I used to live in upstate New York, and encountered a weird issue when walking my dog. During the summer when it was very hot, I would try to walk my dog early in the morning (getting up earlier to do it before work) or later in the evening. Whenever I walked him in the evening, I would hear random popping sounds in the neighborhood, which would freak out my dog. Despite all my encouragement, whenever he heard this sound, he would immediately turn around and want to go home. It got to the point where he didn’t even want to go for a walk once the sun was going down, even if it was totally quiet. So sometimes I would have to take him in my car and drive down the street. Then I’d get out with him and walk back toward home, because at least he would walk back toward my apartment, being so scared that he wanted to go home. Then I’d have to go back and get my car later. I never knew what these sounds were. Maybe firecrackers, but they occurred throughout the summer, not just around the 4th of July. I wondered if I maybe lived near a shooting range and I was hearing someone practice.
Last year, I moved to southwestern Connecticut, where my fiance (now husband) lives. And I’m encountering the same thing. Over the fall/winter, I didn’t take him out much for walks because it was too cold. But since it’s gotten warmer, I’ve tried to walk him in the evening, and the same thing is happening - when I walk him in the evening, we hear these loud popping sounds, which makes my dog immediately turn around and want to go home. The last time it happened, I heard another dog barking, from inside someone’s house, so he isn’t the only dog who was freaked out by it. My husband swears that there is no shooting range nearby, and he doesn’t know of anyone who would be randomly shooting for any other reason, because this is a low-crime suburban area. And I’ve been hearing these noises since the beginning of May, so I don’t think they are firecrackers related to the 4th of July. (And I never hear these sounds during the times when I walk him in the morning.)
Does anyone know what this is? Do people generally set off firecrackers all spring/summer long, and that’s what I’m hearing? Or is it just the sound of a car backfiring, and I’ve happened to live in 2 different areas where this happens a lot? I’m just trying to figure out what is going on so I can keep walking my dog - who is now 10 years old and I’d like to keep him healthy and fit. He generally enjoys going for walks, but these sounds make him just want to go home.
Fireworks noise can carry pretty far, so it doesn’t take too much for a semi-populated area to hear some fireworks most nights, especially once all the 4th of July fireworks stands are open.
Do you have a neighborhood Facebook group? Nextdoor? I’d ask there as well.
Was there construction in both places? A pneumatic nailer can be pretty loud. Louder still is a [powder-actuated nail gun](Powder-actuated tool - Wikipedia, which fires actual .22 rounds.
Ive been told that the loud popping actually more of a boom sounds we sometimes hear are coming from area farm fields where they have propane cannons iirc to scare and deter birds starlings maybe from landing in their orchards.
Odd that I mostly hear it during rain storms. I sometimes wonder if the grain solos up the road are the culprit by releasing pressure? Heat? Idk.
Because dogs are involved, I’d like to offer a WAG (Wild-Ass Guess):
As for the popping noise in the morning and evening, that’s a different mechanism. It’s thermal expansion and contraction. The sun hits your roof and heats it up. As the lumber expands, it moves, and it will rub against other pieces of wood that aren’t moving at the same rate. This movement creates the popping noise. When the wood cools down after sunset, the same thing happens in reverse.
I’d ask the OP just how long “throughout” the summer ends up being. In many of the 4th of July Firework Pit threads, we’ve complained about how early and how late (both on the day and days post / prior) the bangs seem to start.
In my somewhat less permissive state, it’s generally starts about twoish weeks early (mid June) and runs through the end of July, rarely into August. But in some more permissive states I’ve been in (looking at you Texas!) as @Munch mentions, as soon as the stalls are open, the pops begin, and often run later.
Living in “the country” is wonderful, but one of the downsides is that people are excitedly preparing for killing deer; sighting in rifles, etc. Also readying for July 4th.
I give our old dog Loki a gabapentin the minute she begins getting antsy.
If it’s a fast popping, say 5 at a time, followed by a quick pause and then another series it could be a modified car. It’s called a crackle tune. The popping occurs with they let off the gas.
I’ve heard it for years but the first few times in a season always makes me jump.
The dogs have to get used to gunshots pretty young or be miserable their whole lives, here
My Beagle Betsy(RIP), altho’ a consummate sniffer and tracker never quite got used to it. We tried a medication or two. She was just nervous Nellie, leaning hard against my legs, when it happened.