New Year's Eve fireworks - what can you do about your dog's fear?
New Year's Eve is the "banger", but it can be an extremely stressful time for our dogs. The sudden, loud bangs of fireworks can cause them great fear. While it is normal for dogs to react to unexpected noises with caution or shock, this reaction can become a serious problem if it becomes more severe. We want to change that and resolve New Year's Eve fear - by understanding how a dog's brain works and learns.
As a sociologist, I would like to explain to you in more detail why your dog is stressed on New Year's Eve and what you can do about it. Unfortunately, many "advice" is too short-sighted. If you want to delve deeper into the topic and don't find advice like "comfort the dog" or "ignore the dog" particularly helpful, you will find well-founded answers here. I will explain to you why the dog reacts this way and how you can alleviate the problem in the long term. It's about reducing fear reactions by providing positive experiences that allow your dog's brain to re-learn. The strategies presented here work for all fears - and in a very similar way for people too.
Symptoms of New Year's Eve Fear in Dogs
A dog that is afraid of fireworks noises may exhibit the following symptoms:
- Tremble
- panting
- whining or barking
- escape attempts
- Hide
- loss of appetite
- restlessness
Sometimes the fear can become so strong that your dog reacts as if his life were in danger. Therefore, it is important to take appropriate measures in a timely manner.
How does a dog's brain work when it is afraid?
Your dog's fear reaction is based on a learning process in the brain: stimulus and reaction are linked. If your dog is repeatedly exposed to negative experiences, his fear can increase. However, some dogs also get used to it. However, this is difficult with New Year's Eve firecrackers because they come suddenly and intensely. Getting used to them works best in small, controlled steps. Nevertheless, there are dogs that remain calm on New Year's Eve. Most, however, react with panic because they do not understand the situation and believe they are in danger.
The brain "learns" that the triggering sounds mean danger, which can lead to a trauma reaction. With each repetition, this reaction becomes more deeply anchored. In sociology, we speak of a trauma reaction when a behavior becomes entrenched through repeated experiences of fear and can no longer be resolved through spontaneous distraction or milder experiences. An example of this is a dog that has experienced violence since it was a child and later bites every person who reminds it of that person. In this case, the original trigger may already have disappeared, but the behavior is still triggered through associations (e.g. gender).
The good news is that these connections can be weakened. This is done by deliberately overlaying and dampening the triggering stimuli. The aim is to offer the brain an alternative, positive reaction.
Overlaying and dampening of fear
An effective method to reduce anxiety is to combine protection from the stimuli and the creation of positive experiences.
- Protection from noise : Keep the background noise as low as possible. Closed windows, darkened rooms and calming music can help. However: some background noise in a mild form can be good. For example, if you go into the basement and the dog hears the rockets muffled while being positively distracted, he can learn to perceive these noises as less threatening. The positive experiences he has will be associated with the muffled noises.
- Positive distraction : While the noises are quietly audible in the background, you should keep your dog busy with something that gives him pleasure. Playing ball, for example, can trigger immense joy because it activates the hunting instinct and releases dopamine, the happiness hormone. At the same time, less cortisol is released, which is produced in greater quantities in fearful situations.
Start training a few days before New Year's Eve. If your dog doesn't respond to balls, try other activities that he enjoys. Maybe there is music that he associates with your good mood, or he enjoys it when you sing or dance. Your goal is either to trigger joy in the dog himself or to radiate your own joy, which he feels and imitates.
Be careful when petting
How you respond to your dog’s fear is important:
- Avoid reinforcing fear : Nervous petting can signal to your dog that there is danger. If you are anxious yourself, this can increase your dog's fear.
- Show calmness : Pet your dog calmly and lovingly, with a relaxed demeanor. A smile, a relaxed posture and a cheerful voice convey security.
- Don't ignore : Don't push your dog away. Let him snuggle up to you or crawl under the covers, but remain calm and relaxed.
Additional tools
- Tranquilizers : There is nothing wrong with them in principle: they basically shut down the entire nervous system. This means that your dog simply "feels less". You cannot retrain the dog's brain with them, i.e. you cannot lessen the reactions for the future, but you can solve the acute problem. And that is enough for the dog. There are warnings on the Internet saying that you only reduce the symptoms, but the dog will still be afraid. This is very unscientific. Fear reactions occur because hormones are produced. This means that if the entire system is shut down, then hormone levels do not rise and therefore the dog is not afraid. Many people understandably want to give their dog as little medication as possible, but this makes life difficult for themselves and the dog. Because if your dog only suffers so badly once a year, then herbal remedies are great for containing the problem. If you want to get the fear under control in the long term and also train the dog to generally react less fearfully to similar noises, then the training mentioned above is the way to go. In other words, overlaying the fear with moods, games and actions that trigger strong positive emotions in the dog. This is also how it works with trauma work with humans. If I were forced to go bungee jumping, I would take a tranquilizer instead of trying to overlay it with something positive. Because I'm not otherwise confronted with it in everyday life.
-
Anti-stress harness : A special anti-stress harness like the STURMFREI® can help your dog to deal with his fear better. Collars make the situation much more difficult for the dog, as he is punished by pressure on the neck when he is afraid and logically tries to flee. Classic chest harnesses, on the other hand, can increase flight reactions because the dog tries to wriggle under the harness. The STURMFREI® harness helps to turn the dog towards you and thus draw his attention to you. His fear is not increased.
It is important that you radiate calmness and give your dog a sense of security. Don't look angry, but relaxed when he looks at you. Your dog needs a fearless knight in moments of panic.
Your own attitude counts
A crucial factor is your own calmness. Dogs sense the emotions of their owners and are influenced by them. Do not show fear or nervousness, especially with territorial breeds that react strongly to you. Act as if everything is normal and remain relaxed. If your dog has not been afraid of New Year's Eve so far, keep the noise level low and avoid stressful situations. Do not leave him alone at midnight, but do not take him into the fray either. A single loud bang can be enough to trigger future fears.
Conclusion
Removing your dog's fear of New Year's Eve requires patience, training and the right preparation. Protect your dog from loud noises, create positive experiences and stay relaxed yourself. With time and the right methods, you can help your dog to cope better with this stressful time - maybe even forget it altogether. Learn how the brain works and find the best way for you and your dog.
Almost everything can be solved if you look at the background.
We wish you a wonderful year 2025!