Hello friends.  I hope you have lots of fun plans set for the Fourth of July celebration.  Penny particularly doesn’t look forward to this day as she has a fear of fireworks; a fairly common phobia for dogs. She always finds the loud, unpredictable noise and bright displays of light truly frightening.

The good news is that there are a few things that I do to help her get through the festivities –

I make sure she gets plenty of exercise the morning of the fireworks.

I don’t change my behavior; I just go about my day like always.

I make sure Penny uses the potty outside (plenty of times) before the festivities begin.

I don’t react to the fireworks at all and I certainly don’t call attention to them.

David and I will stick in a good movie and turn up the volume to try and drown out the sounds of the fireworks.

I will sometimes have her wear a nice body wrap called the Thundershirt to help relax her.

I don’t push her past her comfort zone and I leave her be whether it’s in her crate or curled up under a blanket on the couch.

Being scared is stressful and stress is not a girl’s best friend.  I certainly don’t put Penny in the category of having a high-level of stress when it comes to fireworks, but I like to think of myself as a responsible caregiver and try to do whatever it takes to make me her feel better. 

 Hope you have a wonderful Fourth of July!