Let’s make this May long weekend enjoyable for you and your dog! (Photo: fireworks in the sky about a city skyline)
Are you dreading May 24? Do fireworks go off in your neighbourhood before the long weekend even begins?It’s becoming really common to hear fireworks all weekend long. Here are some tips to get you and your dog prepared for the upcoming celebration.
Remember: if your dog is afraid of fireworks, the time to begin counter conditioning them to get over their fear is right now, not on the day the fireworks are going to happen. Schedule your free call today and begin the process to help your dog through her fear.
Physical Exercise:
Tired dogs go into a resting and relaxed state far more easily than dogs who are not exercised.
All dogs require daily exercise. Some require low-key walks, while others require hours of running, agility, and fetch to properly tire them out. In the days leading up to the long weekend, exercise your dog for an extra thirty minutes each day. Structured exercise is best because it drains physical and mental energy.
On the day of the big fireworks show, begin with a long walk before breakfast. After lunch, go for a nice long hike and explore nature with your pup. Make time for fetch, swimming, or a bike ride. When we fulfill our dog’s needs, they have less pent-up energy available to spend on barking at fireworks (or running from window to window barking at the fireworks.)
Fulfilling your dog’s exercise needs is a great way to prepare for fireworks (Photo: person biking with an off-leash dog)
Mental Exercise:
Dogs are intelligent animals who need mental stimulation. Searching for food, doing obedience, and having fun with new tricks are all ways of draining your dog’s mental energy.
Why not teach your dog a few life-saving skills, like “come,” “leave it,” and “drop it?” Not only will these activities tire your pup out, they could save your pup’s life.
Structured walks are wonderful because they provide your dog with a job (follow you, their leader.) This “work” is mentally tiring for dogs.
Nosework is a great way to drain your dog’s mental energy (Photo: dachshund sniffing the sand at a beach)
Calmness:
I quote former Navy SEAL, Dan Crenshaw, all the time for a reason: because this quotation sums up how to live with dogs — “Calm breeds calm. Panic breeds panic.”
If you overreact to fireworks, your dog will overreact to fireworks.
Your dog is looking to you for your reaction. If she looks at you and sees a worried pack leader, she will become worried too.
Communicate calmness to your dog by acting calm and confident while the fireworks are going off.
Exposure:
If you have a new puppy, now is your chance to let them learn that fireworks are no big deal. If you’re out and about in the evening, keep moving and keep your own energy calm and confident. Your puppy is a master of reading your energy and your body language. Show your pup there’s nothing to fear.
Do not stop and comfort your puppy as you would a young child. They are not human. If you join them in a soft state of mind and pet them while they’re acting fearful you will reward a fearful state of mind and teach them fireworks are to be feared. No baby talk. Just walk.
If you’re outside, you’ll be allowing your puppy to learn in a way that is natural to her: nose, eyes, ears. She will be able to get used to the way the fireworks smell, how they look, and what they sound like.
Teach your puppy to be calm around the things you wish them to be calm around as an adult (Photo: person walking a dog at sunset)
Prevention:
Be sure to have your dog’s tags on, in case she runs away. Call your microchip company and ensure that they have your address up to date in their system.
If you are reading this article several weeks prior to fireworks, you can begin to desensitize your dog to the sound by playing it at a low level prior to and during enjoyable activities, like playing fetch indoors or eating a meal. Gradually increase the volume and remember to simply act calm and confident when you do this activity. If you’re unsure of how to do this, schedule a free call and set up in-person sessions. We are happy to help you through this process to alleviate your dog’s stress.
How to keep yourself calm?
Tell yourself that this year’s fireworks are going to be the best ones ever for you and your dog. Mindset is so important. If you spend all day baby-talking to your dog and acting strangely, she will be on edge. If you cringe the moment you hear the first firework of the evening, you’re setting your dog up to be stressed and/or afraid.
Exercise, breathe, and remind yourself that you can do this.
Happy training, Dog Leaders!
Alyssa
Photos by: maggie hung @maggie__1105 (fireworks in the sky about a city skyline,) Patrick Hendry
@worldsbetweenlines (person biking with an off-leash dog,) Emma Charles
@emmacharles (dachshund sniffing the sand at a beach,) Helen Cramer
@helencramer (person walking a dog at sunset) Cora Leach