FEAR OF FIREWORKS

Bonfire Night can often be a stressful time for animals

If you have a dog that’s frightened of fireworks (and a surprising number of gundogs are), this is a horrible time of the year. For the past nine years the Firework Campaign UK has worked hard to reform the UK’S firework legislation. There have been numerous petitions to try to control the sale and use of fireworks, but none have had any serious impact. In 2019 a petition that called for the sale of fireworks to the public to be banned, with displays for licensed venues only, gained 307,897 signatures. In contrast, a rival petition calling for the sale of fireworks not to be banned gained 424 signatures.

Petitions clearly don’t work, so what does? Not a lot it would seem. The

Government apparently believes “the current regulations strike the right balance between the enjoyment of fireworks by the public and restricting the sale and use of fireworks for public safety reasons” and it seemingly has no plans to change the legislation.

This of course means that fireworks will continues to blight our lives for the foreseeable future, so we have to do what we can to reduce the trauma to our animals. Many years ago, when I had a spaniel bitch who was particularly scared of fireworks, I tried accustoming her to the sound of fireworks by playing firework CDS to her. The theory was great, but frustratingly it didn’t work. She took little or no notice of the CD, regardless of how loudly it was played, but reacted instantly to the real thing, even if it was a rocket half a mile away.

These days there are lots of remedies that help reduce the anguish for our canine friends. One interesting one that I haven’t tried is the Thundershirt, a tight-fitting vest that apparently helps reassure a worried dog. Classic FM has also come to the aid of stressed pets with Pet Classics. Hosted by Charlotte Hawkins, it will be broadcast on 4 and 5 November from 5pm to 9pm. It’s great music — both my dogs and I enjoyed it last year, and will be doing so again this week.

Fireworks often cause stress and fear in dogs