Firework night - how do you protect your pets?

lbt_2

Hi All

I just wondered how you all protect your pets from the noise on fireworks night.

Until now, I have only had indoor pets so not really a problem, but my rabbit (I hope to get it next weekend) will be kept outside.

Just wondered what everyone does to minimise the stress to the rabbits because in our area, although bonfire night is only one night, we tend to get a few nights in a row where they have fireworks going off. Not good for rabbits

Thanks

lowis

i used to bring my rabbit in for the few nights around firework night. if that is not practical then buy a hutch cover from somewhere and give him loads of hay to bury down in.

Barneysmom

I wish I knew the answer to this one. My hubby normally ends up getting in bed with our dog, she's so frightened.
She jumped onto the arm of the chair last year and wet herself. She was shaking, and we just couldn't do anything with her.
The border collie on the other hand, he loves it and would go out and watch if we let him.

becs

I wish our Border Collie would! She's absoloutely petrified and seems to get worse every year. I really wish they would ban fireworks to organised displays only. The fact general public can buy them and use them any time of the year makes life absoloute hell for our petrified pets. At least if it were organised displays only we would know when they were and be able to take some preventative measures!
My Mum's dog is a terrier and wants to kill everything including fireworks so he just leaps around like a looney trying to jump up and catch them! Idiot! :rotfl:

happytails

Id suggest covering the hutch and giving your rabbit loads of hay and veg to keep him occupied - if possible bring him inside - we do this for our guinea pigs.

My labrador loves the fireworks often peeps through the curtains :rolleyes: Not much you can do with dogs that are scared apart from give them a long walk in the day to tire them out and a good bone for the night. Keeping them inside with you, curtains shut and perhaps some background noise on like the TV to distract.
Though i must stress do not 'comfort' your dog ie. petting and telling them it will be ok etc as this just reinforces their fear - best thing to do is distract them from the fireworks

I hate bonfire night - well i dont mind the one night its the weeks before and after when the damn fireworks go off - its been all night here :mad: and around xmas / new year too! And what i will never understand is why some set them off in broad daylight - what a waste!

Ok rant over - hope your rabbit will be ok

Paparika

This will be the first year with a pup for a long time, and we've had fireworks going off already, he's not bothered, (bless him) but will still be staying with him whilst its all going off

hdeusi

Hi all,

I suppose we are quite lucky - our Dobie loves fireworks and we have never had a a problem with him!

Loopy_Girl

I'm just going to bring the rabbit in for the night and have him in his cat carrier I think. There have been fireworks going off now and again and he seems okay in the morning (doesn't seem frightened or off his food) but I think I will for peace of mind.

The dogs will also be here too so I will just need to see how they are.

Could potentially be a busy night in the Loopy household!!!!:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

ilikedrawing

Our westie hides under the bed so i make sure im there to comfort him. Sometimes if you have the tele on you cant really hear them much so he'll sit in the living room.

If i had a rabbit or any outdoor animal i'd definatley be bringing them in! Imagine how you would feel stuck in a cage outside not being able to escape the loud noises!

1sue23

My rabbit lives under the summer house ,she does have a nice cosy hutch but chooses to stay here ,last 2 years she has seemed happy enough so she can stay put if she wants ,my cats will be kept in the house ,not sure about the chickens they should be fine ,and all 3 of my dogs are bomb proof so they will stay out side in their kennel .My sister has to spend most of bonfire night underneath the stairs with music playing with her dog, a yorkshire terrier cross because he will not stop shaking last year he had a fit he was so afraid ,so this year he will be on drugged to keep him calm .

Raksha

It can also help to feed a dog a meal high in carbohydrate before a known event (not easy when they go off randomly in the weeks leading up to Nov 5th) as this helps them to sleep.

Too late now, but sound desentisation CD's can be very effective if you work hard to make the bangs linked with something good, like the throw of a ball or a piece of yummy food.

Please think carefully about the use of drugs, although rarely used these days, so vets still use sedatives which leave the animal mentally alert, but unable to move, so it's very hard to tell if they are actually stressed or not - makes the owner feel better, but is very hard on the dog...