How to calm down dog after fireworks?

Question

Every Easter, our town has fireworks display and my dog gets extremely nervous. He screams from fear and sometimes tries to jump the fence to escape. He can take all night to calm down. I try to hug him or give him his toys (which in other cases he adores) but nothing works.

What is the best way to calm the dog down and show him that the danger is over?

Answer 1

Although your situation is for after a firework display, I think the best course of action that you can take is things you would typically do before and during a firework display as well.

At the minimum, I would bring the dog inside your home during the time of the fireworks (you said they tried to "jump the fence," I'm assuming that they are outside). Usually, anxiety/thundershirts are recommended for these kind of situations as well. The shirt helps to calm a dog due to the pressure being applied to them from the shirt. You can try a thudershirt both during and after a firework display. I would say it would be pretty hard to train a dog to ignore a firework display since fireworks typically aren't heard daily.

Another site recommends 10 different things to try including:

• Give the dog lots of exercise during the day of the firework display
• Keep the dog inside during the fireworks and preferably with someone to accompany them
• Close curtains and blinds to windows
• If your dog has a crate, try covering it with something while they are in it. Dogs like a small space to retreat to when scared.