Bane's Bane

I've never had a dog who was afraid of fireworks. Deca was about 7 months old on her first 4th of July, and we didn't think anything of it. We brought her to Ft. Vancouver to "the biggest fireworks show West of the Mississippi". (I don't know if that claim is true, but that is what they call it. It is a very large show though, I have to admit.) Deca acted completely normal through the whole fireworks show. She laid in the grass and chewed whatever insanely expensive patriotic themed toy I'm sure we got her that year.

4 years later, we got Sammy. He was 13 months the first time we spent the 4th with him. I thought that he would be scared because he was such a skittish dog when we adopted him, but he wasn't. In fact, we opened up our glass sliding door to the backyard and he watched the fireworks like a little kid. His head would move upward as he traced the trail of fireworks into the sky and the look of joy on his face when they would explode was not just me personifying my pet.

This is Bane's first 4th of July holiday and he is 10 months old. Fireworks went on sale last night and tonight is the first time that our nearby neighbors have been lighting them. I let Bane outside to see them and he didn't like them much. He barked at them and hopped around like he was some kind of tough guy, but I know it was all due to his lack of confidence because I watch The Dog Whisperer.

The only thing I can think to do is to keep exposing them to the fireworks in a [hopefully] nonthreatening way. Perhaps tomorrow Deca will be awake during the neighboorhood fireworks and her calm attitude will show Bane that there is nothing to worry about. Last year, Deca and Sammy not only watched the regular fireworks, but also stayed outside while some people lit off m-80s. They didn't show a desire to go inside, but I was worried it would hurt their ears and put them in anyway. They just sat at the back door and watched the fireworks from inside the rest of the night.

I'll always miss Sammy...

Love,