Halloween & Guy Fawkes (Bonfire) Night

Halloween and Guy Fawkes night can be fun for many, and some dogs can cope with the costumes, decorations, bangs and flashes.

Many of our dogs and other pets do not cope well during this time of year and some are really frightened by new and strange sights and sudden noises. I will cover things you can do to help you ensure your dog and other pets are not scared while you are enjoying the celebrations.

If you are aware that your dog or any of your other pets are scared around new things and unexpected noises or if you have a new animal that you do not know how they are going to react. 

I would suggest you prepare and consider how any celebrations may affect your dog.

Halloween

During the Halloween period there will be new things your dog may have not seen, heard or tried before or has been worried about them previously such as:

• Decorations in the home and in the streets
• Dressing up costumes human & dog
• Spooky noises
• Foods that may not be suitable for them

If this is the case I would suggest you:

• Make a safe and quiet place in another room where they can settle until the activities are finished
• Don't take them for a walk after dark or "trick or treating" or if others are doing so in the area 
• Don't dress them up or include them in the activities unless you are 100% sure they are happy. In my experience most dogs find being dressed up very stressful as it is unusual. unnatural and they do not understand what is happening. It may look "cute" but they are usually unhappy about it.
• Keep "trick or treat" sweets and chocolates out of their reach as chocolate, some nuts and things like raisins are poisonous to dogs

Guy Fawkes (Bonfire) Night & Fireworks

For your information as you would expect I am not a fan of fireworks as I have worked with too many dog who suffer yearly trauma. But I know I cannot stop them being sold and let off outside organised events. So I feel it is my duty to help owners with dogs who may find them frightening and help others understand how they can make the season less traumatic for others.

The fireworks season starts in mid October and can last until New Years eve, so if your dog or other pets have shown signs of fear with sudden loud noises and flashes or they haven't experienced them if they are young or you are unsure as you may have recently rehomed them.

Here are some suggestion you can do in advance to the season starting so not to make them a trigger of something scary happening. 

• Setting up a comfortable "safe haven" with a bed or an "den" such as a table covered with a blanket where they can go on their own or you can both go on the nights you expect firework noises and flashes and close any curtains early as some fireworks (bangers as we used to call them) can start in daylight. Start going into this area before you expect the fireworks to start because if you only do it once the noises start your dog will associate the room with noises and may not be happy to go into it.
• Begin to play background noise as early as possible and daily if possible, some people do it from early October.  You can download firework sounds such as this  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vNmQ8cleT4 or listen to other music such as Classic FM's Pet  Classics which is aired around 5th November but I suggest you start now with something like this  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRENG4aukFg to stop your dog associating the music with something scary happening, which it may do if you only put the music on once the noises start happening.

On the days when you anticipate there may be fireworks

• Prepare their "safe haven" for ease of access and close any curtains and put on your background music/noises and go and sit in the room and they may follow you. If this cannot be done because of the layout of your home, look for another room you can do the above where you could go to on a regular basis where they can join you some evenings. 
• Start playing the music or background noises as mentioned above very quietly (barely audible) when you & your dog are relaxing. Your dog should hardly notice at first. Keep the soundtrack sessions short (about one or two minutes is fine at first) and keep the volume the same for several sessions. Build up to playing the sounds to five minutes at a time, have a break and repeat two or three times Increase the volume gradually Only increase the volume by a small amount when you are confident that your dog is not showing any concern. Make sure your dog is relaxed and calm. Continue increasing until the sounds are at a moderate level. 
• Once you are happy that your dog is comfortable in the room, you can introduce a long-lasting chew or food filled toy straight such as a stuffed Kong after you begin playing the sounds. They’ll learn that firework sounds mean a tasty treat! 
• Keep going and continue as above until your dog is comfortable with the firework sounds reasonably loud. This may take several day or weeks to achieve, depending on your dog. Remember, immediately after you press play, give your dog a long-lasting chew. 
• At any stage if your dog If your dog stops eating or appears distressed when you are playing the sounds turn the sounds off and comfort your dog
• For the next few sessions reduce the volume to a rate they were last comfortable with. 
• All dogs are individual and will progress at different rates, so be patient and only increase the volume when your dog is ready. 
• If your dog has been previously been prescribed medication to help them during the season, contact your vet early so not to leave it too late and the first fireworks go off.

You may hear people say "don't comfort your dog as it will reinforce their behaviour" This is incorrect as fear is an emotion not a behaviour so comforting is a good thing and will help your dog's emotional state ignoring them will just make them more fearful. Therefore calm and gentle reassurance is what your dog needs.

Please be aware, this time of year can also be a difficult time for livestock, wildlife and people who have suffered trauma such a post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). I will not  be going into detail about this but suggest you are mindful and discuss any activities with neighbours before the event so they are aware of any unusual activities or noises. Also if you are in an area with livestock nearby such as horses, cows & sheep or where wild animals live such as woodland you take your activities elsewhere.

If you would like help if your dog has previously been frightened by fire works or other noise sensitivity and you would like help to address this. Contact a dog trainer or behaviourist that uses pain and fear free training methods

Gill Gallagher - Speaking Puppy & Adolescent Dog

07595217299

www.speakingpuppy.co.uk

gill@speakingpuppy.co.uk