Firecracker Troubles

[Murph and Me]

Every night I take Murphy down to the park and meet up with his dog crew to have a run around and get yelled at when we come home because Murph is having a great time getting dirty with his girlfriend. A couple of weeks ago Murph is playing with 3 of his friends when at the far end of the park someone starts shooting off a couple of rockets. The other dogs keep playing away. Murph starts running around then B lines it for the dugout and gets under the bench and will not come out. He is just over a year and a half old. Never bothered about t storms or noises. Now since this past episode he gets spooked with just a pop. T Storms fireworks gets him putting Tail between the legs, indifferent to food or toys. Just wanting to curl up in the bathroom or his cage and wait it out. We don't talk and tell him poor boy. I'll make him sit next to me and I act like everything is normal. Needless to say July 4th was not a great day for him and just tonight one pop from far away stopped him from playing with his pals and running for cover. 

If anyone has some good ideas or experiences getting their dog to overcome, I'd love to hear about it. So would Murphy. Thanks for any help.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

Lots of dogs are frightened of fireworks and thunder....my Guinness is one of them.  The thing is fireworks are really only an issue where we live around Memorial Day and 4th of July weekend, and we do get thunder storms but not that frequently.  We close all the windows and put the air conditioner on (whether we need it or not) and I also put on the TV.  This really seems to help muffle the sounds.  We try not to make much out of it and keep our routine as normal as possible during storms or fireworks.  The only difference is if he is very upset during the night I will let him in bed during the storm.  Otherwise he goes to his "safe spot" which is under the bed and waits for it to be over.  I try not to have him outside unless it is absolutely necessary during these time....that really magnifies the sound and he feels very vulnerable.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Our dogs are not seriously worried about loud noises, but fireworks going off next door are more than the usual loud noise bother.  We keep them inside and keep the TV on louder than normal to muffle the pops.

[DJ & Chance]

There is a real danger of dogs bolting from fireworks and storms, and I would not have a dog outside off leash under these circumstances if such noises frighten them.  Inside I put on music that seems to always calm Chance.

[Beverly, Zoey & Nygel]

Zoey was fine over the 4th of July she did not flinch at all the loud noises. She has been fine with the incredibly loud monsoon thunderstorms we have here in Phoenix. However, Zoey and I went to a Canine Good Citizen prep test class. The instructor dropped a plastic box on the floor to see the reaction of all the dogs. Zoey panicked, ran behind me and shook. Obviously she will not pass the test until I can calm her down. Any suggestions?