Keeping dogs calm for prolonged July 4 fireworks
With July 4 approaching, a handsome but skittish German shorthaired pointer named Jake is stocked up on his Prozac. He’ll be wearing a weighted vest at all times for at least a few days, and he will be on an extended leash most of the time with his owner, Eckerd College biology professor Liza Conrad.
Thisiswhatit’sliketolive with an anxious dog as Independence Day approaches.
“He ate through a pair of vintage French doors when hewash ome by himself in a thunderstorm,” Conrad said. “When he is scared, he is just very, very destructive. I can see why a lot of dogs run away during fireworks. You can tell by his face it’s like, ‘We have to get out of here. It’s not safe.’”
Owners of nervous dogs are bracing themselves for July 4 as their pups shiver at the sounds of fireworks.
“I always hope for rain — for the whole week,” said Mary Ann Engelmann, who runs the Sheldegren Pet Resort in Safety Harbor. People take them so lightly, but it is explosions and fire. Don’t forget it also affects people with posttraumatic stress disorder, so we need to be considerate of people who have been through traumatic experiences, too.”
Conrad h as run up against a dismissive, “they are just dogs,” mentality even among veterinarians. She has left two practices because the doctor didn’t appreciate the seriousness of anxiety, she said.
“One even refused to refill Jake’s prescription for Prozac when we knew it was help- ing him,” Conrad said. “Our vet now always asks about Jake’s anxiety and will suggest new things to try when they come out.”
Nash McCutchen, of the Humane Society of Tampa Bay, said fireworks drive many dogs to run away.
“Wedoseeabig increase in stray intakes both the week leading up to July 4 and the week of July 4,” McCutchen said.
Engelmann plans to put on music to distract the dogs in her care at the kennel, and found in past years that the other dogs in her kennel can have a calming effect on the mores kittish ones.
■ Keep your pet indoors or in a kennel. Let the dog help you decide what feels like a safe space.
■ Make sure your pet has a collar with your contact information. If your pet has a microchip, make sure your information is up to date.
■ See your veterinarian for recommendations for a sedative or supplement tohelpyourpetwith anxiety.
■ You can make your own anxiety wrap using a kid-sized T-shirt tight enough to provide light pressure to your dog. You can also wrap bandages
Animal behaviorists say that because fireworks are loud and unexpected, many dogs perceive them as a threat, which triggers their “flight” response and causes them to run, or worse.
“WhenIworkedinemergency care, we had dogs who would jump through windows,” said veterinarian Kristen Brauer, of Clear- water’s Sunshine Animal Hospital. “Even though it seems counterintuitive, most dogs will want to run outside when they get frightened.”
Just like humans with anxiety, some dogs are pre- scribed Valium and Xanax to calm nerves. Brauer said she has also seen good results with a new drug called Sileo, an anti-anxiety drug designed specifically for noise phobia. It’s about $34 for a syringe, but she likes that it co mesinatube with a plunger to administer based on the dog’s we ight,it doesn’t seem to have residual side effects and it takes effect pretty quickly.
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■ Put on the anxiety wrap in advance of a thunderstorm or fireworks, so the dog associates it with positive events, like meals or walks. If you only put the shirt on when it storms, the shirt will raise anxiety as a symbol of a negative event.
■ Take the dog on a long walk before the fireworks start or get some vigorous exercise.
■ Secure locks, windows and gates before the fireworksstart.