This YouTube video (posted July 2, 2019) features Dr. Lera Clone of Heron Lakes Animal Hospital giving practical advice for managing dogs frightened by Fourth-of-July fireworks. Key points: the Fourth of July is the day pets run away most often; create and leave accessible ‘‘safe spaces’’ (crates, closets) rather than forcing pets out; avoid petting/comfort that may positively reinforce anxious behavior; use background sound (TV/music) to mask fireworks; consider thundershirts for pressure-based calming; ensure microchips are present and registered; discuss medication options such as alprazolam (generic Xanax) for severe cases and note it lasts about 4–6 hours; supplements may help but severe phobias may need stronger interventions.
Questions this video answers
July 2, 2019.
The Fourth of July.
Alprazolam (generic of Xanax).
About 4–6 hours.
Chapters
Hey, guys. My name is Dr. Lehrer here at Heron Lakes Animal Hospital, and today we're talking about just a few of the things that you need to know for the Fourth of July. So, number one, did you know that the Fourth of July is the day that pets run away from their home the most? Number two, the reason pets are running away is because of all the fireworks, which is what I anticipate you guys are aware of. One of the things that you can do is you can go ahead and you can create a safe place for your pets. So sometimes people. Ruby, if you guys watched our video on thunderstorm anxiety, which is very similar and almost identical to firework phobia, she likes to crawl under things. And so some people will actually go ahead and they will pull their pets out from those areas, whether it's a closet, whether it's a bathroom, whether it's under a crib or a couch. If your pet feels safe there, leave them there. Okay? If it's in their crate, do that as well. Number two, the other thing that you want to do is if they're panting, if they're all getting on top of you, do not pet them and say, it's okay, it's okay. What you're actually doing is you're positively reinforcing that negative behavior. And that's not something that helps them. We think that we're helping them, but in actuality, we're not. Number four, we want to go ahead, and we want to be aware that if you can actually play some sounds, loud TV music, to help them drown out the sound of the fireworks, that's something that will help them as well, and that's something that will help calm them. Now, we do have some things here where we talk about thundershirts. Thundershirts, we talked about in another video where what it is, it's a wrap that goes around them, and it puts pressure on their chest. It's supposed to be an acupressure point, and it's something that's supposed to go ahead and cause them to relax. Microchips is something that is very important from the standpoint of if your pets actually happen to run away and they get picked up by somebody, a veterinarian, the humane society, or the dog catcher will go ahead and scan them to see if they have a microchip and if the microchip is registered. Very, very important. You need to register your information. I can't tell you how many times I've seen patients who they had a microchip, but it was not registered. So you have to make sure your information is on that microchip with that company. Okay. The last thing that I would say is just be cautious. Both Ginger and Ruby manifest their thunderstorm anxiety and fireworks. They both have firework phobia in different ways. Ruby is much more dramatic. Ginger is more subtle. And if you look at the videos that we had from before, you can see the subtle differences. I am actually going to put them on some Alprazolam. Alprazolam is the generic version of Xanax and that is something you would talk to your veterinarian. There's a big range on how much to use and so you can go ahead and you can try some of that and see how they, how it works for them. It works for about four to six hours. So you may have to have multiple doses, some for a day or so before and some for a few days afterwards because people may continue to use the fireworks. There are a bunch of other different supplements that could be used during this time to help them relax, depending on the severity of their phobia. If the phobia is very severe, it may not be enough. If you guys have questions or concerns about this particular topic, please hit us up in the comment section. Otherwise, if you guys really appreciated this video, if you could subscribe, share and follow us, we would really appreciate it. Thanks a lot for watching and hope you have a great fourth of July.
