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Fourth Of July

I just realized that my Yorkie’s least favorite holiday is less than 2 weeks away … how did that happen??? wasn’t it just Mother’s Day??? have I been in denial???

My little stud muffin Simba and his BFF Lola (my tiny rescue Shih Tzu) are absolutely terrified of fireworks and thunderstorms, and literally shake so hard I’m afraid they will hurt themselves and some of the others aren’t much better.

I’ve tried doing all of the things you hear about like shutting all of the windows and turning up the music but not only did that not help, I think the music made things worse because all I did was add constant loud sounds to the intermittent loud sounds of the fireworks. I’ve also tried giving them Benedryl and I definitely don’t recommend doing that.
 
I’m constantly looking for ways to help my babies and what I’ve found is there is no one miracle cure so I will be using a combination of these:
 

*In a recent thunderstorm I tried using the sound machine that we sleep with to drown out the sound and to my surprise it helped so I did a little checking and found that sleep coaches and PTSD experts recommend white noise over crickets and other looped sounds (crickets are our favorite sound … don’t ask LOL)  so I went on Amazon, found the most highly rated white noise machine and ordered it.

*Thunder Shirt is based on the same idea as swaddling a baby – that applying light pressure is comforting which is why Simba and Lola climb into my lap and want to be held and the feedback shows that for 80% of the pets who tried it Thunder Shirt worked!!!

*I first heard about the Adaptil Calming Collar from a vet who recommended I put it on one of my boys a few days before a scheduled surgery so he wouldn’t be stressed during his stay at the hospital and it would be easier to keep him calm after so he could heal and I have to admit that I was impressed with the results. What happened is that my boy that hates being crated did not freak out during his hospital stay or when he came home and had to be confined for 10 days (he still wasn’t happy but he wasn’t jumping and barking and frantically trying to get out like he usually would). The Adaptil Collar contains a pheromone that is activated by body heat so to get the best results you need to follow the instructions about how tight to make it.  

*If you have one or even two pets the collar is a great choice but in multi pet households like ours the  Adaptil Home Diffuser is a better choice so everyone benefits.  (a word of caution … if you have birds in your home PLEASE read the product info before using the diffuser!!!).
 

*There is a lot of talk about CBD oil and treats for anxiety but I am not going to recommend any specific one here.  My reason is this – in my research so far I’ve found there is very little consistency in strength and recommended dosage and that makes me nervous. I’m also skeptical because a lot of the rave reviews I’ve read are from “distributors” and I’ve had a hard time finding what I think are legitimate reviews from customers. The product I do recommend is Rescue Remedy which is made from the essence of 6 flowers known for their calming effects. It has been around for many years and I’ve personally used it for over 5 years. Is it perfect? No. Has it reduced anxiety in most of the dogs I’ve give it to? Yes! Is it worth trying with your dog? Absolutely!!!

*I’m also going to make sure to tire my Yorkies out that day so hopefully they’ll sleep through some of the noise. Long walks are good for that and I’ll also be throwing those funny little balls I mentioned on Facebook last week A LOT.And since for me bribery is an acceptable parenting tool (LOL), there’s a new bag of bully sticks in my cabinet to give my furkids that night to distract the from what’s going on outside.
 

In my opinion, there is no one product that will help every one of my dogs (or yours) especially on a night like Fourth of July where there are so many fireworks going off for so many hours so close to our house.  I’m hoping that by using a combination of the products I listed here we’ll be able to get through the night a little easier than we have in the past and I hope you do too.

I’d love to hear any other suggestions you have and also how my recommendations worked for you.

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This Post Has One Comment

  1. Michelle Schwartz

    Very well written. Packed with lots of good ideas. Thank you for sharing your insight.

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