Fear of Fireworks in the press

We first made a public statement on-line in Nov 2001, on a veterinary discussion forum on the Vetclick website. I questioned the humane aspects of using sedatives and tranquilisers alone as the answer to firework phobia.


Prescribing ACP for firework phobia
Pete Coleshaw Date: 05/11/01 12:36:05
http://www.vetclick.com/vetchat/forum/display_message.asp?mid=172

Question?
Are we doing our canine clients a disservice by prescribing ACP for firework phobia? Should we not be adopting a behavioural modification/desensitisation programme for every case instead?

Reply
Author: David Holmes Date: 06/11/01 00:13:29
We have had considerable success with either homoeopathic phosphorus or phenobarbitone/propranolol + habituation therapy. I have not prescribed ACP at all for the last couple of years. With the trend to firework activity for several weeks around November 5th I see no logic in using a drug which is only really suitable for managing the occasional episode.


Product launch
We launched our CD in October 2002, and we soon hit the press. Following an article in the Macclesfield Express Advertiser, we found ourselves on the Manchester On-Line website, leading to appearances in the Mail, the Sun, The Telegraph on Sunday, Times Weekend Supplement, the Metro, Shooting Times, Cage and Aviary Birds, and many others. We even made it onto the Polish Newsweek paper. This was followed by five radio interviews and an appearance on Granada TV. Some articles were less than complementary - usually any such comments were made by people with no knowledge of either our proucts or our regimes. We detail below both the hyperlinks to the web pages, and reprints of articles, and leave you to draw your own conclusions!

Big bang 'cure' for scared pets
www.manchesteronline.co.uk/news/stories/Detail_LinkStory=21956.html

BLAST BRAVERY:
VET Peter Coleshaw believes he can cure animals' fears of fireworks - by playing them a CD recording of real explosions.
The idea is that owners play the CD to their animals in the weeks leading up to Bonfire Night, increasing the volume a little each day.

Mr Coleshaw got the idea after seeing his Jack Russell terrier - Raab C - cower with fear every November 5. And now clients at his busy surgery, in Macclesfield, Cheshire, are eager to snap up copies of the disc.

Mr Coleshaw said: "I see clients coming into the surgery in despair looking for help for their dogs, no-one likes to see an animal a shivering wreck. People think they can give their dog a big cuddle, but that is the wrong thing to do and often medication is no answer. The best thing is to play the noises as a behavioural modification. I have been playing it every day to Rab C and slowly putting up the volume every time. He's getting braver and braver. Weeks ago, a loud bang would have sent him running, but not now. It doesn't have to be played loud, remember that dogs have much better hearing than us. Hopefully, Bonfire Night should be no problems now."

North West RSPCA spokesman Kevin Hegarty, said: "While we wouldn't criticise a vet who has found success in using tapes of explosions to help animals counter the fear of fireworks, we would make the point that it is not a good idea to put them under an undue distress. Some dogs are absolutely terrified of firework explosions, large or small, and that is when accidents can happen because they could easily be frightened into bolting and running into the path of a car. We think the use of CDs should be considered very carefully by pet owners as this method of counteracting the fear of fireworks is not proven."


Daily Mail Oct 17th 2002-11-11 Whizz-Bang way to cure scaredy cats
Pet owners who's animals cower with fear every bonfire night are being offered a cure by a Cheshire vet. Peter Coleshaw has treated his own dog's fear of fireworks by playing a compilation CD of explosions. Now clients at his practice in Macclesfield are snapping their own copies. He recommends that they play the CD to their animals every day, slowly increasing the volume until they are accustomed to the noise.

Macclesfield Express Advertiser. Vet blasts RSPCA rebuke
A MACCLESFIELD vet has blasted the RSPCA for putting its "politically correct" ideals before the welfare of animals. Peter Coleshaw, of Wright and Morten vets practice in Cumberland Road, says the RSPCA is trying to warn owners against his whiz-bang new idea to cure frightened pets.

Peter compiled an innovative CD of banging bonfire sounds for customers to play daily to their dogs on the run-up to November 5, as revealed previously. He was inspired by his own dog Rab C, who like most canines, quivered with fear every time the explosions of Guy Fawke were heard.

Since we featured the CD, the idea has sparked interest from dog owners and vets across Britain and Europe who have been snapping up the CD. Owners are advised to play the compilation to their dogs every day, turning up the volume each time, to slowly counteract pets' fears.

But the RSPCA has publicly said it would not encourage use of the CD and warns it could cause dogs "undue stress". The animal charity added: "We would warn owners to think very carefully before playing it to their pets."

Peter feels the RSPCA's intervention will unfairly influence dog owners, who otherwise could have used the CD to help their animals. He said: "There is no way I would play this to my own dog, who I love very much, if I thought it was going to hurt him.
"This is not a new technique, vets have been using behavioural modification for years. "The difference in Rab in his general confidence as well as losing his fear of loud noises is amazing. I think the RSPCA is simply being politically correct at the expense of pets' welfare. Over 70 per cent of my clientele at the moment have anxious dogs. If you multiply that all over the country you are looking at a huge scale problem."

Customers at Peter's surgery are keen to use the CD to help their own pets. Nurse Vicki Smith, 30, has been bringing her dog Ruby, a five-year-old Staffordshire terrier to Peter's surgery for years, to get treatment for stress in the run-up to November 5.
"I have been playing the CD to Ruby for the past two weeks and I can see a marked difference already," she said. She is usually terrified from all the din on the run-up to bonfire night. She shakes so much that her skeleton almost comes out of her little body. It's awful. But when it thundered a few days ago, she didn't even flinch. I couldn't believe it."

November 5 has become a huge problem for dog owners. Some animal charities, such as Guide Dogs For The Blind, are urging MPs to regulate them. A spokesman for the charity said: "Many guide dogs and other working dogs are forced to retire after being traumatised by the irresponsible use of fireworks. Others have to be sedated and some even restrained, leaving their owners without mobility for weeks at a time."

Based on the success of Rab and other customers, Peter has now set up a web-site for worried owners to access more information on the CD. He added: "There is no doubt that the RSPCA have animals best interest at heart, and that is why I'd advise them to speak to owners who have actually used the CD."

Times On-Line
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,1175-465262,00.html

If your pet panics at this year’s firework displays, prepare him for the next bout with a CD compiled by Peter Coleshaw, a vet, which is aimed to reassure dogs and cats on Guy Fawkes’ night. The CD features 14 minutes of bangs, pops and whizzes, which if played regularly with increasing volume, will, according to Coleshaw, desensitise most pets to the ear-splitting noises. Coleshaw, who has successfully tested the CD on his seven-year-old Jack Russell, thought of the idea after growing tired of handing out tranquillisers to worried pet owners every bonfire night. The CD costs £11 plus p&p and can be ordered on 01260 273222; details also on www.fearoffireworks.com


Newsweek Poland
http://newsweek.redakcja.pl/archiwum/artykul.asp?Artykul=11931
Newsweek Polska poniedzialek, 11 listopada 2002
Plyta kompaktowa z nagraniami wybuchów pomaga psom przyzwyczaic sie do huku fajerwerków - twierdzi Peter Coleshaw, brytyjski weterynarz. - Poczatkowo wybuchy nalezy odtwarzac psom dosc cicho i dopiero gdy sie przyzwyczaja, stopniowo zwiekszac glosnosc - objasnia Peryskopowi Coleshaw. Weterynarz wpadl na pomysl stworzenia "terapeutycznego" nagrania, poniewaz jego wlasny terrier Raab panicznie boi sie eksplozji. Coleshaw uwaza, ze wlasnie nadchodzi dobry moment, zeby zaczac "wybuchowa terapie". Zbliza sie bowiem sylwester.

So now you know!