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Hi everyone. Back with a reminder about fireworks and dogs.

 

They don't "get" fireworks. Some are very upset. An enclosed room/safe space with the radio playing to distract them has worked for us. A

Little benedryl, although I resisted for years, really helped my worrier, and made a lasting difference to where the safe room and radio were enough

 

My two younger dogs are much less concerned. However, I am implementing extra precautions. Walk them early. Don't let them outside without supervision.

 

Big bangs...

This is an especially bad time to lose your dog.

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Thanks, Allison. I bought Kaposia's collars, tags, and training leash from a company in Mississippi, and they send out very informative articles with their advertising emails. The latest one stated pretty much what you just said. Dogs don't belong at the fireworks displays. Their article also said that if your dog is trained to the gun for hunting, exposure to fireworks can really mess up all that training, or even completely ruin the dog for hunting purposes.

 

 

 

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Their article also said that if your dog is trained to the gun for hunting, exposure to fireworks can really mess up all that training, or even completely ruin the dog for hunting purposes.

That is very interesting. I do have a neighbor with a seasoned bird hunting dog, that does not respond favorably to the fireworks.

He keeps him in for the day/night.

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In the "for what it's worth" department, now that fireworks are done for the year:

 

We have finally found something that helps Bandit - nothing, including Vet prescribed meds or a Thundershirt helped his fear of thunderstorms (and fireworks noises).

I can highly recommend!

 

http://iheartdogs.com/product-category/anxiety/

 

They are grain and gluten free, and have the included list of active ingredients.

  • Valerian root
  • Organic Chamomile
  • Organic Passionflower
  • Thiamine (Vitamin B1)
  • Magnesium Citrate
  • GABA (Gamma-aminobutyric acid)
  • L- Tryptophan
  • Organic Ginger Root
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Zephyr is also very scared of thunder and fireworks, but I have developed a pretty good routine to help make it easy on him. He goes in his crate (in the most internal room in the house), I place a very heavy blanket over the crate (leaving the door and some of the ventilation in the back uncovered), then i place a fan we have that is sort of loudish blowing right into the kennel. It's to keep him cool and provide some white noise. If it's a very prolonged storm or the 4th, I will give him a low dose of sedative, mostly he does ok without it. If I'm home, I will make sure I make extra 'human doing regular house stuff' noises. If I leave I put on music, or tv shows we watch a lot so it seems familiar (hopefully).

 

Everyone with a noise shy dog (or cat) should take extra precautions for fireworks. You'd be surprised, they chew through fences, doors, floors, walls, kennels, dog runs, and crash right through windows and screens. Take care of your fur friends.

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Our Golden Retriever hated the fireworks. She would just flip out, run upstairs, jump into the bathtub, and shake and drool. For some reason she chose the bathtub as her safe place...fine with us because she would really DROOL, and the tub was easy to scour out and clean up afterwards. Kaposia isn't comfortable with the fireworks, but she doesn't flip out or get over excited. We stay at home with her, of course. She's content to lay on our feet. If there's an exceptionally loud BOOM she raises he head and looks at us as if to ask, "What's going on?" I'm glad she handles it as well as she does.

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1st yr Tayamni - no problem, last year Tayamni trembled at the sight of them, then started trembling at the booms,

This year - Tayamni just laid on me on the couch and didn't react except during really loud booms. :rolleyes:

 

There was a 10 minute lull late at night and we thought it was over and took the dogs out to go potty - and *BOOM** and both dogs ran back in the house (we hadn't gotten the door shut yet).

Now Tayamni waits in the kitchen to listen before going out the door in the laundry room but no shaking so I'll let her have her caution and she'll get over it. ^_^

 

 

Coffey, ha ha ha ha, well, let's say - Janjira, think he needs to protect us from those evil lights coming at us and he must shout back at all the booms (from a salute to a half stick) - :huh:

 

We tried an internal room - growl and bark in protect mode, a sheet over him - it calmed him and worked for one boom then he stuck his nose out of the sheet and growled and barked away!

This is the second year we used calming medicines - It works for maybe the first 15 minutes, gruffs and barks then full on Janjira ......

(tried Benadryl last year - no effect on him)

 

He also does his lightening quick turns and flips - he does not want his back to the bombs or lights approaching. It doesn't matter if the space is clear or if anyone or thing is in the way.

We get him to calm to his gruffs and then ..... wash, rinse, repeat. mommom I will look into that natural med that you posted - I have tried other with many of the same ingredients but sometimes it's how it's formulated.

 

This is part of his reactiveness that consistent training has reduced but I'm praying that he backs off more as he gets a little older so he can be a service dog for my sister. I just keep saying one more year, this is it ...... oops not yet :blink:

I've been wondering if it is just part of his personality since today he was making a game of "run, wait and bark" at the guys on the other side of the fence installing a pool next door.

And since July 4th he has started counter surfing to try and eat out of the cat's bowl. (that may be because of a new med he's on and he feels better - maybe not the fireworks ... )

 

Ohhh, - yeas - Coffey barks at Thunder also! Only in the house, not at the park though. .....

 

 

 

Edited by Denise E.
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It is interesting to me that my one dog who was so fearful of fireworks, loved the Blue Angels. Once a year, they fly right over our house, and it is seriously loud, shakes the house, and generally resets all the electrons in your body.

 

We all were excited, so he was excited. He could chase them through the yard, barking his head off, and no one could hear him. He seemed to love it!

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  • 1 month later...
In the "for what it's worth" department, now that fireworks are done for the year: We have finally found something that helps Bandit - nothing, including Vet prescribed meds or a Thundershirt helped his fear of thunderstorms (and fireworks noises). I can highly recommend! http://iheartdogs.com/product-category/anxiety/ They are grain and gluten free, and have the included list of active ingredients.
  • Valerian root
  • Organic Chamomile
  • Organic Passionflower
  • Thiamine (Vitamin B1)
  • Magnesium Citrate
  • GABA (Gamma-aminobutyric acid)
  • L- Tryptophan
  • Organic Ginger Root

 

I just went to the site and it doesn't look like they are selling these anymore :(

(that happens to me a lot - I find something I like or wait to try and it get's discontinued .... UHHHHH :o)

 

Is there another name or place to buy them? (the ingredients look like a good combination)

 

is the site just not working for me?

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He could chase them through the yard, barking his head off, and no one could hear him. He seemed to love it!

 

Lol... Nakoma tried to catch a helicopter flying above the ocean once ... that didn't work out as he had planned. :D He was just a puppy and so the whole helicopters and planes stuff were totally new to him.

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We are in/near landing pattern for the airport. Of course the planes are a couple thousand feet up and traveling about 500 miles an hour - the engines still make noise that can be heard, whatever they do when in that pattern for landing.

 

Both the AI Dogs as puppies would look up a lot and watch the planes go by, I think they remembered the noise from being in the planes. They still look up once in a while, not so much any more. Maybe they were looking for more puppies???????

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I just went to the site and it doesn't look like they are selling these anymore :(

(that happens to me a lot - I find something I like or wait to try and it get's discontinued .... UHHHHH :o)

 

Is there another name or place to buy them? (the ingredients look like a good combination)

 

is the site just not working for me?

 

those ingredients would knock any person out, lol!!! I'm sure it was a small dose compared to what people take...there is a spray or drops called Rescue Remedy. They have one for pets; too, and it is for exactly this reason. They are flower remedies-

 

www.bachflower.com/rescue-remedy-pet/

 

On the other hand, backfiring trucks, gunshot and thunder don't even faze Wyot in the least.....we've got a lot of those around here, lol!

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I use rescue remedy for Coffey but sometimes he needs something longer lasting.

 

He has a 5 - 6 hour limit then tears the living room apart if neither of us people come home.

I've seen it one day when I was home sick and Kelli was out, he gets more frustrated than it being separation anxiety.

 

Vetriscience Composure is working pretty well.

 

I just wanted to try this anxiety relief one out.

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Poor Coffey...I'm sure there are other companies with remedies out there that would help....how different our dogs are! When we had an unavoidable emergency, I was fraught with anxiety at the situation at hand, as well as leaving Wyot alone so long, as he was only 8 months old!! I remember coming into the house thinking everything would have been shredded, and maybe he would have peed on the carpet, or worse, had to go big....what a surprise when we came home!! He literally touched..... nothing...except an old pizza box that we had left on a chair by accident of forgetfulness, that he had found and ripped up happily. Otherwise, nothing was disturbed. What praise did he get, and a prolonged walk, feeding etc., and what a look of adoration he gives us!!

 

I learned, in my case, to make sure he has one or two chew toys that are his situated in a room or two, before we leave anywhere. This minimizes destroying anything else. He also does not have a dog bed (he's destroyed any we had given him early on- they just love to shred and get at the filling, lol!!! I see from everyone's stories that this is something they do)...his favorite places to curl up are at our feet, under the coffee table, and that's usually where he sleeps, or on the rug in the entry hall, at night. He does not have his crate anymore, so the house is his domain, with one room being gated off, since I have my herbs drying in there. Can you imagine the havoc he'd wreak in there if he could go in?? It seems like he goes into a shutdown/quiet calm mode when we leave. Don't know why, but this is how it is with him. Am I lucky? Is it something we are doing on a daily basis that makes him this way? I'll never know. But he does not seem to startle at loud noises, or be afraid of lightining and thunder, gunshot or anything else. His senses, however, when something is wrong are sharp as a tack. He knows when something is out of order, and lets me know it! Amazing dogs, these.... :wub:

 

I hope you find a good substitute supplement to the one you wanted to try. Look up Healthy Pet Herbal Calmer. It's a liquid you give twice a day, and does not induce sleepiness- I'd give you a link, but something is wrong with my being able to copy and paste...I found it on Chewy.com, which is where I get Wyot's dog food.

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I just went to the site and it doesn't look like they are selling these anymore :(

(that happens to me a lot - I find something I like or wait to try and it get's discontinued .... UHHHHH :o)

 

Is there another name or place to buy them? (the ingredients look like a good combination)

 

is the site just not working for me?

 

I think they have just moved the page. Try this:

 

https://iheartdogs.com/product/project-paws-advanced-all-natural-calming-chews-for-dogs/

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  • 2 weeks later...

Another thing you might look into (a friend that has horses says it's a must-have) is the Bach Flower Remedies for pets. I haven't tried it myself yet as the iheartdogs chews seem to work great for Bandit, but I will definitely keep it in my back pocket in case.

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Thanks Mommom for the new link!

I definitely want to try these for Coffey. He doesn't have separation anxiety, he is reactive and these natural calming aids help with training.

 

We use the Bach's Pet Rescue sometimes, it works but doesn't last very long on Coffey.

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KittynDoc,

 

Tayamni is like Wyot. She goes into calm - "ok, I'll sleep and just watch out the window when I'm awake" mode. Coffey is still a ball of energy. He is getting better, we are consistent and constantly training him to come back into his front brain. He looks out the window and thinks he has to help the neighbor dog guard her yard, he is ever watchful at the window for passersby and is alert to it all. He doesn't bark all the time but will give guttural alerts when something has intruded the area he scans. That is the improvement from training :D he used to go crazy jumping at the window & growling and barking at everything that went by on the street let alone the neighbors yard or ours.

 

The funny thing is that at night (both dogs sleep with me now until Kelli gets a bigger bed) - Coffey has barked at some noises that aren't regular house night sounds BUT he won't leave the bed unless I get up to check it out! Then he goes with me .....

 

I did ask Kim for a puppy that would be an ESA or be able to be a PSD with training for Kelli and also be more of a guard dog. That is a difficult balance and Coffey is getting there - it is a long training road we are on ;)

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