For many, New Year's is associated with celebration and colors, but for dog owners, New Year's is often an ambivalent pleasure - perhaps even downright stressful. Many dogs suffer from noise anxiety, and even if you do everything you can to avoid fireworks, you can easily end up in some really frustrating situations anyway, since you never know where and when they will appear.
Officially, it says that fireworks can be set off between December 27th and December 1st, but if you have a dog that is anxious and you hardly dare to walk it – that's a hell of a long period! Not to mention the situations where fireworks are also set off outside the season.
I would therefore like fireworks not to be something private individuals could acquire, but rather that various fireworks shows were held that people could come and watch. Then we dog owners – not to mention all other animal owners – would know where to stay away from.
The fireworks dilemma has become extra relevant for me this year. As I mentioned in my last blog post, the pack has been expanded with a little new one – Kida, a Chodsky Pes bitch, who will be 5 months old on New Year's Eve. This year will be her first New Year.
Dumle, our other dear dog, is extremely calm and steady, so our worries about New Year's are usually minimal, because Dumle always sleeps carefree into the new year.
In fact, she is so unaffected even in situations where fireworks suddenly go off nearby that if it weren't for the fact that she fortunately normally responds to our voices, I would have suspected she was deaf!
However, I know that not all dog owners have such a carefree New Year. For example, my parents always celebrate New Year's in our summer house far out in the woods in Sweden because their dog is so afraid of fireworks that no amount of sedatives helps.
I have therefore been very conscious of accustoming her to all sorts of noises ever since Kida moved in as an 8-week-old puppy, and when you are dating a craftsman, that includes various machines, chainsaws and pile drivers. Something that she fortunately takes really well and without any worries – 7-9-13!
Still, I don't dare take any chances in terms of making her first New Year's Eve a positive experience, so we have planned a New Year's Eve where the dogs can be with us the whole time. Hopefully, Dumle's carefree spirit will continue to rub off on Kida, so both dogs will have a wonderful New Year's Eve - because I will too :-)
I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and that your dogs get through the New Year as well as possible.
Please contact your veterinarian and/or a behaviorist if your dog is severely affected by this - help is available!
Behind the scenes of this week's blogger
My name is Line, I am 23 years old and I have two beautiful dogs - Saga: a 5-year-old Tibetan Spaniel, and Dumle: a 4-year-old Labrador.
I love collaborating and developing with my dogs, and we therefore regularly try out all sorts of different disciplines within dog sports. Our biggest passion, however, is rally, where we can often be found on the competition track.
Ambivalent New Year
For many, New Year's is associated with celebration and colors, but for dog owners, New Year's is often an ambivalent pleasure - perhaps even downright stressful. Many dogs suffer from noise anxiety, and even if you do everything you can to avoid fireworks, you can easily end up in some really frustrating situations anyway, since you never know where and when they will appear.
Officially, it says that fireworks can be set off between December 27th and December 1st, but if you have a dog that is anxious and you hardly dare to walk it – that's a hell of a long period! Not to mention the situations where fireworks are also set off outside the season.
I would therefore like fireworks not to be something private individuals could acquire, but rather that various fireworks shows were held that people could come and watch. Then we dog owners – not to mention all other animal owners – would know where to stay away from.
The fireworks dilemma has become extra relevant for me this year. As I mentioned in my last blog post, the pack has been expanded with a little new one – Kida, a Chodsky Pes bitch, who will be 5 months old on New Year's Eve. This year will be her first New Year.
Dumle, our other dear dog, is extremely calm and steady, so our worries about New Year's are usually minimal, because Dumle always sleeps carefree into the new year.
In fact, she is so unaffected even in situations where fireworks suddenly go off nearby that if it weren't for the fact that she fortunately normally responds to our voices, I would have suspected she was deaf!
However, I know that not all dog owners have such a carefree New Year. For example, my parents always celebrate New Year's in our summer house far out in the woods in Sweden because their dog is so afraid of fireworks that no amount of sedatives helps.
I have therefore been very conscious of accustoming her to all sorts of noises ever since Kida moved in as an 8-week-old puppy, and when you are dating a craftsman, that includes various machines, chainsaws and pile drivers. Something that she fortunately takes really well and without any worries – 7-9-13!
Still, I don't dare take any chances in terms of making her first New Year's Eve a positive experience, so we have planned a New Year's Eve where the dogs can be with us the whole time. Hopefully, Dumle's carefree spirit will continue to rub off on Kida, so both dogs will have a wonderful New Year's Eve - because I will too :-)
I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and that your dogs get through the New Year as well as possible.
Please contact your veterinarian and/or a behaviorist if your dog is severely affected by this - help is available!
Behind the scenes of this week's blogger
My name is Line, I am 23 years old and I have two beautiful dogs - Saga: a 5-year-old Tibetan Spaniel, and Dumle: a 4-year-old Labrador.
I love collaborating and developing with my dogs, and we therefore regularly try out all sorts of different disciplines within dog sports. Our biggest passion, however, is rally, where we can often be found on the competition track.