Why are dogs so scared of fireworks and storms?

Answer 1

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker

Dog's have hearing that is unbelievable! They can hear for miles. Thunder and lightning, storms and loud noises sound a billion times louder to them than they do to us. They also feel the vibrations that we often don't. It's a shaky and scary experience for them. Alot of times, they run away trying to get away from it. There are calming pills for dog's with anxiety due to storms and their characteristics. I have a choc. lab that trembles uncontrollably every storm and the pills help calm him but they still don't take away all his fear. You by their side, reassuring them nothing is going to happen, is the best prescription. Oh, and the calming pills are over the counter. Pet stores and elsewhere.

Source(s):

Living with it!

Asker's Rating:

Asker's Comment:

Thanks for the advice and thanks to everyone who answered!

Answer 2

My guess is because their enhanced hearing abilities, the sounds coming from both those occurrences startle them. What makes those more unique than other loud noises, I would think, is the light that emit from each. Take firework sparks and lightning, maybe dogs internalize it more than we do.

Answer 3

wouldn't you be if you didn't know what they were? cuz they're scary, that's why!

Answer 4

i believe because the noise really hurts their ears

Answer 5

Dog are not realy scared of them they just hurt their ears so they try to get away from them.

Answer 6

Because it is loud to their sensitive ears. It never bothered my dog until she got old. Now she spazzes anytime she hears fireworks. She shakes so badly you can literally hear her teeth chattering in her head. The best I can do is snuggle her, put her in a room with a tv to block the noise, and give her a treat.

Answer 7

I think it's because dogs hear like 10x better than us. So they hear thunder and fireworks sooo much louder that it scares them. I think it would be like a gunshot right next to our ear

Source(s):

Dog training book ;)

Answer 8

Because they don't have anybody to tell them not to be scared.

Answer 9

Some dogs are more scared than others. Think about it - they have no idea where the noise is coming from, its loud and they aren't prepared for it. THEY ARE DOGS, they don't reason.

Answer 10

Animals have no idea where this noise is coming from. All they know is there's something very loud and threatening, and they will usually stay hidden somewhere till it's all over.

Answer 11

A dog's hearing is much better than a humans. What sounds like a firework to you, sounds like heavy bombardment to your dog.

Answer 12

Dogs are just naturally afraid of large sounds and huge bursts of light.Not so hard to figure out.

Answer 13

If you had hyper sensitive hearing and heard super loud noises that you had no idea what they were, wouldn't you be scared too?

Answer 14

prolly the same reason babies are. they don't know what it is and it makes a loud noise.

Answer 15

There's a really loud noise that they don't understand. You'd be scared too.

Answer 16

I think it hurts their hearing and that they "feel" the blasts thru their body. They probably think they are under attack.

Answer 17

Because they have such a high hearing ability, when the loud sounds go off, it can hurt their ears and startle them. I'm sure that local kids could be teasing your dog with firecrackers. That's what happened to my dog.

So now on the fourth, and new years, I have to bring my dog inside, otherwise, he'll break his chain, slip out of his collar, get tangled next to the house, or under the house, or he gets real agressive with other people aside from me.

There isn't really much you can do about it, just sort of coddle him, and ensure him that there isn't anything to be afraid of. You can have him sit on your lap, or next to you, when they go off, and hug him. But make sure he has enough room to jump. Or you could do what I do, and bring him inside, just to avoid the entire situation.

My dog will sit in a corner in the house, and doesn't really seem bothered by the fact that they're loud, and going off. He feels safe in the house, because he knows that when he's in here, he's ok, and nothing can get to him.

Storms.......could be the same thing. They don't like the harsh wind, bright lightining, and loud thunder. Or if it's a realy bad storm, like a tornado, or hurricane or whatever, they are just nervous because they know what's going to happen. They are like kids, they want to be assured that they're ok, and nothign is going to happen to them.

Some breeds just have that sense that screams trouble is on it's way. They can sense when something is coming, that is danerous to humans, or threatens their home.

Answer 18

Not all dogs are scared of loud sounds.
I think that it depends on their past experiences with these sounds.
I used to have a dog who was absolutly terrified around the sounds of fireworks, thunderstorms, and gunshots. I believe she was that way because when she was about 3 (in human years) our neighbor shot her in the leg which later had to be aputated. So she would remember.
The dog we have now isn't scared of these sounds at all because she's never had bad experiences with the sounds.
Dogs are a lot smarter than people make them out to be and if something terrible happened to them, yes, they can remember.

Answer 19

Dogs hear sounds that we can't hear, very high pitched sounds.

These sounds are to them, very loud, and it hurts their ears much like very loud music hurts our ears.

You notice the same thing when a police car or fire truck goes by with sirens going and the dogs howl for much the same reason.

It is not that they are scared of the fireworks and storms more that it hurts their ears.

Answer 20

Because they all have sensitive hearing, and fireworks as well as storms are very loud. They also don't come around a lot too even let the pet get use to them.