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Make the Fourth fear-free for your pet

Ease your pet's stress

By Dr. Marty Becker and Gina Spadafori

published 06/29/2009 | View all articles from this day

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The Fourth of July is the ultimate summer holiday, a celebration not only of America’s history and traditions, but also of family, food and fireworks fun.

But while we may love our pyrotechnics, pet lovers always need to remember our midsummer spectacular is no holiday for many of our animal companions.

While we humans are oohing and aahing, too often our pets are frightened out of their wits.They’ll spend the holiday under the bed (or in the basement) cowering, shaking, drooling, and seeking safety and comfort. Scared pets have been known to jump out of apartment windows, leap over or dig under fences, or chew their skin until it’s raw. They may also bolt out an open door to become lost but never found.

With the holiday at hand, make plans to ease the stress on your pet.

First, here’s what you should not do — reward your pet for being scared. Comforting scared pets may seem the right thing to do, but it sends the wrong message. If you remain calm and don’t baby scared pets, they’ll be closer to learning how to handle loud noises.

The best defense against Fourth of July problems is a good offense. Professional trainers and behaviorists start socializing dogs and making every potentially negative experience — such as fireworks and thunderstorms — into something rewarding. If a negative experience comes with tasty treats, then your pet is going to at least tolerate it, if not welcome it. This works best when started as a puppy, but don’t give up hope if your dog is already an adult: New behaviors can be learned.

One way to help your pet is to expose him or her to commercial recordings of thunderstorms or fireworks, and play them at increasing volume. Play the recordings at a low volume — recognizing how acute a pet’s hearing is — and give praise and treats. It’s a party! As the volume and duration are increased during subsequent sessions, give them really tasty treats so they have the expectation of a repeat treat. Initially, play the recording for five minutes, eventually leaving it on during daily activities as “normal” background noise.

That’s not going to happen with just a few days to plan, so make a note for next year, and get ready to cope with this year’s racket.

Provide pets with safe, secure hiding spaces inside your home. Dogs and cats who are comfortable in crates can find them a good place to ride out the noise, especially if the crate is put in a quiet, darkened part of the house. Whatever you do, don’t just throw your pet outside. A terrified pet can find a way out of the yard and, once out, will just keep running. The Fourth is a sadly busy time for emergency veterinary clinics, with a steady stream of pets hit by cars, and for animal control facilities dealing with an influx of lost pets.

If you know your pet becomes totally unhinged by fireworks noise, talk to your veterinarian before the holiday about an appropriate medication to calm your pet. Make sure you understand the dose and how long before the evening falls to give the medication. You might also ask to learn some acupressure points that will help to calm your pet.

This Independence Day, while we enjoy our parades, picnics and fireworks, don’t forget your pet: He’s counting on you!

Some products to help fight the fear
A handful of products can help get anxious pets through stressful times.

Head halters, such as the Gentle Leader head collar, mimic how mother dogs control and comfort their young by putting pressure on the bridge of the nose or behind the ear. You can also try the Calming Cap, a product that fits over a pet’s head and eyes. The Gentle Leader head halter and Calming Cap are available through Premier products (www.premier.com, 800-933-5595).

The Anxiety Wrap (www.anxietywrap.com, 877-652-1266) applies gentle pressure to a dog’s body to focus his attention away from what’s scaring him. Advocates compare its use and effect to how whole-body pressure is used to calm overstimulated autistic children.

Some behaviorists recommend pheromones, such as those found in Feliway (for cats) and DAP (dog-appeasing pheromones, for dogs) (Petcomfortzone.com, 800-234-2269). These substances mimic those in nature that make animals feel more relaxed.