Air Show Fun For Us, Not So Much For The Dogs

CHICAGO (CBS) -- The 4th of July is the most hated day of the year by dogs. With all the fireworks and excitement, it can be scary for pets. But the Chicago Air & Water Show runs a close second.

CBS 2 photojournalist Marcus Richardson takes a different look at the annual celebration in the sky.

"On this long weekend of the Air & Water Show, where it's great fun to watch, it's not such great fun for some of these pooches who get very, very frightened by the loud noises of the jets," Dan Gaughan, owner of Urban Pooch Canine Life Center said.

One woman who brought her dog, Hazelnut, to the lakefront for the air show said, "Hazelnut's a little skittish and every time one goes over, she crawls up next to me."

"Today she's (fine) as long as they're not directly flying over, but she's staying closer to us than normal today," she added.

Gaughan said the loud noises of the air show tend to make dogs skittish.

"Out of nowhere they zoom by and you just don't know," he said. "Even inside of this building, which is pretty well insulated, they can still hear it so we try to calm them as much as possible."

If you're looking for something to help keep your dog calm, Urban Pooch sells "Thundershirts," which helps dogs cope with the noise of thunderstorms and fireworks and other anxiety issues.

"One of the big things that we sell here, especially over the Fourth of July or times when there's fireworks are these 'Thundershirts,'" Gaughan said. "The whole premise of these things, it feels like somebody's giving them a big old hug, like they're getting just continuous support – that they feel safe."