tell you the noise was scary for me let alone any dog.
• One other thing I like to do is keep my dogs in the room and I turn up the TV or radio to drown out the loud noise outside. If your dog does appear nervous or scared do not try comforting him. Comforting your dog when he is scared reinforces the behavior. When my dog becomes frightened especially on a night like the Fourth of July I just try to distract him if he becomes nervous by playing with him or working on obedience (sit, stay, down) with treats.

Do you have any other safety tips you’d like to share during the Fourth of July?

UPDATE: We were recently sent a new product that we’re hoping will help Raven this year with her firework anxiety. Native Pet sent us Native Pet Calm – Dog Calming Chews. We’re going to test them out this year and report back to you.

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