Why is my dog still scared of fireworks days after they stopped?

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Poor Jax! This is a serious phobia now if he won't go outside after dark. I highly recommend taking Jax to your Vet for medications. I would recommend starting a long acting anti-anxiety medication like Prozac. You will need to be proactive for fireworks and thunder storms for the future. You should have a short acting sedative to give before fireworks and thunderstorms. During these events he should be in a safe room with the TV AND a radio on. Do not force him outdoors during these times. You need to start desensitizing him towards firework noise now. That means playing a recording on a low volume while feeding him delicious treats and gradually increasing the volume. The goal being that he will associate GOOD things with the firework noise instead of fear. You will need to do something similar to get him back outside at night in combination with drugs. Good luck!

Hi there and thanks for posting on PetCoach! Some dogs respond to the thundershirt better than others, but in general, it does work very well at easing tension and anxiety in most dogs who wear the wrap. If Riley's anxiety is very pronounced during fireworks, you may want to talk to his veterinarian about anti-anxiety medications that can be prescribed. Calming chewables that have L-Theanine in them can also help as well at easing tension. I have linked an example of the calming chewables below. I hope this helps!

Poor Diesel! Fireworks and loud noises can be really scary for dogs. One important thing to do to when your dog acts scared is not to reassure him. We think we are comforting him when we do that, but it's actually reinforcing the behavior and telling him it's ok to be scared. I recommend getting him a thundershirt to wear when there are fireworks or loud noises. These have been reported to help dogs with anxiety. At home, you can put him in a dark quiet room by himself to self-soothe. You can also turn on the TV or music to block out the sound. Finally, you can consider get a pheromone diffuser called DAP that helps dogs with anxiety.

Poor Mason - you really are trying everything for him!. Unfortunately it may be time to consider injectable medications and keeping him hospitalized to prevent further injury. There are sound phobia training methods which would be worthwhile considering once this current crisis is over but in the short term and a consultation with a behaviorist in the long term would be worthwhile

Hi and thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Sorry to hear about Archie. There is a fairly new drug out for noise/sound phobias but it is actually a medicine that we have used for years to sedation and anesthetize dogs and cats. The drug company has now packaged it in an oral gel form and very small doses of the drug are very effective at curbing the fear that dogs experience. The drug in the United States is called Sileo (dexmedetomidine oromucosal gel). I would advise asking your veterinarian and find out if this preparation of the drug is available in the UK. The other thing you can do is behavior modification, or in this case hyposensitization to loud noises that cause him anxiety. Find recordings of thunder and loud noises but play it very softly at first when starting the medication if you can get it. You can then incrementally raise the volume of the recording to start lessening his response to the noises that bother him. I hope this helps and I hope this drug is available in this form in the UK. Good luck with Archie.

I would recommend anti-anxiety supplements and calming supplements such as those recommended below. If there is no improvement, you may need to seek behavioral training or see a veterinarian about anti-anxiety prescription drugs. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any further questions / concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further. 1. Adaptil calming collar and diffuser 2. NaturVet Quiet Moments calm chews with melatonin

Yes there are some over the counter products you can try such as the thunder shirt or an Adaptil collar or diffuser. However if you want something that will work without fail I would try Alprazolam or Valium but these require a prescription through your vet so schedule an appt soon. I hope everything works out for your pets and happy holidays.