Fireworks are festive and great fun to watch. When we had our summer place in Maine, we would sit on the beach and watch the colorful display in the night sky. For dogs, however, the noise and vibration produced by fireworks can be terrifying. Such is the case for my English Setter James. He trembles and pants, and climbs up on my lap. If the noise persists for an extended period of time, I lead him to his crate, his security den. There he feels save. I turn off the lights and he rolls himself up in a tight ball until it’s over.
Fireworks seem to start up several days before the holiday and continue on for several days after. Again, at the lake, this spread out the nightly fun for about a week – and, too, the terror for the dogs. We always had at least one dog in our pack through the years with this phobia.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t end with the fireworks. Thunderstorms, the bane of summertime in New England, have the same effect on the dogs. Lately, we’ve had some lengthy thunderstorms, hitting hard. James knows when a storm is coming long before it actually manifests itself. When I see him start to quiver, I know what’s on the way. It usually happens around the dogs’ 5:00 dinnertime, so I quickly get the pack fed. If not, James, who normally LOVES his food, refuses to eat. With the addition of heat and humidity, summer can be tough on dogs, all the way around. We humans may love all that summertime has to offer, but our dogs require special consideration and treatment, which is often opposite of what people are doing.