As much as I love the autumn for it’s intense colours, crisp sunny days and bounties like sweet chestnuts, I loathe the fact that it also heralds the ‘firework season’.
In fact they started before the leaves started falling! And far from being ‘bah humbug’ about it, it is purely because they frighten Yogi, my terrier-ist out of her skin.
Not only are they not limited to just one weekend – which would possibly be bearable but they are obviously not limited to any time of day either as was obvious last week when some clown let a couple off at around 6 o’clock – when we were coming back from our walk.
Ideally, a frightened dog would run too you but alarmingly they seem to run away, blindly. It is heart-stopping, especially if you are anywhere near a road.
There will traditionally be two schools of people reading this – those who identify and empathise totally and those who have no idea of the distress it causes. I have heard numerous horror stories, including pregnant brood mares running through barbed wire fences and find it all just horrendous.
Of course, we will never be able to stop people setting fire to huge amounts of money which is why I have tried all sorts of things to try to acclimatise Yogi to the bangs – she is also afraid of thunder and gunshot and it is the shooting season!
There are bespoke dog jackets called Thunder Coats/Shirts, which some people have recommended to me. The gentle, constant pressure of them apparently has a dramatic calming effect for most dogs if anxious, fearful or over-excited. Based on surveys completed by more than 2000 customers, over 80% of dogs showed improvement in symptoms when using the Thundershirt, which are recommended for fear of thunder, fireworks, separation anxiety, problem barking and even jumping up.
Sounds good but I can’t be prepared enough to ensure she has the coat on at the appropriate moment.
So then I tried a download and a CD of recorded thunder, fireworks and gunshot – which Yogi just slept through. Apparently it is totally inauthentic when the noise comes via a speaker system on my desk rather than being ambient sound. I have also tried using various essential oils used to treat fear and anxiety and whilst they definitely eased her anxiety whilst in the house amid an evening of fireworks, they can’t be used quickly enough with an unexpected gun shot.
So I am still looking for a solution. In the meantime, as I do, please just take extra care of your frightened furry friends and make sure your dog has a ID tag on and is chipped (which is also a legal requirement now). I have also braided an extra long lead for Yogi and will just keep her on that whilst walking for a while.
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