Why does my dog bark at fireworks?
Is it something about the cracking noise that makes dogs bark at fireworks? My pets have heard other loud noises and had absolutely no reaction to it.
5 Answers
In addition to what Katie and Cari mentioned, dogs also sense the the vibration in the ground from fireworks. Because they're so sensitive fireworks, especially if they haven't been exposed to them before or often can be extremely frightening and disorienting for dogs.
Usually around the 4th of July the local and national newscasts have a piece about how to care for your dog during fireworks. For most dogs it is a disaster. Lots of runaways. pounds are overloaded. Dogs are cowering behind the toilet. It is very natural for dogs to hate fireworks.
Get a Thunder Shirt! It really does wonders for dogs that are anxious during these events. I have easily gotten my money's worth with my boglen terriers Thunder Shirt.
A few times I've noticed, with my own dog and family/friends dogs, it's the combination of the sudden noises and the flashes of light. I've known dogs who are very much use to the sound of guns, trackers, other misc farm noise makers, and are startled by the fireworks. Same with thunder and lighting storms, they we're okay with just the thunder or lighting by themselves but when they were very closely back to back it startled them as well.
Remember that a dog's hearing is much more sensitive than ours is. So noises that we either don't hear or don't think are very loud can be very loud to them. The suddenness of the sound together with the bright lights might startle them.