01 July 2007

Houston, we have a problem

Can someone please 'splain to me what makes guys love fireworks so much? I am not trying to be sexist, but it does seem that the whole fuegos artificiales phenom is largely a male-based cult. Am I right?

Most women couldn't care less about blowing things up. Oh, sure, we will go see the fireworks display on the fourth of July or at Disneyland, but we don't go looking for M-80s to set off. That's a boy thing. Why?

My next question is: Can someone make them stop?

We are in the thick of it here. I don't mind so much, but it turns my 70-pound mutt into a pile of quivering dogflesh, and there is no comforting her. She leans against my leg, no matter where my leg may be (bed, bathroom, laundry room). She quivers. She pants.

And worse yet, she won't go outside. Not to chase cats, not to bark at the mailman, not even to pee.

She is a good dog. She won't pee in the house, either. Do you know how much it pains me to see my dog go without relieving herself for up to 10 hours? I don't know what to do, either. What are my options? Move somewhere there are no idjits with fireworks? Catheterize her? WHAT?

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9 comments:

Skye @ Planet Jinxatron said...

Layla has the same problem, and we used to try sedatives on the 4th and on New Year's. Trouble was, she would figure out something bad was going to happen when she would start to feel the drugs. Then she would get scared and burn off all the sedative with adrenaline.

So instead of a dog that got scared when the loud noises started, we ended up with a dog who was miserable and freaked out for two hours before the noises started, and then just as bad off.

Anonymous said...

Ugh. Don't move here, where fireworks are legal and plentiful, available even at the grocery store. My dog is also a quivering mess. Bah humbug on the 4th of July!

lizgwiz said...

Yeah, my dog and I have the same problem, even though fireworks are theoretically illegal here. Year before last I called the cops at 1:00 a.m. 'cause some of my neighbors were still sending up ridiculously huge (and LOUD) displays, and they said they would only come if they could first come to MY house, and have me point out the offenders. Yeah, that sounds fun. Make sure the neighbors, who I don't know at all, SEE that I'm the one ratting them out. And when my house is vandalized later, I'm sure it will be just a coincidence. Aargh.

meno said...

Just think of all the good that could be done with the money squandered on fireworks.

Bah! Humbug! to fireworks.

Day Dreamer said...

Our neighbors little dog came running into our house when we opened the door last night. Cannot tell you how relieved we were when it ended. And of course...it's starting again on Wednesday. Yee Haw.

Ericka said...

i can't be the only one here who LOVES the 4th of july, can i? [[echoes]] oh dear. well, blowing things up is a favored family activity, so of course the fourth is just about my favorite holiday.

i sympathize with your pup - may i suggest stopping by mom101's dog training blog? she JUST did an article dealing with helping your dog cope with this time of year (fireworks AND thunderstorms). here's the linkie:
http://doggoneblog.typepad.com/dog_gone_blog/2007/06/thunder-and-lig.html

super des said...

poor doggie. I remember you posting about this last year cuz your neighbors went on for weeks.

ps - I gave you an award.

Anonymous said...

Hmm. Now I know why I couldn't understand the joy of neighborhood fireworks. The kind that scare everyone 'cause you know, any second, the dude is gonna say, "Watch this!" But thank you for the clarification... I'm not a guy!

As for the Jell-O® dog, no sé. We stay in with the dog on the 4th and rent movies and play them REALLY LOUD. Last year we had the patriotic double feature of Team America and Syriana. The movies do seem to muffle the noise enough to calm her down, but you have to start promptly. Loud music helps, too.

QT said...

Poor Goldie! I do like the fireworks display, but I don't need it to go on for a whole week either.

I have two hunting dogs, we have to crate them when we set off our fireworks b/c they both go nuts with excitement, especially the BF's lab, he will run right up to it and try to grab it in his mouth.

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