Bonfire Night With a Nervous Dog: What Helps

Short answer: Walk the dog before dark, shut everything up, put familiar noise on and let them hide where they choose. In Devon the noise is spread over a fortnight, not one night. New this year: Woolacombe has a free drone display instead of fireworks on Saturday 7 November — no bangs, and dogs are welcome.

It is not one night here

This is the thing Devon dog owners learn. Coastal displays are run by round tables, carnival committees and RNLI branches, and they spread across the weekends either side of 5 November to avoid clashing. So the noise is a fortnight rather than an evening, and planning for one night is not enough.

Before it starts

• Walk them before dark. A tired dog copes better, and once displays start a walk is worse than no walk.
• Feed earlier than usual — many dogs will not eat once they are anxious.
• Close windows, curtains and doors, and shut the cat flap.
• Put familiar background noise on — radio or television, at a normal volume.

During

Let them choose where to hide. Behind the sofa, under a bed, in a bathroom — wherever they pick is the right place, and dragging them out of it makes things worse. Do not shut them in a crate unless that is already their safe place and the door stays open.

Stay normal. Comforting a frightened dog is fine and does not reward the fear, but performing calm is more useful than fussing.

What does not help

• Taking them to the display 'to get used to it'.
• Leaving them alone in the house on a display night if you can avoid it.
• Leaving a dog in a car while you watch — cold, dark and loud, and they cannot escape it.

If it is severe

Talk to your vet well before the season rather than on the night. There are options, but they need planning, and the good ones take time to work.

There is now a bang-free option in Devon

This is new, and for anyone with a frightened dog it is the most useful thing on this page. Golden Coast Holiday Park at Woolacombe is running a drone display instead of fireworks on Saturday 7 November — 150 synchronised drones, about twelve minutes, with the park open from 4pm and the display at around 7pm.

• It is free, with no tickets and no advance booking, and open to everyone rather than only park guests.
• Dogs are welcome.
• No smoke, no debris and no bangs — the park has said plainly that it chose drones over fireworks because of the distress fireworks cause to livestock, wildlife and pets.
• The entertainment carries on afterwards in the Old Mill pub on site, which is open to all, from midday.

If your dog cannot cope with the 5th, this is a night out you can actually take them to — the full details are here. It is also worth knowing that Woolacombe has a conventional fireworks display two days earlier, on Thursday 5 November, so the village itself will not be quiet that week.

Where to walk instead that fortnight

Inland and early. The Tarka Trail is flat, paved and traffic-free with no mud. Dartmoor and Exmoor are quiet, but go in daylight and remember the light goes by four. Beaches are generally open to dogs from October once the summer zoning lifts, and early morning on an empty beach is the best walk of the year.

And the useful bit

Most towns publish their display date in October. Knowing which three or four evenings matter lets you plan the whole fortnight rather than being surprised twice.