It is that time of year again. It is time to get out the beach towel, go hang out with friends, and have a barbecue to celebrate America's independence. Sadly, there is one group that does not enjoy this time of year! That would be your dog. This time of year is the worst for them because they have panic attacks because of the fireworks.

My dog Bailey is a Blue Heeler. She is a sweet dog, and loves to be around people. I adopted her over a year ago and she has been nothing but the best thing ever. It was not until this 4th of July that I realized how bad she reacts to fireworks. On the night of the 3rd of July, she was acting normal. There were fireworks going off around us, and it seems that she did not have a problem. Now when it seems that the fireworks stopped I decided to take her for a walk, and that is when things went wrong.

I was about half way through her walk when more fireworks started to go off and she freaked out. She jumped on me and then ran back to my front door. She was scratching it to get back in and when she did, she ran to the corner and tried to hide from it. .It was then I realized how afraid she was of these noises. I tried to calm her down but she was still very disturbed by the noise so I gave her all natural dog anxiety relief pills which seemed to help a little bit.

This time of year sees the highest amount of dogs that run away due to the noise that comes with fireworks. I did more research on this and it seems that the one major way to help combat this issue is to buy a dog anxiety vest. This can be used to help your dog calm down during a thunderstorm and fireworks. Sadly, I could not get one in time which gave me anxiety because I knew my dog was going through a rough time.

I know people really want to celebrate this holiday and have a great time, but I also feel that people need to be cautious. if you are shooting fireworks off in a residential neighborhood where you know it is illegal to do so, do you really need to prove the point? We get it, you love this country, but do not disturb your neighbors because it will not be good in the end. When it comes to your dog, try to see if there is a place that they feel comfortable. Try to distract them from the noise and also time when you take them outside. Do not take them outside when the fireworks are going on.

Now that I have learned my lesson about what happens when your dog gets disturbed by this type of noise, I will be more proactive in the future. I will know she will not like it and that I should probably do more to help her feel comfortable during this time. If you have a dog, I advise that you do the same. If you already have a routine in place, then that is awesome. If you do not, then do some research and see what you find. Be proactive, and make sure your dog is as comfortable as possible.