Bonfire Night and nervous dogs: how to prepare, and what to do if a dog goes missing
With practical advice from Lill at Canine & Co
Fireworks are one of the most common reasons dogs bolt. A frightened dog can slip a collar, push past an open door or clear a fence in seconds, and once it is loose and scared it may not come back even to the people it knows best. We asked Lill, owner of Canine & Co and a professional dog walker who provides practical training and life-skills support and has first-hand experience of fearful and reactive dogs, for her practical advice. Here it is, in four parts.
Before firework season
Start early. The most important preparation happens in the quieter months, not the week before. Lill recommends gradually building a dog’s confidence around different sounds through desensitisation and counter-conditioning: creating positive associations with noise, always at a level your dog can comfortably cope with.
Create a safe den somewhere your dog already likes to settle. If your dog is crate trained, covering the crate with a blanket can soften the noise and flashes and make it feel more secure. Some dogs also benefit from pressure garments or ear coverings, but introduce these well before they are needed, not on the night.
Make escape harder:
- Plan walks and toilet breaks before dark where you can.
- Check that collars, harnesses and leads fit securely.
- Don’t rely on your dog’s usual recall during firework season.
- Make sure everyone in the house knows to check where the dog is before opening an outside door.
- Check gates, fences and other boundaries, and keep them secure.
On the night
Stay calm and carry on as normally as you can. As Lill puts it: “Behave as you normally would on any other evening. Don’t make a big deal about what’s coming.”
- Close windows and curtains.
- Use familiar background noise, such as the TV or radio.
- Let your dog choose where they feel safest, and don’t force them to interact or to come out of hiding.
If your dog goes missing
Start reporting your dog missing straight away. Contact:
- the microchip database
- your local dog warden
- nearby vets
- reputable lost-dog organisations
giving a recent photo and accurate details of where and when your dog was last seen.
If your dog is fearful, every appeal should clearly ask people NOT to chase, call out to or try to corner them. A frightened dog that is chased keeps running, often into roads.
If you see a frightened loose dog
Keep your distance and report the exact time, place and the direction the dog was heading. If the dog is moving calmly, you may be able to follow or watch from a safe distance and send updated sightings, but only if your being there isn’t making the dog speed up, change direction or become more distressed.
Lill’s advice is clear: “Don’t call out, crowd, corner or try to grab the dog.” Take a photo or video from a distance if it’s safe, keep other dogs away, and don’t put yourself or the dog at further risk.
How Taggzi can help
This part is from Taggzi, about our own features; the advice above is Lill’s.
If your dog wears a Taggzi tag, switch on Lost Mode from the app or your dashboard. You can mark your dog as “Nervous – don’t approach”: that warning then appears on your dog’s lost page, the lost poster and the alerts sent to people nearby. Anyone who spots your dog can tap “I’ve seen this pet” to send you a sighting with the place and time, without going near your dog.
If you see a loose dog wearing a Taggzi tag, you don’t need to catch it to help: report the sighting through the dog’s lost page or the Community Alerts page.
Thank you to Lill at Canine & Co for sharing her expertise.
