As the nights draw in, and there is an autumnal chill in the air, it’s made me realise that Halloween, Fireworks night and Christmas are rapidly approaching us!

When they were younger one of my daughters was always afraid of people dressing up, particularly at this time of year with all the scary costumes around!   She was too young to understand that it was just a normal person wearing a costume.  So, if our children don’t understand what’s going on, how must our dogs feel?

Our dogs are living in a World they do not understand – the Human World.  We have taken them away from their natural environment and introduced them to all sorts of weird and wonderful things.   Scary people dressed up as witches knocking at our doors, loud bangs on fireworks night (and for two weeks before and after the event) are a lot for our canine friends to contend with.

Here are a few tips on how to cope with this:

• When your dog barks when someone knocks at the door, thank him kindly.  Don’t tell him off – he doesn’t know what’s out there and is alerting you of a possible danger.
• Don’t take your dog to the door with you where he’ll be frightened.  Leave him in a room where he feels safe.
• If your dog tries to hide somewhere, leave him be until he feels it’s safe to come out again.  Don’t try to coax him out – he’ll come out when he’s ready! 
• Remain calm yourself – if you start getting anxious about your dogs’ behaviour he will think you are also frightened of the strange sights and sounds. 
• The best thing you can do when your dog starts showing any signs of anxiousness is to ignore him and remain calm. 
• If your dog gets really anxious (i.e. is frantically pacing, drooling, shaking etc.) and starts chewing either himself or an item in the house, take him gently by the collar and hold him by your leg until he is relaxed, without talking to, or reassuring him.  (If you cannot take your dog by the collar place a slip-lead around his neck and gently draw him to your side)  Once you feel him relax, release him without speaking.  If he starts again, repeat as necessary – it important you do this in a calm manner without any eye contact or speaking to him.

Hopefully you’ll all have a happy, relaxing Halloween and bonfire night with calm contented dogs lying by your feet!

If you’d like to know more about Canine Communication and need help improving your dog’s behaviour, please either call me or send me an email -  I’d love to help you and your canine companion.