How to Handle My Dogs Fear of Fireworks

I have had some expierience with this and consulted several trainers. I agree with some of the suggestions you have been given. The bed in the closet works pretty well if it will dampen the sound enough. The other thing to try is to distract her with something she really likes. It has to be something REALLY good. When you know the noice is going to start you need to distract her with it. It does take time but she will associate the good thing with the loud noice. Try not to cuddle, pet, etc when she is frecking as this reinforces the "bad behavior". FIgure out how to "snap her out of it", get her mind onto you instead of the noice. If you have a basement, that may be a good area to work/play with her while the fireworks are going off because it should be quieter down there.
She will probalby always react a little but a lot of praise and encouragement with continually lesser reactions will eventually desensitise her to the noice.
Good Luck! If you have trouble, consult a trainer, they can give you more specific ideas and techniques.

We had two dogs that were terrified of loud noises, thunderstorms, fireworks, loud cars and trucks, etc. If it made noise they were terrified. One of them would pee all over himself and go huddle in the corner under a chair. It was horrible. We finally had to give them Valium before thunderstorms and fireworks. There was just nothing else that worked for them. Talk with your vet about you options. I don't think there is a good way to distract your dog from the sound, the sound physically hurts their ears and there isn't a good way to keep their mind off the pain. It's not like they understand how to focus and meditate or anything so it will be hard to keep them distracted. We were told to distract our dogs by giving them meat, but if you are in pain do you want to eat. Honestly your best bet is to talk this over with your vet.

Also see if you can't get advanced warning from your neighbor so you can take care of your dog, if you are close with them, they shouldn't have a problem letting you know 5-10 minutes before they set off fireworks, so you can have sometime to get the dog in the basement or way from the house altogether.

We have the same issue with our dog. Our vet recommended some homeopathic calming tablets, which work OK if you give them about 2 hours before the "incident." Problem is, many times there is no warning--whether it's surprise fireworks down the street, or an impromptu thunder shower. Someone told me there is a way to train dogs using desensitizing therapy--basically it's playing a CD of thunderstorms or fireworks, positively reinforcing "good behavior" (like giving treats when they calm down with your help), and eventually they get used to the noises. I don't know all the details, but I remember it being something like starting out with just 2 minutes a day, eventually working up to a longer period of time. We haven't been great about pursuing this, but it's what we'll try next. Good luck!

My x-inlaws had a sheltie that was terrified of the fireworks. The dog would do exactly what yours does if she was inside, but one weekend they were at my parents cabin with the dog, the MIL told everyone that she had to remember to put her dog in when my dad started shooting them off, well she didn't and her dog ran away as soon as she heard the first one. We searched everywhere for her, and finally found her over a mile away. This dog never ran any other time, only when she heard fireworks. I agree with Cassandra, either stay home with her, comfort and console her when she's scared or take her for a drive.
I don't think it's something they ever get over. We have a big dog (1/2 Golden Retreiver and 1/2 Chow) she is a big baby when it comes to thunder storms and will "cry" non stop and bury herself under a blanket til the storm is done.

I agree with the other comment: you should explain what the fireworks do to your pets and ask them if they could let you know ahead of time to prepare.

Our dog is also afraid (of thunder as well). She has a kennel but when she gets really scared I make a bed for her in our closet. It is harder for her to hear the noise and she doesn't shiver as much in there.

I don't know of anyway to change this behavior, I'll have to come back later to see if anyone has suggestions.

Have you talked to your vet. Maybe a sedative for the hours that you know fireworks will be active (if it doesn't happen often)

Hello Gina,
We have had that same experience with our dog the last couple of years. It started when someone at a 4th of July party thought that they would be funny and try to scare a person with fireworks. Unfortunately, they did not think about the dogs that were around. Our dog hid in our vehicle in a small little ball for some time and he is pretty large. We live by an area where fireworks go off quite often in the summer. So, every time fireworks would go off, our dog would shake and cry and not leave our sides. He refused to go outside during these times. We didn't know what to do. So, last summer, we heard that if you alter the dogs attention away from the thing that scares them and then give them a treat when they are follow the direction, they will associate good things with the sound and then they will not be so scared. So, when the fireworks would go off, we would get out the treats and immediately, his attention was on us. We then would give him a command and a treat for following the direction. He soon stopped acknowledging the fireworks and could handle them well. Unfortunately, you have not been home when this has happened! Hopefully, you can find a time that the fireworks are going off when you are home to help your puppy.

Every year around the 4th of July, the reminder comes out from animal welfare groups that dogs and fireworks don't mix--don't bring your dog to fireworks displays, don't set off fireworks around your dogs, and so on.

Your dogs are incapable of "understanding" that fireworks are harmless, so the burden is on the humans involved. If your neighbors continue to set off fireworks knowing that it bothers your dogs, then you need to ask them if they can tell you ahead of time, so that you can either be home, or you can arrange to take the dogs for a drive. I don't think this is not asking too much of them. You say you are close with these neighbors, so hopefully they will consider this request.

I would take them for a drive and just get them away from it. If you have to be home, bring them to the opposite end of the house or in the basement. If you are home to calm them and hold them, it might help.

This particular issue is near and dear to my heart because several years ago on 4th of July in downtown Mpls, I spent over an hour trying to chase down a German Shepherd that was freaking out and running through the streets after the fireworks display. It was dragging its leash, so it had obviously gotten away from its owner. I had 911 on the phone with me, but I never was able to catch up with the dog.

We have Xanax( a sedative) for our dog for thunderstorms and fireworks, we also put her in the basement and play the tv or some music to drown out the noise.

I would try to talk to the neighbors again and if it happens again report them.