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A friendly reminder that many dogs go ballistic during fireworks. If you see a loose dog, please call the humane society. And please try to keep your festivities limited to the 4th. Errant pops from fireworks, even one, set one of my dogs on the coo-coo train, and we have to sedate him. One day we can handle, more and it takes weeks to get him trusting of outdoors again.
If you're on Facebook, check out these pics from when a dog escaped his home while owners were away on the 4th. Poor thing was frantic, resulting in injury (check out the garage door).
https://www.facebook.com/heather.terpeni...7813531459
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Mahalo for posting this reminder.
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My poor old faithful Rottweiler, Malia, became so upset last New Years because some idiot was setting off those house-shaking bombs, that she freaked out and ran down the street. Thank goodness my grandson was able to find her and bring her home. He had to carry her home and she weighs 85 pounds! This guy set off the bombs in the daytime so I didn't think it was time to bring her in. A vet once told me that fireworks actually cause physical pain in the dogs' ears, it's not just fear of the noise. I don't understand why these young "men" have to do pipe bombs. Why can't they just do the beautiful ariels? A real man wouldn't want to hurt a dog's ears. Not to mention, this "man" has his little kids in his yard when he does it! I wish he would blow out his own eardrum so he could see how it feels for the dogs.
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Poor Malia!! My doggie gets upset even at the aerials, btw. I think that's more an association thing - he's expecting the boom.
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My neighbor tried Sileo with her dog but it didn't seem to work too well. That doesn't mean it doesn't work for other dogs, just that it didn't work in this particular case. The dog also wears a ThunderShirt during storms or fireworks, but have to say I'm not convinced it makes a difference.
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Dog tranquilizers are junk and don't work. Valium works but makes the dog wobbly. Zanax works perfectly. Just Google "Zanax for dogs" online.
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It's probably too late for some, but NPR ran a story about using cannabidiol (CBD) extract to calm dogs during fireworks and firecracker booms and bangs:
Betsy initially got a prescription for medical marijuana to help with her own joint pain. While at the medical marijuana dispensary, she also picked up a vial of CBD oil designed for pets, on the advice of the manager.
Still, cannabis therapies for pets fall into a legal gray zone.
Shu says marijuana has long had a bad reputation in the veterinary community, which has seen many ER cases of dogs suffering toxic effects from gobbling down their owners' marijuana stash or edibles.
http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots...ttish-pets
Perfect citizens: Those who do not like cake, but have a passion for producing eggs, butter, sugar & milk.
"I'm at that stage in life where I stay out of discussions. Even if you say 1+1=5, you're right - have fun." - Keanu Reeves
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It all depends on the dog. Our vet has given us acepromazine, which works very well for our pooch. We heard horror stories after first couple of times we'd used it (people claim the dog is still terrified but can't move) and begged the vet to let us try valium instead. The vet was against it but finally said ok and prescribed. She warned us that a super anxious dog such as ours can break through the valium and can hurt himself and people around him. (People have been known to coddle their dog when the dog is nervous and even on valium the dog can lash out and bite. Being close to a human's face, it can be really dangerous.) Our new vet agrees, btw, and in fact has us give him a low dose before vet visits bc of craziness. "He should not have to go through this when he comes in," the vet said.
Anyway, it's the ONLY thing that calms the dog. Claims mentioned above about still being terrified are totally untrue say the vet. On the dose we give him, he can still walk around if he wants to get a drink of water or something. Mostly, though, the drug makes him still, and then he falls asleep. The vet says it's far better this way bc he is safe and sound. I would NEVER, however, give him the ace and then leave the house.
Thundershirt doesn't work, unfortunately. He's gotten to the point that when he sees it come out, he starts to shake.
If you saw this dog during thunderstorms and fireworks, you would not believe how awful a state he gets in. Drool POURS out of his mouth, he hyperventilates, shakes uncontrollably, eyes wide in terror. It's far beyond nervous or anxious; he's terrified. And sometimes all it takes is one pop off in the distance.
Our other dog, btw, has absolutely no problems with the sounds of thunder or fireworks. She looks at me like, "What's wrong with him, mom?"
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Sorry if this seems like a hijack, but was our neighborhood in central HPP the only one that seemed to experience dramatically less noise this year? It was the least in 15 Independence Day holidays here for us.
