Dogs And Fireworks: What Worked, What Didn't Work So Hot...And Why Not!
Well, it's the day after July 4th, and our little 'pack' here at home is tired. That's because for the first time~ in the four years Frax has been my helper, he had problems with the fireworks people set off around our home. It surprised my husband and I, since Frax doesn't get worked up about a whole lot~ unless it has to do with FOOD, then all bets are off!
Things started off well enough. We played earlier in the day. Ate a nice (ew!) dinner of dog kibble, warmed up with a little water to make 'gravy'...just the way he likes it~ slurp! He inhaled his dinner and burped charmingly, did his duty out-of-doors, and took his post-dinner nap. So far, so good. Then dusk crept up upon our tiny household, and with it the first salvos of store-bought fireworks set off by neighbors.
Frax didn't pay much attention to the early 'pops', nothing much more than listening to microwave popcorn in the distance...no big deal. The phrase 'no big deal' is a cue. It's become part of our working daily language after years of having a service dog in the house. If something drops and shatters (not unusual, I drop things a lot!), “no big deal” comes to my lips as easy as “God bless you” when someone sneezes. It's a calming cue to your dog that you are in charge, and nothing bad is going to happen. Works like a charm, because the Canine Assistant's dogs have heard the cue since they were little bitty babies up till the time they were placed with their forever person at fifteen months.
As the scattered hiccups and pops became more frequent, “no big deal” fell from my lips after each new salvo. So far, so good. The noise was a subdivision over, about a quarter-mile, with some gentle ridges and 'hollers' in- between to break up the noise. No worse than any other year. Annoying, but not bad.
Then 9 o'clock came, and with it finally a cloudy darkness, and air smelling of oncoming rain. It was forecast. Perhaps that's why three different areas around the house simultaneously erupted with what seemed nearly intentionally timed salvos trying to outdo one another! It bothered Bill and I, and we both blurted “NO BIG DEAL!” together, as Frax raised his big head and his expressive eyebrows shot to the top of his golden head! He had a distinct look of distaste plastered across his face. He leaned against me, tighter than normal, and tucked his great head under my armpit. Not good. Armpit-tucking portended him not liking at all what was going on. Because my big guy Frax has a little secret~ he's a big marshmallow! Frax at first responded well to our reiteration over and over “no big deal”. However, Frax is no fool, and when the explosions didn't taper off but kept up an unrelenting salvo for the next three and a half hours...he had had it.
Even Frax's iron-clad demeanor was finally worn thin after the first hour, despite all the things we've been taught to do, distracting Frax, keeping him close, cuddling him, reassuring him, making the house a cosy little cave with just us folks. Hour two drew to a close and poor Frax started to pant. We started to pant. He was stressed. So were we. And nothing else to do. My bag of tricks was empty.
In our little area of East Tennessee, near the Great Smoky Mountains, fireworks are legally sold. Fifty miles down the interstate on the way to Nashville, that changes and suddenly, they become illegal to buy. If you didn't know this, after driving for any amount of time, you would catch on quickly. Great big gaudy billboards advertise the fireworks available at each exit, each sign more demanding and bright, lit with sparkles.
Fireworks are hideously expensive. And terribly dangerous in un-initiated hands, which is most people.
Folks in these parts strangely love their home-grown fireworks display. Every year the local TV stations plead for people to not buy and set off fireworks, unless they have someone helping them that knows what they are doing. Every year someone buys fireworks for the first time and loses a hand or a foot in a particularly dramatic and horrendous way. After so many years you would think word would trickle through, but no, nothing changes.
If there weren't any firework displays around, it would somehow make a little sense. But there are fireworks displays put on by local municipalities and even churches, encouraging people to enjoy the fireworks done by professionals and not tempt fate by firing off some themselves.
Some years back, a local fireworks manufacturer had a terrible accident. The main building blew up, and the people within went with it. It was a miniature version of 9-11 come home to the country. The power of the blast was immense, and the devastation with it as well. Not just physically. In this tight-nit area, nearly everyone knew of someone who had died in the blast, or had friends or acquaintances that knew them. The company survived, barely. The community it occurred in survived. Barely. To this day, people speak of it this time of year as a warning to others to be safe if they buy and use fireworks.
I'm unsure what's behind the increased firework activity in our neighborhood, except perhaps some new neighbors have moved in that like fireworks. Either way, I must be prepared for the next time, and nip this in the bud. We had a fairly generic thunderstorm today, and Frax shimmied up next to me with a worried look. First time ever. I gave him the "no big deal" cue and stuffed a MBDB (Milk Bone Dog Biscuit) into his surprised mouth. That stopped his worry instantaneously, and he lay quietly beside me after that, no problem.
You can see how this can mushroom out of control. Thunderstorms sound just like fireworks and visa versa. If your dog can't stand one, it stands to reason he won't care for the other. I've heard that Thunder-shirts for dogs work great. I'm just wondering if they make them in size “ginormous”. If they don't we'll have one made. The other thing we likely need in the house is some homeopathic help in the line of Bach's Flower Rescue Remedy. Way back in nursing school, I had heard good things about it. They make a human concoction and a canine one. Judging on all of our reactions to the bombardment we came under Monday night, we might as well buy both human and pet 'remedies'!
Frax is back to status quo tonight, so I have some time to round-up a Thunder-shirt and some homeopathic help before the next local fireworks display by our neighbors. Tonight some leftover fireworks are popping off here and there, but Frax doesn't seem bothered by them, thank God.
Oh, I forgot to mention. You can buy fireworks legally here. It's illegal to set them off.
