Since yesterday, four ‘firework dogs’ have been staying in the boarding house of Willem Stoker (67) in Odoorn. Their owners bring them to Willem every year around New Year’s Eve. The dogs, like many other animals, are afraid of fireworks. At Stoker they are a bit away from civilization, and they are a lot less bothered by it.
“They are now wonderfully relaxed, but with New Year’s Eve it is very noisy,” says Stoker. He is standing in one of his sheds, where two dogs reside. A golden retriever and a sheepdog. Both are in a large kennel. “That golden retriever can handle the bangs reasonably well, but it reacts to them. And the German Shepherd, he really reacts to every bang. Even if a motorcycle passes by that bangs with its exhaust.”
It differs in how far a dog reacts to fireworks. Stoker: “One dog is not taught it, and the other dog naturally already has a certain fear in it. Which makes it say: this is just too much for me.”
Stoker has years of experience with these types of dogs. In addition to his boarding house, he also runs a day care center, a grooming salon and provides individual training and behavioral advice. The dogs staying with him are getting an alternative program today. “Normally they just go along with my day schedule, and they also walk around my house and stuff. That’s not the case now. And I let them out at set times, one by one, when I think it’s a bit quieter.”
He also ensures that the shutters of the windows in the shed are closed and that the music is turned up a bit. After midnight, he sits down with the dogs for a while. “I walk from one hut to another. Often my presence is enough to guarantee peace.”
Stoker has a number of tips for people who are at home with a dog that is afraid of fireworks. “It is actually best to let the dogs get used to noise at the beginning of December. You can do that, for example, by turning the music up a little bit. And let it have its own place.”
When dogs ask for attention, it’s important to support them, Stoker knows. “It used to be said that you should not do that, quote that, but that is not the case. If he wants support, give him that support.” It is also good to play with the dog once in a while. “Or have it do something to distract it from the bangs and flashes.”