# Scared of fireworks and won't go potty outside



## ebenjamin85 (Apr 13, 2008)

Poor thing! My only advice would be to make sure that you and everyone else in the home is acting calm and collected. When a dog is anxious they can pick up on their owner's anxiety as well, magnifying the problem. Simply act like the fireworks are no big deal. This is what we've done with thunderstorms and it has helped a lot. Unfortunately, when she gets comfortable the fireworks may be done, so you're definitely in a tricky spot. 

Best of luck to both you and your floors!


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## ebenjamin85 (Apr 13, 2008)

Can you try offering a small treat after every boom?


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## Bella's Mama (Jun 12, 2011)

I will try the treat. She's fine with lightening but this must be worse. Poor baby!


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## ebenjamin85 (Apr 13, 2008)

Is she crate trained? If she views her crate as a safe place it may be worth crating her until the fireworks stop. She may still have an accident but I'm thinking that she will be less stressed in there.


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## ozzy'smom (Jun 18, 2011)

My sister has to give her dog sedatives every year on the 4th. Hopefully your little guy will get over it quickly and you won't need to resort to that.


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## Bella's Mama (Jun 12, 2011)

Bella ended up being just fine. I put her in her crate, and she calmed right down. We just made sure to take her out as soon as they stopped.


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## oakleysmommy (Feb 20, 2011)

I let oakley out at 10:30 last nite right in the middle of the loudest fireworks and he got so scared he came running inside too He was fine after a few minutes. So we had the same the issue here.


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## Gtrman13 (May 17, 2011)

Bella is so cute!

Anyway, my last golden was scared to death of fireworks and thunder so I wanted to make sure my new pup was going to be okay with it. It's possible this didn't have anything to do with it, but from day 1 I put on a lot of war movies with gunshots and explosions very loud when she was around and I would just act normal. She was initially a bit spooked, not scared, but is now fine with pretty much any loud and/or sharp noises. She hardly perked her ears up the entire 4th of July!

Good luck to you and Bella!


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## dberk (Jul 5, 2011)

Teach her that loud noises bring good things. e.g., bang some pans together before you feed her. Very soft at first, then increasing in noise - SLOWLY as to not overwhelm.


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## Bella's Mama (Jun 12, 2011)

Y'all have some great ideas! I will try them! It thundered last night and I made her stay outside until she went. She did!


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## tanianault (Dec 11, 2010)

I agree with Dan's idea. It's been my experience that if you pair something the dog likes with "scary things" it can go a long way to changing the dog's mind about what's scary. Here's a link to an article on an Airedale Terrier website that introduces the concept of how to go about desensitizing a puppy/dog to loud sounds, The Paper Bag Game: The Paper Bag Game

Hope this helps,

- Tania


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