Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Dogs and the Fourth

I’m back! I had a wonderful time at the Romance Writers of America National Conference last week. I’ve got some of my thoughts about it posted on another blog--A Slice of Orange at http://occsliceoforange.blogspot.com/. It’s the blog of the Orange County Chapter of RWA, where I post on the 6th of every month--like today. A twofer!

Rather than repeat what I said there, I’ll talk here about how much fun it was to get home and back to my husband and dogs. My husband was glad to have me back, too, since he’d been the only one at the dogs’ bark and call for a few days.

Now, they’re back to taking turns demanding to go outside. Usually, one of us obliges, and then at least one of them usually makes a showing of using the outside as their bathroom facilities. My husband calls it “maximization of treats” since both get a treat if either produces.

On the Fourth of July, we stayed home this year to watch fireworks from our upstairs balcony. We could see at least 15 fireworks displays across the San Fernando Valley, plus the closest, really spectacular ones in Burbank. We left the dogs in the familiar environment of our kitchen but they still barked intermittently at the sound of the firecrackers, especially when the booms and crackles first started.

We talked to a neighbor yesterday who said that her Doberman had spent the evening in the bathtub to feel secure during all the noise.

What do your pets do during the Fourth of July? Do the sounds of fireworks freak them out?

9 comments:

Unknown said...

My uncle's German Shorthair needs to take medication at the first rumble of thunder or pop of a firecracker. My dog, on the other hand, could care less. We left him alone in our cabin to go watch the firework show that was launching from a block away. Came back to find him sound asleep, not paying attention to any of the noise.

Linda O. Johnston said...

Your dog sounds sweet and laid back, Janel. Your poor uncle's dog, though!

Janie Emaus said...

I don't have any pets now, but the booms and bangs used to scare my dog all the time. Not to mention the plane landing which I blogged about!

Linda O. Johnston said...

Yes, I can imagine that the sound of a falling plane would upset a dog, Janie. My Mystie barks sometimes when she just hears a regular old truck outside!

Betty Hechtman said...

Goldy seems to forget she's a terrier and simply ignores the noise. My cats are a different story. I saw Rocky jump straight up in the air during a particularly loud bang. Of course, I keep them all inside for the duration.

Joanna Campbell Slan said...

My dogs tremble at thunderstorms and hate fireworks. I gave both of them a little Clomicalm, a doggy tranquilizer. I knew that with family members running in and out, the nervousness would be increased. I figured it wasn't worth having the dogs suffer--and I must admit both of them were able to take nice naps instead.

Linda O. Johnston said...

Poor Rocky, Betty. Glad that Goldy was able to veg out.

The Fourth is a particularly good time for doggy tranquilizers, Joanna!

Joanna Campbell Slan said...

Linda, I was shocked one year when on vacation and I saw several posters for pets lost during the Fourth of July. All I could assume was that these poor animals panicked, probably during a family event, and ran off. So as horrible as doggy tranquilizers sound, I'd rather have Vicki and Raffi calm and safe than stressed out and loose.

Linda O. Johnston said...

I'm with you, Joanna. I'd do anything to protect my pups. It's really awful to hear about people losing their pets that way. I hope they were all found safe and sound.