freebass55

We have a 3 year old Pit/Britney Mix and it looks like it's time to get rid of her. We can't seem to keep her in the yard when fireworks are going off. She gets so scared that she will go through fences, or at least try until she is a bloody mess. I don't know what to do besides taking her to the pound. I have tried to bring her in the house during fireworks but she she runs around and scratches things up. I have also tried to train her but she just doesn't take to the training. She is a really good dog. She loves kids, cats and other dogs, and is so fun to play with. She loves to play with my son, but she is a whole 'nother animal when the banging starts. I don't know what else to do. Do you guys have any other ideas or is she just destined for the pound?

future9er24

fireworks? for what? its not the 4th of next month yet :scratch:

in any case, i wish i would take her, but i cant. heres hoping you find a nice kind new owner!

freebass55

It stinks, almost every night someone is firing those things off. I don't know why, but if it was only once a year then it wouldn't be a problem.

future9er24

complain to the city? maybe that might help...

Lalo

I had a retriever who would go insane every year because of fireworks. The third year did it for him. He broke the wooden fence and ran away. We found him at the pound, but he was seemed to not be same after that. He was able to break through again and run away. That was the last time we saw him, about two years ago.

Hopefully the dog we have now wont go bonkers

jgsmuzzy

one of my dogs is the same, goes loopy at fireworks. My Aunt is a vet and recommended (strongly) this stuff. It works great, although fireworks are only a problem for 8 weeks in the year. Hope this helps

http://www.woofershollow.com/

stargirl66

Oh man, that really stinks. I know there are some dogs, and some breeds of dogs that just don't make good famly pets, but please be sure you've tried all corrective measures, give the dog every chance there is to overcome it's fears.

My dog has always been afraid of lightning and thunder, but could care less about fireworks and gunshots, I tried sedatives, which work for some dogs but not all, and they didn't seem to do much for her. We had a dog years ago that was terrified of riding in the car, we sedated him and took him for a ride, and after that, he loved to go for rides. There's so much helpful info. on the net, and TV shows about pet training, and your vet's a good place to check too. Your pet sounds like a nice pooch if it's good with kids, see if there's anything else you can do for it.

UA2k1GT

yeah go talk to your vet. they have meds out there that are equivalent to anti-anxiety pills like paxil, zoloft, whatever.

friend of ours had a dog with seperation anxiety. anytime the owners would leave the house, the dog would go apechit and tear things up, and make all kinds of noise, but the meds helped.

Mike McRann

Sorry about the problems you're having with your dog, hopefully I can give you some ideas that will help you.

Have you talked to the vet and explained the problem (fear of fireworks)? Maybe they can subscribe a sedative to calm the dog down.

In regard to the dog not taking to the training...in some dogs it takes awhile to get them to respond to training...it doesn't happen overnight. If you're having problems doing the training on your own then I would suggest looking into obediance classes in your area. I've seen them offered at Petco and Petsmart once in a while.
As to the dog causing damage in the house...if the dog lives outside then maybe you could confine her to one room (kitchen or bath) until she get's used to being inside and learns to behave inside.

I have three dogs that spend lots of time inside and NEVER cause any damage.
As to the dog getting out of the yard...one of my dogs does that all the time so I have to tie her up when I take the dogs outside, but I don't know if that would work for you as your dog would probably hurt herself on the rope/chain trying to escape.

UA2k1GT

don't be afraid to crate the dog when its inside either.

EleanorsMine

A crate is a lifesaver.........My little JRT stays in his own his own when he needs to hide.

freebass55

Thanks for the advice. I'll go talk to the vet again. She is the one who originally told us how to get her trained to the sounds. She never mentioned sedatives.

When she was a pup she stayed inside, in a crate. I was thinking that might be her problem. I think we got her used to that. I left the garage door open a crack last night so she could get in and she was a little better. Maybe because she was inside.

Once again, thanks for the help.

stargirl66

I think crates training dogs is good for them. Dogs are den animals and won't mess up their personal space if they can help it, and it's a safe haven for them to go. I kept my dog in a crate for about 2 years when I wasn't home, then gradually let her out of it when I was away for short lengths of time at first. She gradually got the run of the place, but I always keep her crate available to her with the door open. She uses it sometimes, and it's nice to have if I just need her to be out of the way for a little while or she needs to get away from my friend's wild children, LOL (she's an old girl and can't take too much excitement anymore).

kerafaith

You could always take her to a vet that does boarding & have her boarded there for just the 1 night.....

freebass55

I would if it was only one night. The fireworks are constant every night.

I called my vet last night and she told me to try Good Dog. Never heard of it but I ordered it after I got off the phone with her.

I also think I might have found a temporary solution. I left the garage door open again last night and she was perfectly quiet. No scratching no digging, nothing. If this works at my house, then she has a new dog house. We'll see. I hope she doesn't start up again when we move into the in-laws.

AZOmae

If you are content with the garage as a dog house, that will work.

We got one of those 'igloo' dog houses, and whenever he wanted to sleep, he crawled inside. We even got a heavy duty door for him. It wasn't exactly sound proof, but I snuck up on him plenty of times. I, in fact, went in one day to see what it was like. It was quite cozy and quiet.

I know that he would always take refuge in the igloo whenever he was scolded, or it was bath time. Trying to get him out during bath time was a chore in itself!

Try getting a doghouse, even if the dog doesn't lay in it during the day. I'm assuming the majority of the fireworks are going off at night?

Just an option to consider.