Our guys really don't like all the fireworks noise. What are some good tips?

Move to a state where they are outlawed!!

Seriously, I wish I knew. While Justin doesn't even bat an eye, Pre is crawling in his skin right now...

Throw a party. Every time there's a boom, say "Great!" or "Yaay!" in a happy, enthusiastic tone of voice and give the scaredy-hound a really tasty treat. You're basically going to counter-condition him to think that fireworks are actually a Very Good Thing.

-Shalea

I keep the radio in the kennel up louder. I live in the boonies, but some of the neighbors down younder shoot off fireworks and you can hear it pretty well since it's pretty peaceful out here.
If the dogs hear the fireworks, the dogs usually start rooing and howling.

Hope no one had any situations with their pups and fireworks.
Tara

We lucked out sorta. We had heavy rains, a tornado warnings, vivid lighting so our neighbors who usually shoot off fireworks over our house and our neighbors didn't. We still heard our local fireworks and I saw a few fireworks in the sky from Baltimore's Inner harbor fireworks show.

You guys can all move up here and hang out with me!!!

We don't have a whole lot of fireworks on the 4th since it's daylight all night. I think we had about 5 minutes worth last night, if that.

Now, New Year's is another story...

I have tried everything to calm my poor girl down with fireworks and thunderstorms...she is getting worse each time though. Last night it sounded like a warzone with all the noise and I couldn't even get her to potty in the yard. She went into the back of the bedroom closest and I turned on the AC & TV so she didn't hear it as much but once she goes into that mode it takes her a long time to recoup. I give her rescue remedy but that makes no difference. I guess the only alternative is to get meds for her....unless someone can suggest something else?
Overall, she is a very confident dog except for this one thing. My other 2 boys and foster lurcher could care less about big bangs and thunder.

If she's reacting to thunderstorms and fireworks, her concern is probably the noise of them.

Reposting something I wrote elsewhere about ways to handle this problem; you might particularly want to check out #3 about retraining using a CD.

Ways to help a dog with storm anxiety:
1) Drugs. Benadryl, rescue remedy, heavier vet-prescribed drugs. These are fine for those storms which crop up while a dog is being re-trained.

2) Dryer sheets/t-shirts/blankets/storm defender cape. No one's really sure why these things work. Dryer sheets and the storm defender cape seem specifically to deal with static electricity, and putting a t-shirt on the dog or letting him hang out under a blanket might also have some of the same effect, but I also think there's a swaddling effect going on (specifically with the t-shirt/blanket/cape approaches). Just as babies are sometimes calmer if you swaddle them up tight in a blanket, that kind of all-over body pressure can be calming to adult humans and dogs. (Temple Grandin discusses this in her book Animals in Translation.)

3) Retraining. Harder when the dog starts reacting to electrical changes, but fairly easy if you catch it early and the dog is just reacting to noise. One of the easiest ways to do this is get a CD recording of thunderstorms -- play it quiet enough that the dog hears it but doesn't react, and give treats. Gradually increase the volume, giving treats and making sure that the dog has completely relaxed before the next increase. Another way to handle it ('cause they just don't schedule the thunderstorms conveniently to fit a training schedule! ) is to, at the first low rumble, make a big happy fuss (no soothing!) and go get distractingly grand treats (HOORAY, STORMS!): particularly with mild cases, this can be more than sufficient for the dog to realize that storms are actually a Very Good Thing.

Last year I had to threaten the people one block over. Their fireworks were illegal anyway, so this year it was very quiet. I just don't like it when my hounds have to be scared needlessly.

i learned that making Al face his fears is the best way for him... 4th of July night we went walking once all the fireworks started... after 5 mins he was fine... same for thunderstorms, once a storm starts up and he would start pacing i would grab his leash and take him for a walk (before the rain and lighting started) now when it starts to thunder he doesn't even seem to notice...

I tried the t-shirt on both Butch and our iggie, Frankie and it helped a whole bunch! Frankie is so bad that he sets up on his hind legs on the couch and literally hyperventilates and passes out. Butch just barks at the thunder. Of course once he barks all 7 dogs are barking.

Bobbi

Belle and Hershey bark at thunder and fireworks, Jams, Penske and Softee could care less. Koolaid will get a little uneasy. Our Bridge Angel Shadow was deathly afraid of thunder and she shook so bad you could of made a milkshake on her but we were told that she had been in a hurricane also our Bridge Angel Phawn was paranoid when it came to Fireworks or thunder. DH wanted to watch a replay of the fireworks at the point once but had to watch it without sound Phawn was so scared...