Abstract
An online questionnaire survey investigated (1) management and (2) treatment methods for firework fears in dogs employed by dog owners and their (perceived) effectiveness. A PCA on data from 1225 respondents revealed four management strategies (i.e. interventions during firework exposure): the principal components “Environmental modification” (e.g. providing a hiding place, keeping windows and blinds closed, and playing music), “Feed/Play” (providing the dog with chews, play and food during fireworks in general, as well as contingent on loud bangs), “Alternative” (use of calming neutraceuticals, pheromones, herbal products, homeopathic products, Bach flowers, and essential oils) and “Interaction” (allowing body contact, petting and talking to the dog when loud bangs occurred). To explore possible effects of these management methods on fear development, the components were correlated with a score for fear progression. Of the four components, only “Feed/Play” was statistically associated with an improvement in fear responses to fireworks. To evaluate the effectiveness of various treatment strategies, owners were asked to select from a range of options which interventions they had used and whether they considered them as effective. With prescription medication (N=202), improvements were noted by 70% of owners. While individual products were not evaluated, the reported success rates for the categories “pheromones” (N=316), “herbal products” (N=282), “neutraceuticals” (N=211), “essential oils” (N=183), “homeopathic remedies” (N=250) and “Bach flowers” (N=281) were all in the range of 27-35%, which is not higher than would be expected based on a placebo effect. 44% of respondents (N=300) deemed pressure vests as effective. Counterconditioning (providing desirable stimuli after the occurrence of noises) was the most successful training technique according to the owners (N=694), with a reported effectiveness of over 70%. Relaxation training (N=433) was reported to be almost as successful at 69%, while noise CDs (N=377) were effective in 55% of cases. Thus, counterconditioining, relaxation training and psychoactive medication appear to be the most effective strategies in the treatment of firework fears in dogs. On this basis it is recommended that ad-hoc counterconditioning and relaxation training should complement the standard behavioral technique of desensitization/ counterconditioning with noise recordings.
Highlights
An online survey on treatment options for firework fears in dogs was performed
Feeding or playing with dogs during fireworks was associated with fear improvement
Success was highest for ad-hoc counterconditioning, relaxation training and medication
Success was similar for pheromones, neutraceuticals and other alternative products
Success rates for these alternative products are consistent with a placebo effect