She gets scared.
She shivers and shakes.
She retreats under the bed.
She tries to hide in the corners of rooms.
Her ears go back.
Her tail is between her legs.
Misty Moo is very very scared of Bonfire Night.
If only there was such a thing as ear defenders for dogs. OMG. There is. Check these out! Darn! No next day delivery. As you were.
It is really hard because we know every year she will have to go through this. If it was just one night of the year we would go somewhere else to stay with her, a long way from fireworks, but it isn't one night is it? Just as soon as the fireworks are on sale you can guarantee someone will set them off that very night.
BOOM.
CRACK.
WHIIIIISTLE.
And away goes Misty to shiver until she thinks it is safe to come out.
And so it goes on for a few weeks until the ultimate weekend when it feels like we are in a war zone.
We can't take the children to a firework display because we can't leave her. It just wouldn't be fair. We have tried hormonal drops, herbal remedies and even bought her an indoor kennel, her war bunker as we call it, but it doesn't really help. We just have to comfort her if she will be comforted and wait for it to end.
She gets scared during the day too. We could have several days even stretching to a couple of weeks when she is too scared to go for a walk. The slightest noise, the lid of a dustbin, a car door, something being dropped in a skip, and she turns tail, pulling and tugging to get home.
I feel so sorry for her because I can't explain it or make it go away. She is 11 years old (or thereabouts) and I worry for her health. She is fit and well otherwise but the term 'scared to death' could easily apply.
I hope you enjoy your firework night but spare a thought for your pets.
- Turn the TV or radio on quite loud to drown out the fireworks.
- Draw the curtains.
- Make sure doors are locked (Misty is a Houdini and can open our front door!).
- Reassure them.
I totally empathise. We had two dogs that were both petrified of thunder storms. Imagine my delight when my husband went away to a conference and I was left home alone with my almost 2 yo, two neurotic dogs and a 8 month old foetus in my belly. we had a giant thunderstorm. It started around midnight and stopped around 3 am. I had to massage the dogs' ears for 3 hrs to try and stop them barking and waking up the wee one. Who woke up at 5 am anyway. I still haven't forgiven my husband and that was almost 6 years ago!
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