And its not just our canine friends who don't get on well with fireworks. My 6 year old is turned into nervous wreck with them - we have returned to the same hotel we were in last year - it is in Switzerland but they gave us the same room that backs onto woods and the steep valley sides so no chance of much happening by the room (unlike our house which is right next to the fields where the ville de Delémont hold their annual fête). Hopefully he will be fast asleep and as long as I keep the doors and windows shut, we will be fine.

Another 1 August goes by without any fireworks for me ...

I can report that the blinds are down, the fan and the TV are on, and there is a steady stream of noise outside. Lily's wearing her thundershirt and has been sleeping on the bed. Very mellow. Amazing.

Hope you're all doing well!

Ecb - have you tried a weighted blanket for your little one?

Glad Lily is doing well. It is very noisy here.

I hope the other two dogs are sleeping okay at the kennels. The owners assured us it is remote enough not to hear fireworks. When we took the dogs there were other Swiss guests there as well.

Not a weighted blanket as such but I do hold him tightly with his back to me .. But he went off to sleep at 9.15 with me sitting next to him and has not stirred despite a really impressive display here in Davos .. so for once I got to see fireworks .. From the hotel terrace!!

The Xanax worked wonders on our Brownie. She noticed the fireworks, but didn't seem particularly scared. Nothing like last year, at least!

Sounds good. Has Lily had her Thundershirt for a long time or just recently?

I bought it almost 4 years ago, but I know we didn't use it at all till we moved to Winti in 2012. And it seems that even if she doesn't wear it for a while, it still works. The key for us is to get it on early enough. Tonight we had a thunderstorm, but we put the shirt on after it started, so we had about 30 minutes of bouncing around and barking. For thunderstoms, i don't know if she senses the drop in air pressure. For example though, we used the shirt over New Years, and then didn't use it again till May or June and then not again till yesterday.

Thanks

One of our two dogs senses thunderstorms about 20 or 30 minutes before they arrive so we have time to put on his Thundershirt, I assumed his hearing is better than ours and hears the storm earlier?
Also useful when we are out in the boat; gives us time to race home!

Maybe better hearing, or some sensation of air pressure. There are people who get air pressure - related headaches before thunderstorms. But I'm glad it seems to work for you too.

My dearly departed Psychocollie was a finely tuned canine barometer. He could indeed sense the drop in air pressure. It could be a beautiful day, clear blue skies - but as soon as he started reacting we knew we had 2 hours before a storm hit. He was spot on the money every time.

I understand that it's quite common that dogs sense the drop in air pressure.

(How I wish that the Thundershirt, or even the knowledge behind it, had been available back in Psychocollie's day...)

Well, the holiday weekend hasn't been too bad, all things considered.

The Belltie was pretty non-plussed. He can still hear some things, like the biscuit cupboard opening , but I'd guess his hearing loss fairly advanced now. He half-heartedly woofed when Hooligan did, but more out of a sense of solidarity than anything else. He was fast asleep by the time the worst of it hit.

Hooligan had her Thundershirt on early in the day. Hard to know if it was the Thundershirt or perhaps that the fireworks were not as bad as some years - but she's made it through the weekend so I'll keep using it.

The hardest time for her was during the day on Friday, when the children were setting off single firecrackers at random times. It's the unexpected explosion in the midst of absolute quiet that terrifies her most, and has the most potential to trigger an epileptic seizure. Once all hell breaks loose at night, once we have constant fireworks, she seems to cope better. But I am very happy to report no seizures. (We are now officially one year seizure-free!)

Puddle was a surprise. He's not unreactive to fireworks as we had thought; rather he shuts down when frightened. He just went to his bed and sat quietly - but when I touched him he was trembling uncontrollably. (You can't actually see him tremble under all that poodly fluff.) He was unable to go out from 6 onwards, too afraid to piddle. Not great in a medically incontinent dog who usually has to empty his bladder every hour.

Now that I know not only that he reacts when afraid but also how, I can work with him differently - so at least something useful came out of the weekend.

(Hopping on my training soapbox: This is why it is so important to understand that 'calmness' is not always a good thing when it comes to canine behavior. What appears calm on the outside can indeed be a completely shut down dog, the actual opposite of calm.)

I put a T-shirt on Puddle on Saturday, and he coped better, albeit there were fewer fireworks. It is probably worthwhile to try a Thundershirt with him, and we will certainly begin DS/CC in anticipation of next year.

So all in all, not a great weekend but certainly not as bad as other years.

Thank doG it's over.

What I've noticed with my dog, is that when we are outside she is not scared but only when at home... like if something will happen I can't get out and run

This I found most annoying! The setting off of Big Bangs randomly during the day!

Not only for the usual dog/cat pets of neighbors, but it affected the birds too. There were none of the usual birds coming to eat at the bird-table - and no big hawks in the sky on Friday.

The farmer behind us has two little goats in a grass enclosure, and they seemed most miserable, huddling together. Usually they are gamboling about playing and chasing each other. I notice they are still subdued by today. And the birds are still (mostly) absent.

Is it allowable to report the big bangs in neighborhood during the daytime? Or is that a Mother Grundy No-No Frowned-on behaviour?
I thought fire-crackers were not allowed during daylight hours on 1st August? (when animals/birds are awake/feeding/not sheltered)

Smoky, check with your Gemeinde to see if there are any rules on fireworks hours.

Where I live fireworks are allowed all day long on 1 August. They are supposed to stop at 1 AM but this is not enforced, fireworks go on until the wee small hours. They are supposed to be forbidden on other days as well, but if 1 August falls on a Friday, Saturday, Sunday, or a Monday we have learned to expect fireworks all weekend long.

'Round these parts it would be counterproductive to complain. 1 August celebrations are the most sacred of sacred cows, if one were to make a fuss there would certainly be blow-back over some other matter. Not to mention, complaining would be looked on as clear evidence of fehlende Integration.

One of the neighboring farmers lost a sheep due to the fireworks this year.

Our parrot is also affected by fireworks. I put her sleeping cage in one of the best insulated rooms downstairs and there is a fan running but still in the morning there are a ton of feathers on the cage floor. She was very tired the next day and very quiet.

I'm so happy we've made it through this year's "fun" more or less intact. Now on to Jan 31. :-/

I wish .... I wish that celebrations with fireworks could be without the Big Bangs - and just those with colourful lights that explode in the sky, without having to BANG!

There is a strong possibility that this year is going to be very quiet if it is decided that there will be no fireworks due to the lack of rain.

I hope this this year would be with nice Fireworks, this is really amazing to see here in Switzerland.

For someone who supposedly has an interest in pets (profile) this is a rather strange statement.