Next month Charlie will be exposed to fireworks for the first time (we will be staying in a house close to a firework display). He won’t be actually going to the firework display, of course, but we’ll clearly see and hear them from the house. It’s a fantastic view if we choose to watch. Charlie doesn’t seem to have a problem with load noises, having spent a great deal of his early weeks in London, he can stand by a train as it whizzes through a station without stopping for example. (He still has monster pigeon in the garden phobia though ;D). I’d really like Charlie to be ok with fireworks, I love them, and we stay in the house I’m talking about quite a lot, and there are fireworks at least 4 times a year. I’m just starting to think about this. Is there anything I can do to prepare in advance? My very early thoughts are that we won’t watch the fireworks, and I’ll stay at the back of the house with Charlie, and make things as normal as possible for Charlie – and maybe he’ll get a bit of chicken each time he hears a bang. I think it’s probably a good opportunity to get it right. He’ll still be quite young. Any tips / places to start looking for information. Just to stress – Charlie has never experienced fireworks (or a thunderstorm) before, so I’m not looking to deal with an existing fear, just doing my best to not allow one to develop.
Re: Fireworks One of mine was fine with gunshot but terrified of fireworks , I got a desensitising CD ( amazon ) it had firework noises on it, starting quietly at first but it gets louder . I used to play it every day ,just whilst I was doing normal things at home, to make it all acceptable, it worked, but it should be played for a ffew weeks , good luck !
Re: Fireworks You are such a conscientious owner Julie,thinking ahead so well. I got stuffed by both a thunderstorm and fireworks with no preparation.The storm blew up in the night not long after we had Dexter.We shot out of bed like a pair of rockets ....probably making more noise than the thunder and Dexter slept through the whole thing. Next there was a wedding in the golf clubhouse just behind us and they set off fireworks unexpectedly.Dexter perked up and went and stood by the back door and watched them all without a feather out of him....so you just might get lucky too.I like to think that it is his working gundog breeding coming through that has made him so steady around big bangs.......that said we were home alone last night and my tummy rumbled and he jumped up and had a little growly woof ;D Kate's cd suggestion sounds good,I've never even heard of such things
Re: Fireworks Labradors tend not to be as concerned about loud banging noises as for instance border collies (makes sense, they'd be rubbish gun dogs otherwise, wouldn't they? 8) ), but I think just playing it cool is the best way to go. If you just sit on the couch and watch tv or whatever as on an ordinary evening, and pay absolutely no attention to the fireworks and banging, Charlie will likely just accept that as another of those noises that happen in the world, like traffic or trains etc. The worst thing you can do would be to make a fuss of him. If he gets a bit worried, resist the temptation to comfort him - just calmly say 'good dog Charlie, it's ok', pat him on the head, and return to your tv program or book. He'll see you are utterly unphased by the fireworks, and hopefully will be too. Let us know how it goes!
Re: Fireworks That's all really encouraging, thanks. Hopefully it'll go without a hitch. It would just be such a pain in this house in the summer, 5th Nov, Christmas, New Year... the fireworks are literally just outside. I should think Charlie would make a rubbish gundog though - by the look of him, it's a while since he had an ancestor that heard a gun... but still, maybe he's inherited something, here's hoping!...).
Re: Fireworks The cd mentioned by Kate is well worth buying. Many dogs are not bothered by fireworks or even gunfire, when exposed to it without preparation, but a considerable proportion (including some well bred Gundogs) are traumatised. Therefore it makes sense to prepare your dog in advance. Pippa
Re: Fireworks i will have a look on amazon , sounds like a good buy,.....for me i am not too keen on fireworks
Re: Fireworks Thanks all, will get the CD (joy, can see we'll be listening to "the sound of fireworks" for the next month...) and have a good fish around for info about preparing dogs for fireworks/guns...if any good sources of info come to mind, pls let me know. It will be worth it, I think, even if Charlie would be fine anyway. It would be such a pain to have a dog terrified of fireworks in a house that overlooks the town's firework patch...
Re: Fireworks For my first dog, Nicolae, I used balloons to get him used to loud noises. Just blow up a stack of balloons. Have someone else hold the pup with good treats to hand. Take the balloons a good distance away from the dog (like, 50 metres). Pop a balloon - the dog wrangler should immediately reward a calm reaction (interest in the noise is fine). It's kind of like charging a clicker, but the balloon popping is the clicker. Pop - treat! If the pup was calm the first time, move closer for the next balloon. If the reaction was not calm, move further away next time. Take it slow. Eventually the dog will happily pop a balloon himself. This will come back to bite you at parties ( : ) but it's a good option for de-sensitising to loud noises. We used to take Nicolae to major fireworks displays. Actually, other people attending the firework event used to feel quite free to make rude comments to us, telling us we were stupid and mean to have brought our dog. Meanwhile our dog is sprawled out alseep on a picnic rug... Anyway, it's the same idea as the CD. The CDs are good and they have heaps of other noises as well.
Re: Fireworks [quote author=JulieT link=topic=1988.msg16647#msg16647 date=1373751420] Thanks all, will get the CD (joy, can see we'll be listening to "the sound of fireworks" for the next month...) [/quote] Handel, maybe?? ;D 8)
Re: Fireworks Could try Handel in between the sound effects CD, might be a break, and even work! Rachel - the balloons are a great idea, thanks so much. We'll start tonight, just start with one from the end of the garden (have to make sure it's not in the middle of the pigeon monster panic moment though).
Re: Fireworks I think the rain is coming a day earlier than planned in London - lots of thunder. Not a bother on Charlie so far... but we've been doing the balloons so hopefully we're prepared! The thunder isn't very loud yet though.
Re: Fireworks Labradors are frightened of loud noises. My last dog was terrified of anything loud including gunshot and fireworks. Was determined never to have that again and bought the CD with all the noises and played it from a young age and can't praise it enough. Its brilliant. My new dog is not afraid of any loud noises.
Re: Fireworks Thanks, it's good to hear the experiences of others. I don't know, maybe Charlie spending his first 2 months in London (on the edge of the flight path to Heathrow, and socialisation including the tube) helped, or maybe he would have been fine anyway - but so far, so good, ok through massive thunderstorm. We are ramping up the balloons and cd in advance of the fireworks. We overlook the town's firework patch (on a hill) and it used to be a big pleasure to watch the fireworks with a glass of wine in the garden. Obviously, won't try any such thing at first, but inspired by Rachael who was able to take a dog to a firework display! Fingers crossed...
Re: Fireworks Sounds like you are going really well The mounted police here use ex-racehorses and they train them to stand stock still when a gun is fired right next to their heads. Labradors can learn the same (and they are generally a lot less nervy than a Thoroughbred). It's just a matter of training (though having a steady dog to start with no doubt helps). I expect that Charlie will be just fine with the fireworks. He's not a nervous dog and you have put a lot of work into showing him that loud noises are nothing to worry about.
Re: Fireworks I hope so! We are working up to going as foot passengers on a clanking chain ferry across the river right now. It's a big challenge, he is definitely a bit wary. I think it might be the frequency of the noise, a higher pitch screechy metal sound as the gates open - could this be very different for him? I think it might be. I'm not going to push it though. We are still sitting on the bench at the side of the landing area, for our morning slice of chicken, watching and considering whether we'll have a go.
Re: Fireworks You've just reminded me of my friend's attempts to take her adult black lab boy on a ferry to Oban last summer...he REFUSED to go up the ramp and had to be carried on by her. and carried back off....I had to carry adult Cuillin up stairs to bed for three nights recently as were we were staying for a few days had a Scary Fan that she had to walk past to get to bed, and she flatly refused to go past it. Even when it was turned off....bless them and their ways....
Re: Fireworks More inspiration to keep working! I am seriously struggling to carry Charlie now. Even though he is less of a podge and is looking nice and slim, I reckon he is heading rapidly towards 25kg. Big puppy now.
Re: Fireworks It's amazing what they WILL do sometimes though... Other Half is much more adventurous than I am, and recently took Pops on a trip to the Rhine with some friends. Not only did they go on a ferry (I have done that with her too) and on a gondola (also done that with her) - he also took her on a chair lift!!! Think two-seated ski lift with only a bar in front... I certainly would not have done that and was very disapproving once I heard! She is now known as Commando Dog, and I am half expecting to hear that he has booked her in for a mountaineering and abseiling course... I am at home recovering after an operation and am loving spending so much time with Poppy! Only trouble is that walking is a bit of an issue, so her training has taken a bit of a backward step... Ah well, we'll pick up where we left off in the autumn!
Re: Fireworks A chair lift! Wow....that's not on my socialisation check list! I guess if you get them used to enough new stuff, they are confident. You must have done a super job on poppy.
