Fireworks Fears & Your Pet

Some pets may develop phobias of loud noises from a single
experience (one learning event), while others may only develop a
noise phobia from exposure to the fearful sounds over time.
Although some dogs react with only a mild fear response of
panting and pacing, others may become extremely agitated,
panicked, or destructive. These more pronounced reactions can be
due to a genetic predisposition and sensitivity to loud noises
or, in some cases, due to exposure to noises coupled with a
highly traumatic experience associated with the stimulus. Dogs
who are fearful of firework noise will usually become more
severely frightened and reactive with each exposure.

Unfortunately, when well-meaning pet owners stroke their pet in
an effort to calm them during the fireworks, the soothing
attention, vocal intonations, and petting actually provide
positive reinforcement for the panicked behavior and can
intensify these behaviors. However, an owner raising their voice
or punishing an animal who is having a phobic response tends
heighten the pet’s dear of anxiety as well.

So what can you do if your dog is fearful or anxious when
fireworks are going off? Some dogs react severely enough to hurt
themselves while trying to escape from the sounds of the
fireworks, especially if left alone, and they require both the
help of a behavior consultation with a professional animal
behaviorist and drug therapy to prevent injury and destruction.
However, many dogs experience a less profound phobia and can be
helped with behavior modification or a “retraining program” that
owners can use on their own.

Treatment of fear, in simple terms, involves exposing the pet to
the fearful stimulus at a low volume until it sees that there is
nothing to fear and settles down. If exposure to a fearful
stimulus such as fireworks noise can be turned into a positive
experience with highly desirable treats and rewards, over time
the pet may actually develop a calmer attitude when exposed to
fireworks. This is a training practice known as “desensitization
and counter-conditioning.” You desensitize or accustom your pet
to hearing fireworks noise at a volume low enough that it
doesn’t cause fear and then counter-condition or teach the pet
to feel and to behave relaxed (the opposite of its usual
response) by associating fireworks noise with your pet’s
favorite rewards.

In order to effectively set up a retraining program for you dog,
you must first find a means of reproducing and controlling the
intensity and volume of the fireworks sounds, such as a tape
recording. You can create this on your own or order it online at
www.soundsscary.com. You should briefly test the recording to
ensure that it does indeed produce a fearful response. When you
are attempting to desensitize and counter-condition your pet to
fireworks noise, you must prevent your pet from having any new
fearful learning experiences, including exposure real fireworks
noise outdoors, that you cannot control. You can do this by
placing the pet in a favored resting area in a room that has
been sound-proofed and playing the television or some calming
music; this may help mute out any background fireworks noise and
relax your pet.

Try not to leave your pet unattended during times when fireworks
can be anticipated. To help alleviate phobic and anxious
responses to loud noises, you might need to use anti-anxiety
medications such as Alprazolam, a long-acting drug with mood
calming effects similar to Valium, that can be prescribed by
your veterinarian. Another medication commonly prescribed by
veterinarians to tranquilize dogs suffering from fireworks fears
is Acepromazine. However, this is not the preferred medication
since it acts to immobilize your dog without relieving its
anxiety; it simply keeps the dog from physically responding to
the anxiety that it is experiencing. Thus, the dog’s fearful
response to fireworks is being reinforced, not diminished.
Preventing exposure to fireworks noise can be extremely
difficult to do during July so it is best to get a head start on
training at least one month prior to that time, before the
festivities begin. Begin the training without the fireworks
noise. Your dog must already be able to respond to basic
obedience commands such as “sit”, “down”, and “look at me” (done
by holding a treat near your eyes to encourage your dog to make
eye-contact with you and then rewarding them when they do this).
Training these behaviors for rewards in a positive way will help
you gain control before your pet is exposed to the fear-evoking
fireworks noise. The treats (such as tiny bits of cheese or hot
dog) must be highly desirable to your pet and only given as
rewards for this training. Practice these behaviors all year so
that when your dog is exposed to a fearful stimulus you can
reliably prevent a panicked response before it happens simply by
asking it to do something more calm and relaxed instead.
However, once your pet starts to show anxious behavior, as hard
as it may feel, you must look away and ignore it. Trying to calm
your dog actually rewards that panicked behavior and it will get
worse over time.

Next, once you have a recording that you know will cause a
fearful response in your dog, play it quietly in the background
during brief training sessions. Gradually and patiently
increasing the volume of the fireworks sounds while continuing
to ask your pet to sit or lie-down in a relaxed position to earn
its favorite food rewards. You must only reward the response you
want: a calm and attentive dog.

Ignore the dog if an inappropriate fear response is seen.
Remember to go slowly to avoid the fearful response. Keep the
training sessions brief (10-15 minutes) and do them as
frequently as you can; each day, if possible.

If you evoke a fear response you must turn down the volume of
the recording so that it is below the “threshold” for causing a
noticeable reaction in your pet. Then, once your pet is settled,
begin the commands again and always try to end the training
sessions with a positive outcome. Remember only to reward with
treats and attention when your pet is calm and relaxed.
Eventually your dog should learn to calmly take the food rewards
when it hears fireworks noises.

The goal of the retraining program focuses on getting your dog
to accept longer lasting food rewards such as chew bones and
stuffed “Kong” toys or marrow bones, and remaining quietly in a
favorite resting area to receive these rewards despite the sound
of the fireworks. The resting area should help to comfort and
provide security for the dog and the food rewards are intended
to teach your dog to associate nothing but positive events with
the moderate fireworks noise. Gradually the volume can be
increased so that your dog may learn to tolerate the real
fireworks celebrations without the help of medication. With
patience and effort, you can help your pet join the family for a
safe and happy 4th of July celebration!