I also have 3 dogs that are totally terrified of the July 4th noise and we have a war zone around here. People here can shoot fireworks as much as 5 days before the 4th and 5 days after the 4th in the city limits. My vet gives me Xanax (sp?) for all of them. It's not perfect but it gives them a little peace. So I guess my strategy is to drug the dogs, turn on all the fans, all the televisions and all the radios and settle in to enjoy the 4th of July (with a Margarita in my hand and a golden retriever in my lap.)