Fireworks Panic and Crate Phobia

[barbks]

Hi All,

I've got a Brittany rescue pup of about 8. We've had her for 2+ years and she's wonderful. But...we have a summer place on a lake where fireworks seem to be a nightly occurrence and Dottie can't stand them. She runs around and around, panting and is desperate to escape--somewhere, anywhere. Tried a bit of doggie valium to take the edge off. It makes her wobbly, but she's still determined to panic. We were told that she was crate trained, but it turns out she HATED her crate and she injured herself trying to get out and ultimately broke the crate. I haven't had the heart to stuff her back in it. So, my questions are: any suggestions to helping with fireworks panic? (I'm almost afraid to ask this, but is it cruel to put her in a small room or something--maybe with music playing to counterbalance the fireworks--so she at least doesn't do damage to herself or anything else? Or, if a crate is the best confined space, does anyone have any tips for helping us overcome her crate hatred? She would start to shake as we took her out for a nighttime pee, and, funnily enough, would refuse to eat her crate-based doggie treat until morning to "show" us how displeased she was with being in the crate. Thanks for any suggestions you might have.

Barb

[Cindy]

My "go to" natural sedative are UltraCalm biscuits available from Drs. Foster and Smith. They are herbal and if you can get them into your dog before shear panic sets in, I've found them to be very effective. At the first rumble of thunder, I would give Kayla 2-4 of them which she readily gobbled down. Other people swear by the thundershirt but I don't have any experience with that.

My friend had a Corgi who was deathly afraid of loud noises and started destroying the house. Valium, etc. didn't work any more so she finally took her to a behaviorist. They had her playing a CD called something like "Through a Dog's Ears" which would put her, the Corgi and the German Shepherd to sleep!! If you do a search on hear for thunder phobia you'll probably get some more great ideas.

[Lisa]

I can't say enough good stuff about the Thundershirt. I had a severely noise sensitive dog, and Britty struggled with storms and fireworks for years, nothing seemed to help. The Thundershirt helped quite a bit. Also, Melatonin - one 3 mg tablet every 12 hours.

For some dogs, being confined in a small space helps, for some they panic more. So, you'll have to figure out what works for your girl. Britty liked small spaces, but only if I was there with her. So, if I put her in her crate, she'd freak. If I put her in her crate and sat next to the crate, she was happy. She preferred to be wedged between me and the back of the couch, or if I were in bed, then she preferred to be hiding under the covers.

Also, there are lots of meds that might help, and just like people, dogs react differently to each one. If valium didn't help, you might ask your vet about xanax or one of the other benzo class of drugs. Some dogs have adverse reactions, where they get more anxious, but if that happens with one, it may not happen with another.

[DLDoiron]

I agree with Lisa about the Thundershirt. It sure helped my Doc with the over 200 aftershocks from the earthquake.