Chipper is my success story.
He’s become almost immune to the sound of fireworks.
Last year he slept at my feet through the grand finale, less than a mile away. I remember sitting in front of the computer with a 20-inch box fan set at high speed to make my upstairs office more comfortable in the heat. Sure, the sound of the fan helped dim the sound a bit, but not by much.
Two years before that he had driven my mother nuts with his pacing, his hiding, refusing to go outside to do his business if he heard a tiny blip of a firecracker – for weeks. I ended up paying her caretaker overtime for several days around the fourth of July, just to help my Mom take care of anxious little Chipper. If Mom could have driven her car back then, she likely would have put him down. He drove her that crazy.
I’m enjoying reading all the newsprint about ways to care for anxious dogs who are terrified of the fireworks. One friend from my BlogPaws network even suggested leaving town and checking into a remote motel for the weekend with her dog, far away from the cracks and booms of fireworks displays. I thought that was extreme.
Then I read the suggestion of putting cotton balls in the dog’s ears. How long do you think that would last? In my dogs, about two seconds.
The Chicago Tribune posted some good tips http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/letters/ct-fireworks-frighten-off-creatures-big-and-small-20160701-story.html
- Exercise your dog thoroughly before the fireworks.
- A tired dog is a good dog – has always been my experience.
- Have a crate as a friendly refuge.
- Especially if you leave your dog home alone during the fireworks.
- The FDA has recently approved a new drug called Sileo.
- Requires a veterinarian prescription.
- Use low doses of Melatonin,
I’ve tried the Thundershirt, which only made my dogs hotter than they already were in the July heat.
I have not tried melatonin or Sileo.
What works for Chipper?
Harmonease chewable tablets. I have used this for years and it has helped Chipper and my last dog, Cassie. I recently told my sister in-law about Harmonease, and she tried something similar at her local pet shop, that helped her Basset mix a lot.
Harmonease uses extracts from Magnolia officinalis and Phellodendron amurense https://www.drugs.com/vet/harmonease-chewable-tablets.html . Amazon sells this over-the-counter drug. I am not being paid for this endorsement, just promoting something that has worked for me.
