Calming a puppy on bonfire night

That's really smart thinking — getting ahead of bonfire night before it happens rather than scrambling on the 5th of November with a terrified puppy. Noise phobia in dogs often has a strong learned component, and the experiences a puppy has in their first few months can shape how they respond to loud sounds for the rest of their life. So you're asking exactly the right question at exactly the right time. To point you toward the most useful tool: how old is the puppy right now, and have they shown any nervousness at all yet — to sudden sounds, strangers, new environments? And is this their first home?

Perfect — confident at 8 weeks with no existing noise sensitivity is the best possible starting point. You've got about three months before bonfire night, which is genuinely enough time to set her up well. Can I ask: will she be sleeping in a crate, and do you have a plan yet for where she'll be on the night itself? That'll help me confirm whether a wearable or a room-based solution makes more sense for her.

In that case, my clear recommendation is the Adaptil Junior collar. It's a pheromone collar designed specifically for puppies — it releases a synthetic version of the appeasing pheromone that mother dogs produce, which is scientifically shown to help puppies feel safe and settle more easily in stressful situations. You fit it now, she wears it continuously, and it works quietly in the background during her whole socialisation window — not just on bonfire night. That means when November arrives, she's already been supported through those critical weeks of learning that the world is manageable. It's not a sedative, it won't make her dopey, and it's completely safe from this age. Replace it every four weeks. The Adaptil Junior collar is widely available on Amazon UK, usually around £18–22 depending on the supplier. I'd pair it with some deliberate sound desensitisation — there are free puppy soundtracks online specifically for fireworks — starting very quietly in the background from about 10 weeks. The collar supports the emotional state; the sound work teaches her not to fear it.

The collar is your foundation, but on the night itself a few practical things make a real difference. Keep her crate in the room with you — familiar, covered with a blanket to muffle sound, with something that smells of you inside it. Draw the curtains early to block flashes. Have the TV or music on at a normal volume before it gets loud outside so there's a consistent background sound rather than sudden contrast. Don't fuss over her if she startles — calm acknowledgement, then carry on normally. If she's confident and well-slept going into the evening, and she's been on the Adaptil collar for a couple of months by then, the odds are genuinely good that she'll just sleep through most of it. Dachshunds are actually fairly bold as a breed, which is in your favour.

Good move — starting it this week gives you the maximum benefit window before bonfire night. Keep the sound desensitisation sessions short and positive, and do them when she's relaxed rather than already tired or hungry. You're approaching this exactly right, and an 8-week-old Dachshund with a confident owner who's prepared in advance has every chance of sailing through her first November without it becoming a lasting fear. Good luck with her.