4th of july, fireworks & dogs
 

my one dog is completely nonplussed nonaffected by the sounds of the firecrackers.
on the other hand, my other dog is a total complete basket case.
i finally put together a cardboard box for him to hole up in, since he was searching for any small cubby hole spot to hide in.
that does seem to be helping him now. i have the box right here beside my desk.

my next-door neighbors... *shakes head*
i am can't believe that they've left their old overweight (loved to death by food) geriatric dog on its last leg alone to go camping for 4 nights over this weekend. they could've gone camping next weekend for crying out loud! it wasn't like they were meeting up with friends or anything special. no. they went off alone, just the two of them. so their senior citizen dog is over there shaking, panting & barking non-stop.

yeah, i have a key to their house to check on the dog when they go away.
this time her nephew is suppose to be taking care of the house & dog, but when i went over there tonight at 10pm (when the fireworks began) their mail was still in the mailbox, which makes me think the nephew didn't bother to attend to the dog today. :(

if i could i'd bring their dog to our house, but i've tried that before.
he does NOT like leaving his house. at all.

so i am here... trying to comfort my own dog while listening to the lonely scared dog next door bark & bark & bark... *sigh*

Couldn't the neighbor's dog come over and hang out with your dogs and... well, I don't know... maybe have a dog pajama party or something?

well, i'd be all up for that doggie pajama party.

the thing is the neighbors' dog doesn't like to leave his house.
i have tried to bring him over here before, to hang with us when they were away (they go away fairly often)...
he just gets really upset & only wants to go home. :(

Can you take him into their house? Tie him in the basement with fresh food and water and an old blanket to lay on? The fireworks wouldn't be so loud down there and later you can go check on him and bring him back out when things have died down for the night. Poor thing. I'd probably blame the nephew first and foremost since they did their duty to make sure the dog was cared for. Let them know that you checked on things and what you found. At least they'll know to find a more responsible caretaker next time.

unfortunately... no basement.

they leave their backdoor open 24/7 for the dog to go in & out, but i think i will shut the door with dog inside & turn on their tv or stereo nice & loud. until the noise subsides tonight.

if we weren't going to the neighbors across the street for a BBQ, i'd just take my dogs over there & sit with them all. i will keep checking on them all 3 though. i will be running back & forth across the street. *le sigh*

i have tranquilizors to give my one dog tonight. i tried one last night & it did the trick. that and a cardboard box for him to crawl into. but i am not going to give the next-door neighbors' dog one, cuz he has health issues & well he's not my dog.

lots of dogs run away on this holiday. cuz they're crazed with fear. i know of one person online whose dog ran away yesterday....

I do not like your neighbors.

Poor old geriatric scared doggie - how thoughtless and cruel to leave him alone like that.

yeah, well tonight is the one day of the year when my husky does not get the customary walk for reasons that do not involve me being too trashed to do it. the explosions freak him out. he does not have fun. the explosions interrupt his usual fascination with the pee left by other dogs. it is not good.

my dog used to be really freaked out by fireworks. She ran away a few times during the fourth of july and new years... finally we had to just tranquilize her before a big fireworks holiday like that.

You're a good person, bernie. :)
Sorry to hear about the 2 doggies. I wish I had a solution to offer you, but all I can think of is to keep doing what you have been.
When your neighbors come back maybe you can lay the smackdown on 'em for neglecting their faithful companion.

Our case, too.
We took our dog with us to a friends' bbq cookout one 4th of July, about 15 miles away in the next 'burg.
She freaked out a little more than usual and somehow got out of their fenced yard.
We looked all over town for half the night with no luck.
Finally, my mom had a feeling Tippy went on home and sure enough she was on the front porch, exhausted, with torn and bloody paws, but happy to see us.
From then on til her death we got tranquilizers from the vet two times a year.

My dog freaks out around fireworks too. What I have found that works best is doggie downers, the TV, and someone to sit next to the dog. But it sounds like you've already figured this out. Good Luck.