A survey of owners' perceptions of fear of fireworks in a sample of dogs and cats in New Zealand

Abstract

AIMS:To establish reliable information regarding the behavioural responses of dogs and cats to fi reworks in New Zealand; record interventions used by owners, and their perceived effi cacies; and establish the prevalence of fi rework-related injury, and quantify owners' attitudes towards fi reworks. METHODS: CONCLUSIONS:The results provide valuable information that is, as yet, unsubstantiated in New Zealand, although potential biases exist due to the non-random selection of respondents. Differences between dogs and cats were likely due to differing responses to fear-provoking stimuli between the species. Owner-reported increase in fearful response over time for comforted animals may indicate a negative impact on the longer-term psychological welfare of their animal. CLINICAL RELEVANCE:The greater the awareness of effective treatment plans for animals that suffer from a fear of fi reworks, the greater the possibility that this fear can be reduced.Wider dissemination of effective owner behaviour and treatment programmes for fi rework fears is needed to improve levels of professional treatment for dogs and cats.

Not a one-way road – severity, progression and prevention of firework fears in dogs

“…Overall 45% of owners (and almost 70% of owners of fearful dogs) reported having sought advice (which besides trainers and vets included the internet, books or friends). This is in stark contrast to (4) where only 15.8% had sought any advice at all. Also in the sample by (2), only 29% had sought any help from vets, behaviourists, trainers, friends or other sources.…”

“…Regarding the effects of sex and neutering on noise fears in dogs, studies have yielded inconsistent results. Both intact females and neutered dogs of both sexes had a higher incidence of noise fears in (1); in contrast no effect of sex or neutering was found in other studies (2,4). Origin of the dog (e.g.…”

“…It cannot be ruled out that owners with a particularly high interest in dog behaviour were more likely to come across the survey invitation, which was spread in dog-related Facebook groups, while the questionnaires in the other studies were spread to a less self-selected population (contacts via veterinary practices, dog shows, agricultural or horse shows, dog walkers and other locations, (2); Auckland SPCA’s Animals Voice magazine and veterinary clinics (4)). On the other hand, both of these studies used postal surveys – requiring the owners to not only fill in the questionnaire but post it to them as well – and as such a higher effort than filing in the questionnaire online as in my study (2,4). Of interest, apart from this difference, results in the current survey regarding demographic influencing factors were remarkably similar to those obtained by Blackwell and colleagues (2).…”

“…trembling, freezing, panting, salivation, lowered body posture, tucked tail, hiding, escape attempts, social withdrawal, pacing, involuntary elimination, and destructive behaviour with or without self-injury (3,12,13,18–21), there is a lack of knowledge on how long such behavioural changes as a result of firework exposure typically persist. One study reports that the median duration of behavioural changes in the aftermath of a firework was two hours (with a mean of 1.83, SD 0.044, (4)), but little is known on the distribution of responses, and how many dogs may be affected beyond the timeframe of a few hours. This detail is, however, of great importance in relation to dogs’ welfare.…”

Minimizing fear and anxiety in working dogs: A review

“…Interaction with dogs during fearful episodes has not been traditionally recommended as it may inadvertently reward and thus reinforce fearful responses. A survey of dog owners in New Zealand found an association between owners comforting their dogs and increased severity and duration of fear behavior over time (Dale et al, 2010). Such associations may not be causal, and the advice against comforting fearful dogs has been challenged because the reinforcement may be of the coping response rather than the fear itself (Casey, 2013).…”