Dogs and fireworks: My dog, Ella Mae was a mess last night. Nothings could calm her down. I had music playing loud in the house to mask the noise from outside, but not enough to...

Nickey Loc: Arizona

My dog, Ella Mae was a mess last night. Nothings could calm her down. I had music playing loud in the house to mask the noise from outside, but not enough to comfort her. A friend of mind told me, she gives her dogs a low dose of Benadryl on stressful times, like the 4th of July. Just wondering how pet owners cope up with this.

THISTLE Loc: Reidsville NC

FWIW My dog, Hooligan, is terrified of Thunder and Lightning as well as fireworks.
We invested in a THUNDER SHIRT for her with fantastic results.
Check with your Vet or Pet supply store.

Nickey Loc: Arizona

Thistle, I'm glad the THUNDER SHIRT worked for you. I have tried it on Ella, and it didn't work for her. I don't know if it has something to do with her being so used to wearing shirts, that wearing the thunder shirt made no difference to her.

THISTLE wrote:

FWIW My dog, Hooligan, is terrified of Thunder and Lightning as well as fireworks.
We invested in a THUNDER SHIRT for her with fantastic results.
Check with your Vet or Pet supply store.

Ruthiel Loc: Las Vegas

I have Mini Aussies this is their 1st 4th I was prepared with Benadryl but they handled the days leading into it fairly well so I didn't need it. My friends that have herding dogs have used and recommend Benadryl . Please dont use acepromazine unless your dog has had the DNA test done to make sure it's safe :)

IzzyKap Loc: Rockville, MD

We've tried Thunder shirt on our dog and it didn't do anything. She normally doesn't wear anything so it wasn't that she was acclimatized to it. She goes crazy even before storms come as she senses them. She starts pacing frantically and trying to burrow into everything like couch, carpet, etc. We've tried holding, petting her, talking to her to no avail. Our vet gave us Composure, product with natural ingredients, and it didn't do anything. Then the vet prescribed acepromazine. Fortunately, I decided to give our dog one fourth of the prescribed dose. Our dog wasn't even able to stand. She was trying to stand and had no control of her legs. It was very sad to watch. I saw someone's warning about acepromazine in this Discussion thread. So as of now, we have no solution.

Nickey wrote:

Thistle, I'm glad the THUNDER SHIRT worked for you. I have tried it on Ella, and it didn't work for her. I don't know if it has something to do with her being so used to wearing shirts, that wearing the thunder shirt made no difference to her.

rodd19 Loc: The Ozarks

We have the same problem with our dog. Our vet prescribed Xanax. To our surprise it worked. We also played music to help drown out some of the noise.
Check with your vet.
Rod

amyinsparta Loc: White county, TN

My dog Jack has that problem also, although he isn't as bad as some others. He hides in the closet and shakes. The last storm, I took a soft blanket and wrapped it around him. It stopped his shaking and that was a good thing.

Several years ago I read about a study that was done on this subject with litters of puppies. The study found that the dogs are born with this. In the same litter, there will be pups who are afraid of storms and some that have no problem with it.

My other dog, Luke, will stand out in a thunderstorm, thinking nothing about it.

imntrt1 Loc: St. Louis

rodd19 wrote:

We have the same problem with our dog. Our vet prescribed Xanax. To our surprise it worked. We also played music to help drown out some of the noise.
Check with your vet.
Rod

We used Xanax for a long time and it worked well in the beginning but the dog developed a tollerance for it and it ceased to do any good. She was so terrified of fireworks and thunder/Lightening that we used to put her in the basement and turn on the TV. She was able, however, to break out of a plastic and metal gated pet taxie...a large one. She was doing so much damage to herself in the escapes that we finally had to have her put down. In the end, nothing would calm her down.

george2122

Why would you ever put your dog down because the dog got even more upset when you put it in a cage while they were already scared? I think this owner showed a tremendous amount of no empathy or care for his dog! Instead of consulting w/the vet BEFORE putting the dog down! I am so angry at this really ignorant fool or a human! I guess your dog is better off not having to deal with you anymore!

george2122

I find that if I play music or the tv a little louder than normal while the bigger fireworks are going off (about 10 minutes length of time) than my Aussie will calm down. The only thing that really gets him upset is the sudden popping noises created by the kids doing their 4th of July home-fire works things. If i keep the volume of the music or tv up and cuddle him in a blanket, he seems to calm down somewaht. i am going to ask my vet about benedryl and xanax for my dog and see what the vet thinks regarding usiing it for a mid-size/26 lb. dog. I certainly will not have my dog put down because it gets more panicked being locked up in a cage, instead of being comforted, and 'injures itself' and thhings trying to get out of this cage/jail! How inhumane can this dog owner be in the earlier comment?

imntrt1 Loc: St. Louis

george2122 wrote:

Why would you ever put your dog down because the dog got even more upset when you put it in a cage while they were already scared? I think this owner showed a tremendous amount of no empathy or care for his dog! Instead of consulting w/the vet BEFORE putting the dog down! I am so angry at this really ignorant fool or a human! I guess your dog is better off not having to deal with you anymore!

You are ignorant about several things here. You have NO IDEA how tramatized the dog was and what it was going through...you have no idea about when, and where we consulted with a vet...which we did....and I find great offense that you called us ignorant fools...that in and of itself is an ignorant and foolish statement. You haven't a clue about what we went through as a family over that dog, which makes you an insensitive clueless idiot, caring more about your opinion than the welfare of our dog.

george2122

your statement simply indicated that you had the dog caged, it hurt itself trying to get oout of the cage and that you to put it down. There was nothing else as far as information given that would indicate that any vet was contacted....only that you decided to put the dog down because, it is strongly implied, by its behavior issues regarding storms/fireworks. Sorry if I 'offended' you but i was simply reacting as a dog lover who tries to always do the best for the dog! Calling me names only proves your immaturity!

george2122

by the way---since you seem to take such an offense being called 'ignorant'----the definition in the dictionary means: lacking knowledge or experience; caused by or showing lack of knowledge. I used that word correctly because your information showed that you really didn't seem to have sought any further information about your dog before deciding to put her down.....and if she was injured while attempting to get out of her cage, then why did you continue to do that so that she would be hurt more? what were yoou 'thinking'?

ggttc Loc: TN

I have 4 horses 4 cats and a 16 yr old blue heeler...we moved from MT to a rural area in TN...The cats dont give a s**t...the dog sometimes does...but the horses were a bit of a problem...they would gallop around the pasture...and we would stay up most of the night on the 4th waiting for them to calm down...

Then I talked to my trainer about that...and he told me give some grain...which they love...and fire a few shots from a pistol...thankfully I am allowed to do that here...so we did that for a few weeks.

That solved the problem after a few tries...

My point is...hiding them from the problem is just going to make it worse...

A horse doesnt want to cross a stream you have to force him thru it...the second stream comes a lot easier.

Thats my Ignorant Opinion

george2122

my comment was NOT about your horses or cats....I had no knowledge of them because they were not mentioned in your initial comment...my comment was in reference to the treatment of your dog!