Fireworks: Vet sees rise in owners asking for Bonfire Night sedatives
Fireworks: Vet sees rise in owners asking for Bonfire Night sedatives
A vet is seeing a rise in people asking for sedatives for their pets during the firework period.
So I have owned three dogs in total. One was scared by the explosions.
The other two just barked at them and seemed to think of them as a game. Initially, at least. As they got older, they just grew indifferent.
I have a Yorkie which freaks the fuck out whenever there's fireworks, trembles and shakes and wants to be held the entire time.
I also have a great Pyrenees and he might bark at a particularly close one but otherwise he just sleeps through it all.
Nods I have a chihuahua. He barks whe he hears the first few. Settles down after that.
But on sat night I was taking him for a walk. Got to the end of my road. Just as a huge local display about 200m away started. Bloody loud.
Dog turns and heads home so bloody quick. He practically dragged 6ft me all the way. Was not happy when that close. But settled down once inside.
My dog will bark at fireworks, but will mostly ignore them if we have the TV on or music playing. It's mostly only a problem if one goes off when she goes out in the garden at night to "do her business".
I've known other animals that will completely freak out at them however, even despite having had attempts to expose them properly.
I had a cocker spaniel that would sit in the garden watching with us, the display was 1/2 a mile away.
I kind of wonder whether it's easier to just desensitize a dog to fireworks than to knock them out with drugs. Like, take them to a fireworks show, but stay a long ways away, do so again but get closer another day, repeat.
It is worth trying 8f you get a puppy but a lot of people have rescue dogs, some of whom have had a tough life that makes them jumpy. My friend has a retired racing greyhound and has been trained to respond to a bang but, out of the racing context she just freaks out, and that's a lot of dog to be suddenly frantic.
I've desensitised 15 year old dogs, dogs are trainable at any age.
Not all dogs (and other pets) can be desensitised to fireworks, and as the UK has more pets the amount needing alternatives will increase also.
Kind of hard when it's a once-per-year event. Desensitisation is an effective training strategy, but takes time and effort. You might have some success with loud fireworks recordings, but nothing can really replicate the pure noise, light, reverberation and smell of the real deal.
Medicating pets for a day or two is not the end of the world and helps them not having to experience the utter helpless panic.
I have a real beef with the anti-medication crowd, they completely ignore how life altering it can be for those that need them, just because they don't suffer themselves so don't see the need for anyone to have them.
It's it better not to need them? Of course. Should you try alternatives first? Absolutely. Is it a failure if it turns out the medication is the only thing that actually helps? Abso-fucking-lutely not.
We live in a society where it's becoming increasingly easier to treat the symptoms of issues than it is to treat the causes of issues.
Sometimes treating the cause isn't possible.
Sometimes treating the cause is a lot tougher than just popping a pill and suppressing the cause.
I personally think it's possible that we're becoming too reliant on drugs. Many dogs were still scared of fireworks twenty years ago, but if you heard the owner saying that they wanted to sedate them rather than just stay up with them, calming them and helping them, you'd think they were mad.
It's easier than that to desensitise, there's 8 hour videos of fireworks on youtube. Put it on starting really quiet so you can barely hear it for a bit each day, then slowly increase the volume. I foster so I do it with every dog that comes in, usually every day for 2 weeks. None of mine even flinch.
There's a lot who don't want to put the work in, but their dogs are already desensitised to loads of other loud noises like the TV, Ambulances passing, even low flying planes. Think of all the people who put war films on and don't think twice about all the bombs and gunshots.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
Dr Davies, 29, said: "I've noticed that owners are becoming more and more interested in making sure their animals aren't stressed during the firework period.
"As we're doing repeat prescriptions, this year in particular, I've noticed around a third of them are people requesting medications to get their pet through the Bonfire Night period," he said.
Kate Thomas, owner of Bridgend Doggy Day Care, said she would open her doors to dogs to enjoy a quieter Bonfire Night.
A spokesperson said: "We are working closely with animal welfare and veterinary organisations to amplify this messaging in the run up to, and during key dates when fireworks are commonly used."
The chairman of the British Fireworks Association, Steve Raper, said further legislation was not required and current laws needed to be properly and fully enforced.
Caerphilly, Carmarthenshire, Conwy, Denbighshire, Flintshire, Gwynedd, Isle of Anglesey, Neath Port Talbot, Newport, Pembrokeshire, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Swansea, Torfaen and Wrexham council have signed up to implement RSPCA-backed safety measures.
The original article contains 555 words, the summary contains 164 words. Saved 70%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!
Payback for the mutts keeping us up at night with the barking and defecating all over the streets lmao
When people decided to buy their pets, what proportion did so, unaware of Britain's tradition of lofting explosives into the air at this time of year'? Roughly none. And they still bought pets.
Whole neighbourhood cannot have fun now because of my little poppy who shakes when a fly lands on the wall