Fireworks, & the Canines

[Nyboy]

I hate this holiday, always hope for rain. I am surround by country clubs each set off a fire works display on different nights. Dogs get bloody diarrhea, rip out nails, break teeth, destroy fencing.

 

[Nyboy]

One of the best things about my puppies is noise doesn't bother them. Vacuums, thunder storms and fire works no problem. My puppy room is next to grooming room puppies hear loud noise from day they are born

 

[Rhodie Ranch]

I use a thunder shirt on Titan. I even used it last month when he had four incisions for taking out some fatty lipomas. Worked great at night for that, then I took it off during the day when I could watch him, then back on at night.

 

[so lucky]

@Ridgerunner , I'm surprised your vet hasn't had a better solution for you. What a miserable way to go through life, a bundle of fear. I wonder if there is a natural sedative she could be given...maybe valerian? I guess you have done a web search for dog sedatives?

We get explosions pretty often here, from the sand quarry. Penny startles a little, but just for a second, then goes back to sleep.
My sister's dog hates thunder. She has to make a pallet for her and the dog on the closet floor, till the storm passes. I think he's getting worse with age, too.

 

[Carol Dee]

I am NOT a fan of explosive fireworks or even gunfire. I always jump. I cannot imagine how some poor critters feel. Hubby's dog is a hunter. He want OUT to go SEE anytime there is a boom. A loud car door, backfire, gunshot of firecracker gets him barking and whining to get going. Drives me nuts.

 

[Beekissed]

Bee, how long can they wear them? Constantly, day and night? This is not an occasional thing, it's every day and every night. Storms make it worse, but it's a challenge to get her to eat on a good day. You take her outside to do her business, she often will not, she's so clamped to you even if there is no storm nearby. We've tried different drugs. Doggie valium makes her aggressive. I don't know how long it's been since we had an uninterrupted night's sleep. We found one drug, Composure Pro, that knocks her out for about 4 hours, but when it wears off she's scratching at the bed or she goes into a bathroom (a dark place, like a den) shuts the door, then scratches until we let her out, when she does it again. If we block the doors open she's scratching at them trying to close them. Her crate used to be her safe place. Now if we put her in there she starts scratching, trying to dig her way out. We've had one bloody visit to the vet with a bleeding claw.

We got her as a 4 month old pup. She's ten now. She has always been a high anxiety dog but recently something has snapped, probably due to the move down here. It's a different place. But it's been over a month and she has not settled down. I don't know how long we need to keep trying.

Sure, they can wear them constantly if they need to do so. It's no different than other dog clothing you see all the time. She can go to the bathroom without soiling it in any way, so she's good to go. You might want to get a few of them so she can wear one while you wash one. A lot of dogs wear them and learn how to be calm via the thundershirt and can then transition out of having to wear one. Some wear them from then onward, never transitioning, but still remaining calm as long as they have their shirt on.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Thanks that is good to know.

 

[Nyboy]

I have clients that swear by them, and some clients say it does nothing. I think it is up to the dog. For about $20 try and see

 

[flowerbug]

I am NOT a fan of explosive fireworks or even gunfire. I always jump. I cannot imagine how some poor critters feel. Hubby's dog is a hunter. He want OUT to go SEE anytime there is a boom. A loud car door, backfire, gunshot of firecracker gets him barking and whining to get going. Drives me nuts.

i need a thunder shirt too...

i'm pretty sure it is PTSD from premature care been this way my whole life. siblings really enjoyed making it worse. i really hate when people sneak up on me. martial art training helped me be much less reactive and more able to control my responses, but the earlier in the morning the worse it is. almost any sound in the morning is very grating to me.

fireworks at least i know what is coming, but was in a crowd in Bay City fireworks one year when a big boomer went stray and was about 100ft from where it killed someone and burned a bunch of other people.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I have clients that swear by them, and some clients say it does nothing. I think it is up to the dog. For about $20 try and see

I was hoping you'd join in Alex, knew you had to have experience. That's what I expected, sometimes they work sometimes they don't. Petty much like everything else when you are dealing with living animals. We'll probably try to pick one up today to see how she handles it.