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Dog's Worst Holiday I received an emergency call from a family who was frantic about their newly adopted Australian Shepard, Duffy. Duffy had crashed through a second-story plate-glass window. Thankfully, Duffy's humans were home and heard the crash. They ran outside, rescued Duffy from the bushes, and rushed him to the vet. What caused Duffy's suicidal crash through a window? He was trying to “escape” the sounds of the neighborhood's July 4th celebrations. The vet told Duffy's family that he sees a lot of dogs who are injured when they react to firecrackers and fireworks. Duffy was lucky because he suffered only superficial cuts and bruises. Other dogs aren't so lucky. Shelters all over the United States are filled on July 5th with lost dogs who escaped from yards and even, like Duffy, from inside homes. Once on the street, these distressed dogs often become disoriented and, fueled by the intermittent crack of fireworks and the smell of gunpowder in the air, run for miles until there is no hope of them finding their way back home by themselves. Sometimes only luck and the help of kind-hearted rescuers bring a July 4 th dog back home. Sadly, many others are found dead after being hit by cars. And some dogs simply disappear and are never seen again, leaving families heartbroken with their loss. So what can we do to help our beloved pets over the July 4 th holidays? There are two keys to keep your dog from becoming a July 4 statistic. The first key is prevention and management and the second is training. Prevention and Management Prevention and management means creating an environment that sets your dog up to not only be safe, but actually teaches her relax. Safety for your dog, you and your property are your primary concerns. First and foremost, be extra careful and anticipate problems before they occur. Supervise your dog and keep her close, tethered to you if necessary. And it is imperative that she always wears her collar with some kind of identification just in case she does manage to escape. Never put an anxious, distressed dog in a crate or tie her to something and leave her there. She would likely injure herself while hysterically attempting to get free. Here are some tips that may help if your dog reacts fearfully or is distressed by fireworks (or even thunderstorms):
Training Training builds confidence and trust. Your dog's increased confidence helps him relax in stressful situations and diminishes his fear. In severe cases, to help a dog overcome the fear of fireworks, it's best to consult a professional trainer who uses positive methods. If your dog exhibits a mild degree of anxiety, you can get started training immediately on your own. You
can go to group classes, read books
and learn from DVDs like mine: The
Dog Whisperer: Beginning and Intermediate
Dog Training ( www.dogwhispererdvd.com ) or Train Your Dog , featuring
Nicole Wilde. By practicing for two or three minutes, several times a day, a dog can learn all the basic behaviors. And then its just a matter of repetition and reinforcements to establish your role as leader and build your dog's trust. In time, you'll have a happy, relaxed and well-trained dog. You probably remember learning about Pavlov‘s famous experiment in which he linked the sound of a bell with food, which caused dogs to salivate every time the bell rang. This is called classical or “associative” conditioning. One no-value thing, like the sound of a bell, is linked or “associated” with a highly valued thing like food. And the bell then becomes almost equal in value to the food. The principal is the same when trying to change the way a frightened dog feels about fireworks. You use a form of classical conditioning to counter the way the dog feels about something he fears by very, very gradually helping him to be less fearful or “desensitized.” This is done by linking the sound of fireworks with food. To get started, you can purchase a CD of fireworks sounds. (Hanaleipets offers one called Sound Sensibilities Fireworks, which is available online at www.hanaleipets.com ) Play the CD in an adjoining room at a barely audible level. If your dog begins to act fearful even with the sound set at this level, see if he will take a treat. If so, continue for about a minute then end the session. Follow these easy steps:
If your dog doesn't take the treat, and you see that he is getting more anxious, stop. In cases like this, a professional trainer must show you what to do. NOTE: Never force your dog. Some people make the situation worse by punishing their frightened dog. A scared, fearful dog should never be yelled at or swatted with newspapers. These methods are cruel and do nothing to help your dog learn to relax. There are some dogs that can never be desensitized or acclimated to fireworks. You can make the problem worse if you use these techniques with such a dog. That's why I must emphasize two things once again. It is very important that you have a professional trainer demonstrate how this desensitization is done and that you implement these techniques very gradually. Most, but not all dogs can improve and learn to relax, or at least tolerate July 4th fireworks. Always err on the side of safety and be understanding and compassionate with your animal friends. Only you can help them overcome their fears. Paul About the Author: Paul
Owens The
Dog Whisperer DVD brings a
professional dog trainer into your home. |
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