Health & Fitness
4th of July
Does your dog pace and whine at the door as the fireworks pop and burst? How can you calm your four legged friends and be able to enjoy the 4th celebration?
We celebrate and delight in the cacophony of pops, screams and whistles. We sigh and awe at the brilliant array of colors. Our pets, on the other hand, do not share in our excitement. In fear, they crawl into dark corners, retreat to bathtubs, scurry into basements and closets trying to escape. Our four legged family members do not understand nor do they care what fireworks are for. They inherently have learned to run and fear loud noises and lights. Have you ever watched a forest fire? As the blaze rips through the forest one hears the crack of trees, the hiss and pops of underbrush succumbing to the blaze, and sees bursts of light and balls of fire. Does this sound similar to our display? How do our pets know the difference? They are anxious and want to protect us and are confused by our celebration. They watch in dismay barking “Run, Run, Can’t you hear it? Can’t you see it? Why are you not running? Take cover, quick”.
So how do we survive the next few weeks? Being part of the Bristol, RI celebration, the oldest Fourth of July parade in the United States, I understand the true phobia of fireworks, since the celebration lasts for weeks not days.
So how do we get our furry friends through it? Last year I did a blind study with my husband and our dog Fergus. One night I gave our dog Fergus valium and the next night I used acupuncture- using one point for relaxation and sedation.
The third night I asked my husband “Which night was better”? without him knowing the treatment I used.
He said “Whatever you did the second night, he just laid down and slept all night.”
“The second night I used acupuncture,” I said
“Oh” he said surprised, “Well do that again”
Every night for a week I treated Fergus with acupuncture and every night he slept peacefully.
For the rest the summer the fireworks did not bother him at all or the booming thunderstorms and cracks of lightening. Acupuncture had saved the month of July without any worry of side effects hurting my beloved Fergus.
Other things worth trying for phobias are
1) A thunder shirt or a tight Tee shirt
2) Create a cave a small safe dark quiet place
3) Rescue remedy for Dogs and Cats (do not use the one for humans it contains alcohol)