No matter how well you prepare your dog, it’s always the unexpected early bangs that catch you out.
Or the delayed party someone down the street has on November 7th, just when you thought it was safe to let your dog out for a wee.
Every year I diligently sign petitions, and write to my MP. Not just for my dogs, or your dogs, but for all the animals and people who are needlessly traumatised every fricking year.
And every year, it carries on being pretty horrific.
So in the spirit of trying something new, I’d like to invite your dogs to join me in a friendly letter writing campaign.
You see, I reckon most people who live near me don’t mean to cause mass terror and panic when they let off fireworks.
It just doesn’t occur to them that nearby animals (or people) might be scared.
There’s not a lot we can do about the random stuff that gets let off in the local park, but we could ask our neighbours to warn us when they’re planning a firework party.
We can plan meal times, toilet walks and emergency safe places when we know to expect bangs, pops, screams and whistles.
You can grab a copy of our draft “Hello Neighbours, I live near you and I’m scared of fireworks” letter to modify for your dog.
Maybe add a picture of your gorgeous pooch too.
Then print a bunch of copies and start posting them through letter boxes!
Will it help?
I have no idea, but it’s got to be worth a try!
Download the “hello neighbours, I’m scared” letter here: click this link
Is your dog terrified of fireworks?
Have they started to get nervous as the evenings draw in?It's not too late to help your worried dog cope a little better this year.
We're almost fully booked for phone consults this month, but you can still access our full length talk all about Firework and Noise Fears, plus extra resources to help your dog.
Just click on the picture to get to the course!
And on a cheerier note (!)
We're offering another chance to polish up your dog's nice lead walking skills with Morag on a Wednesday evening at Murton.Stay By My Side (a three week intensive starts Wed 31st October)
Not sure if it's for you?
Read what Phillipa thought of the last course
"Pepper and I have had issues with her walking on the lead since the beginning and it had become a really big deal for us. It was a real relationship spoiler, making her sad and me frustrated. As a first time dog owner I had no experience to refer to and things I read didn't seem to help.
We attended another class where Pepper was able to work for the instructor but not me and some of her other behaviours caused the instructor to warn me that "if I wasn't careful I'd end up with a problem dog" . I'd already gone against all family advice by insisting on having a Collie, so as you can imagine I was now really worried!
At that point I splashed out on your fab Foundation classes and then later knew as soon as I saw the Stay By My Side that it would be for good us.
From doing the foundation classes I knew I would get practical 'tools' to help us but I didn't realise how quickly we'd feel the benefit!
After the first class we were both happier, I was expecting only what Pepper could achieve and she was happy to be pleasing me and being a clever dog!
By the second session, our trainer had really got the measure of us and was able to tell me how to use Pepper's strengths to advantage. I came out of that session feeling like I was really able to train my dog! By the third session we were able to consolidate the stuff we'd learned and practiced and both ended the course feeling like super stars.
The biggest difference was that really the sessions were about training me so I could help Pepper and now I have all of those tools ( and a dose of confidence!) to use every time we go out. We aren't perfect yet but we do now have our perfect moments and we'll just have to string them along until it's all good!
The classes are really worth their money. Advice and practical experience from someone who wants you to succeed and will find your strengths. Not so much dog training classes as people training classes where they teach you how to become a dog trainer for your dog. Ha! Not sure that last bit makes sense but I can't think how else to put it!
It has made such a difference to us"
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