Cheltenham dog trainer gives advice for firework fearing dogs
The key to a a calm dog on bonfire night is early preparation
As Bonfire Night and Halloween approach, dog owners in Gloucestershire are advised to prepare their pets for fireworks to minimise anxiety and stress.
Dog trainer, Chris May from Cheltenham emphasises the importance of early preparation through noise desensitisation.
He said, ''Early preparation is key. The biggest thing you can do is start some noise desensitisation as soon as possible, I'd say at least two weeks before the big event.
That means playing your dog very low volume sound effects of fireworks and other noises like it. Then very gradually over days and weeks build that volume up to a realistic volume.
Start so they're barely noticing it and only increase volume when you see they are totally tuning it out and they don't care at all. If they do react, that might be a bark or panting or other signs of stress, then you've gone too far.
So just pause, resume the exercise at a low volume. But if you go steady, they will learn to tolerate those sounds nicely and in a pretty short amount of time as well.''
Chris talked about why some dogs react so much when they hear fireworks.
He said, ''What's happening is it's a natural reflex that they've heard something alarming, scary, and that barking is designed to repel it, to send that scary thing away.''
Finally Chris talked about how our behaviour can have a huge impact on our furry friends. Staying calm if your dog is stressed makes a big difference.
He said,''it's important that your dog doesn't see that you're getting stressed as well. They need to see that you are calm and confident and that everything is okay and that is best projected through you showing them that with your behaviour and your body language.''