4th of July Safety!

The 4th of July is so much fun, said no dog ever.

Many pets are terrified of fireworks and other loud noises. These sorts of noises are hard to predict and even harder to work on with training. My dogs are usually over threshold immediately upon hearing the first bangs or pops.

Fireworks can cause a great deal of stress in dogs. Some signs to look for would include:

• Shaking or Trembling
• Drooling
• Barking or Howling
• Refusing to Eat Food
• Pacing, unable to settle
• Trying to hide or trying to get into or out of the house, fence or enclosure
• Loosing control of their bladder, bowels or anal glands. 

Things we can do to help our dogs get through the night:

Exercise your dog early and make sure to walk them before it gets dark. I'm planning on running the girls several miles out at the big park in the afternoon. Hopefully they will be tired and sleep through the festivities.

Keep your pets indoors! Many pets who are left outdoors during fireworks end up panicking and getting lost. If you must go outside, keep your dog on a leash attached to a harness. Harnesses are a lot harder to escape from. Pets should also be wearing ID tags with your most current information.

Close your curtains or blinds. Turn on your TV, fan or radio to provide them with some background noise and distraction.

Some dogs find hiding in their crate to be comforting. My dogs love their crates and I will often throw a blanket over their crates, too which gives them an extra sense of security.

If your dog will take food, you can try to keep them busy with a food puzzle toy, like a stuffed kong. 

Some dogs do just fine with the noises but other dogs, like mine, are not easily calmed by petting or talking to them. They are just too upset by the noise. Pets who are very frightened and who might hurt themselves should never be left alone. If nothing seems to work for your pet, you should consider speaking to your veterinarian about sedatives. We've had really good luck with trazadone but it's important to consult with a veterinarian to find out which drug might work best for your dog.

I hope everyone has a safe holiday!

Our Best Halloween Safety Tips for Dogs and Cats!

Halloween is one of my most favorite "holidays". It's fun and festive and there's chocolate! For our pets, though, Halloween can be stressful and even scary if not downright dangerous. So here's my best tips for a successful night!

1. Halloween Candy is not for pets. All forms of chocolate, especially dark chocolate can be dangerous. This year we even have a new scary substance to worry about: Xylitol, which can be found in sugar free treats. It's so important to keep your candy up and away from your dogs and cats. We like to keep ours in plastic containers that have a tight sealing lid.

2. On Halloween Night, keep all of your pets safely indoors! Halloween is not the night to be leaving pets outside. My parents made that mistake long ago and their cat was hurt very badly by some awful people. Keeping your pets inside is the best way to make sure that they are safe. I would even recommend keeping your indoor/outdoor kitties inside for a few nights before and after Halloween. Black cats are especially at risk for horrible pranks and cruelty that some shelters won't even adopt them out around this time of year so it's important to be cautious with our feline friends.

3. Keep your pets away from the door on the night of Halloween. People coming to the door can be stressful for our dogs during any time of the year and even more so on Halloween where it happens over and over. Some dogs are terrified of children and it's also very common for dogs to be suspicious of people in costumes. Also, Halloween is not the time to work on door dashing, so if you have a dog who is nervous of kids and people or a dog that likes to dart out the door, I would recommend removing them completely to a safe room or crate with a good chewy bone or kong. Or if you've done mat work with your dog, this could be the time to pull it out. If they are comfortable settling on their mat and will stay there then that's okay, too. Remember to give lots of rewards to your dog if they are behaving appropriately and doing what you ask.

Phoenix and Zoe practice settling on their mat.

4. Be careful with lit pumpkins and electrical cords. Pets who get too close to candles can get burnt or even knock it over and cause a fire! We like to use the battery powered candles in our pumpkins and they make some really cool ones these days! You also need to be careful when using decorations that have electrical cords. Some pets like to chew on cords. I have a cat who was a cord chewer. They make cord protectors that you can buy at any home improvement store and we've found them to be extremely helpful in keeping our cat safe.

5. Desensitize your pets to Halloween Costumes before the big night. Make sure you try on your pet's Halloween costume a few times before the big night to make sure you've got the right fit and that it's comfortable and also to desensitize your pet to it. Make sure you give them lots of tasty treats for putting up with being dressed up and make it fun! When Zoe was dressed up as a shark, we played with toys and did her favorite training games! She hardly noticed that she was wearing a costume because we made it so fun for her. We also didn't leave it on for very long, mostly for some cute photos. If your pet does not like being dressed up don't force them to do it.

6. Desensitize pets to YOUR costume. Both dogs and cats can be wary of novel items and if you plan on wearing a scary mask, wig or some sort of funny hat, let your pets smell it and check it out before you put it on. Letting them watch you put it on is also helpful. That way they know the "scary" thing is actually just you and it's not a big deal. Feed them a few treats while you're dressing up and make it a good experience. Don't come out of the bedroom fully dressed in something they've never seen before. It can be very startling and it's not okay to scare your pet intentionally. 

7. Not all dogs were made to go door to door, Trick Or Treating with their people. Even dogs who are great with their family and kids don't like strangers or other people's kids and that's completely fine! Not to mention other households have dogs, too! If your dog has ever shown signs of being nervous of strangers, kids or other animals it's best to leave them at home where they will feel the most comfortable. Like I said above, it's very common for dogs to be nervous of people in costumes so it's important to keep everybody safe. Some dogs are okay to go with their people out into the Halloween night but they need to be practically bomb proof (excellent temperament, good with people, kids and dogs and have good nerves) with a very well trained leave it. Remember that it will be dark and there could be hidden dangers. There could be chocolate on the ground and it will be hard to see. Also keep in mind that your neighbors may not be as dog savvy with their management skills as you, they are probably not expecting trick or treaters with a canine buddy and their dogs may not want strange dogs visiting their house. If you do take your dog with you, remember to bring lots of tasty treats so that you can reward them for good behavior and distract them if they do end up getting scared by something.

8. Last but not least, your pets should be wearing ID. ID tags are important any time of the year but even more so during these holiday events where the door is being opened repeatedly. Chances of escape are much higher and accidents happen. Wearing proper ID with your updated information can be lifesaving and definitely increases the chances that your pet will make it home safely.

I hope everyone has a fun and safe Halloween! We will be staying home this year! 

What are you doing for Halloween? Are you dressing your pets up? What will they be?

New Year's Eve Safety for Dogs

It's New Year's Eve and we are not excited about it. Unfortunately, holidays involving loud bangs are never fun when you have two noise phobic dogs. Last year New Year's Eve wasn't that bad compared to the 4th of July. I'm really hoping that we will be ringing in the New Year quietly without too many fireworks going off.

Many pets are terrified of fireworks and other loud noises. These sorts of noises are hard to predict and even harder to work on with training. My dogs are usually over threshold immediately upon hearing the bangs or pops. Zoe is specifically terrified of the screamers but all bangs are scary to her.

Fireworks can cause a great deal of stress in dogs. Some signs to look for would include:

• Shaking or Trembling
• Drooling
• Barking or Howling
• Refusing to Eat Food
• Pacing, unable to settle
• Trying to hide or trying to get into or out of the house, fence or enclosure
• Loosing control of their bladder, bowels or anal glands. 

Things we can do to help our dogs get through the night:

Exercise your dog early and make sure to walk them before it gets dark. I'm planning on running the girls several miles out at the big park in the afternoon. Hopefully they will be tired and sleep through any festivities that happen.

Keep your pets indoors! Many pets who are left outdoors during fireworks end up panicking and getting lost. If you must go outside, keep your dog on a leash attached to a harness. Harnesses are a lot harder to escape from. Pets should also be wearing ID tags with your most current information.

Close your curtains or blinds. Turn on your TV, fan or radio to provide them with some background noise and distraction.

Some dogs find hiding in their crate to be comforting. My dogs love their crates and I will often throw a blanket over their crates, too which gives them an extra sense of security.

If your dog will take food, you can try to keep them busy with a food puzzle toy, like a stuffed kong. 

Medications: Some dogs do just fine with the noises but other dogs, like mine, are not easily calmed by petting or talking to them. They are just too upset by the noise. If nothing seems to work for your pet, you should speak to your veterinarian about appropriate medications to help them get through the holidays.

A word on over-the-counter remedies: We have tried many, many of these over the years and have not had any luck with them. Don't make the same mistake we did and ask your veterinarian for their advice right away if your dog is fearful.

Pets who are very frightened and who might hurt themselves should never be left alone.

Do your pets do okay with loud noises? What do you do to help them out if they are scared?

We hope everyone has a wonderful and safe New Year's Eve!