Why are dogs scared of fireworks?

 

They don’t understand

Because dogs do not speak English we can’t explain to them what fireworks are and that we will keep them safe, so they don’t need to worry

 

We love fireworks because they are light, bright, exciting and noisy, it all adds to the effect, but, for a dog, this is what makes them scary

 

 

 

Fireworks appear without warning, first we get the wizz noise of them shooting into the sky, then the bang, these noises can make your dog jump, your dog may be sleeping soundly then all of a sudden they hear a wizz noise and a bang, they have no idea where it has come from or what it is, imagine if you were asleep then a door closed loudly banging, this would make you jump, but this can be explained to you to not  worry, it was only a door closing and everything is ok, so if you hear the noise again you know it is only a door slamming and don’t worry. We cannot explain this to our dogs, so each time it happens it is scary to them

Then comes the display of colour and lights that fill the sky, so the room suddenly lights up, your dog is already nervous because of the noise and now the room is filled with light, your dog is probably thinking by now…….. oh no, what next? Then the lights go and all goes quiet for a second or two, then it all starts all over again, we know that it won’t go on forever, but your dog doesn’t, and once again we have no way of explaining this to them

So, what can we do to help our dogs that are nervous of fireworks?

There is training that can be done before Bonfire night, But there are other things we can do on the night that can help our dogs and in time we can change how our dogs feel about fireworks, the good news is, it can be fun for both you and your dog

The most important thing you need to remember is to stay calm and not get upset if your dog gets frightened,

if you get upset then your dog will think it really is a bad thing that is happening and become more scared.

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