It's THAT weekend again :-(
I've been praying for rain every evening, to cut down on the number of fireworks lit, to no avail. We live on a large lake, so it's a nonstop barrage of fireworks for weeks (until all the corner fire...
Forum Discussion
I think dog owners DO find ways to comfort and deal with these fears. And I don't think anyone is talking about eliminating the "official displays" of fireworks. It's the street fireworks that are an issue.
As I mentioned before, our city has a 2 week long display at the fairgrounds every year. They can be heard from my house. They are done every night for two weeks from 10 p.m. to midnight. I can easily work around those displays: playing loud music; turning up the tv; etc. And I can still get some sleep and go to work the next morning.
The problem is that our county allows "street fireworks". The stands go up 7 days before the 4th and folks start buying them up. Then from that night on through the next year, we are subject to random fireworks.
They shoot the fireworks at dusk, they shoot them at throughout the night, they shoot them on weeknights, they shoot them on weekends, they shoot them on holidays, they shoot them in daylight. They shoot them in front of your house, they shoot them in front of their house, they shoot them in back of their house, they shoot them on the roads, they shoot them in the fields.
There is no ability to comfort your dog, because you have no idea they are going to happen. There may be weeks with nothing and then all of a sudden in August someone starts shooting them off again. There may be one night with them going off all evening, then they stop around midnight. Suddenly at 3 a.m., you're awakened to the bomb noises, your sleeping dog is now awake and shaking in the closest.
You go to work one day and when you come home, you find they have been shooting them off in front of your house during the day. Your dog has been alone with the noises for house freaking out. If you're lucky, you might just have a scared dog. If you're not lucky, you have a broken window and/or fence and your dog is running the streets somewhere freaked out.
These are the fireworks that should be eliminated. There isn't anything patriotic about them. There isn't anything beautiful about them. They are simply about making as much upsetting noise as possible.
As I mentioned before, our city has a 2 week long display at the fairgrounds every year. They can be heard from my house. They are done every night for two weeks from 10 p.m. to midnight. I can easily work around those displays: playing loud music; turning up the tv; etc. And I can still get some sleep and go to work the next morning.
The problem is that our county allows "street fireworks". The stands go up 7 days before the 4th and folks start buying them up. Then from that night on through the next year, we are subject to random fireworks.
They shoot the fireworks at dusk, they shoot them at throughout the night, they shoot them on weeknights, they shoot them on weekends, they shoot them on holidays, they shoot them in daylight. They shoot them in front of your house, they shoot them in front of their house, they shoot them in back of their house, they shoot them on the roads, they shoot them in the fields.
There is no ability to comfort your dog, because you have no idea they are going to happen. There may be weeks with nothing and then all of a sudden in August someone starts shooting them off again. There may be one night with them going off all evening, then they stop around midnight. Suddenly at 3 a.m., you're awakened to the bomb noises, your sleeping dog is now awake and shaking in the closest.
You go to work one day and when you come home, you find they have been shooting them off in front of your house during the day. Your dog has been alone with the noises for house freaking out. If you're lucky, you might just have a scared dog. If you're not lucky, you have a broken window and/or fence and your dog is running the streets somewhere freaked out.
These are the fireworks that should be eliminated. There isn't anything patriotic about them. There isn't anything beautiful about them. They are simply about making as much upsetting noise as possible.
