Fourth (or First) of July Panic Attacks

[jcj528]

Hey, yall:

Do any of your dogs panic during the independence celebrations? Even inside our home Zack can hear all our neighbors celebrations plus three major civic displays of fireworks and gets so scared that he makes himself sick.:ARG: Last year we drugged him with Acepromazine and he managed to get through it without major problems though he cowered in my lap the whole evening. I hate drugging him anyway, do you all have any other suggestions?

[MissGambler's+Mojo'sMommy]

Condition him. Play recordings, whether cd's or dvd's and get him used to it. And if you baby him during his panic attack, you are telling him that it's acceptable behavior. Treat him like a child, you would want to get him over his fear, the way to do that is to get him to the point where it doesn't scare him anymore. Lots of dogs run away during the 4th, because of this fear, it's very unsafe, but TOTALLY understandable.

[Fluffypants]

Jackie doesn't panic, but she sometimes goes & takes a nap in her "den" (aka the downstairs bathroom).

[LaRositaMonita]

Mitzie, the old lab, used to freak out about anything that made a loud noise... has a stray we took in, who was more than likely abused, we really never made a big deal about trying to train her out of it. I'm sure we could have improved her behavior more during fireworks/thunderstorms, but in a sense we always kind of felt that at a young age her skittishness was ingrained and she would always be that way to an extent.

Mac did GREAT during a thunderstorm we had last night! Of course...the thunder did wake him up, which meant he had to go out...during the thunderstorm... *sigh* He's good about going when we remember that he might have to go, but man, I can't wait for that stage when he is able to have control and tell me has HAS to go...

(When does that start again?)

[Jespah]

Rupe freaks over thunder and fireworks - he even hate the whistle noise that leads to a boom. I've tried lots of things to get his mind off it - haven't done the sound effects cd yet - personally I'd rather not have to do that.

He has just calmed down after the May 24th fireworks we have in Canada - and now Sunday will be the Canada Day noises! Then in September it's Labour Day - then I get a break until the next May! Thank goodness!!

[corgimom]

For the past week, neighbors have already been shooting off firecrackers. Cody does not like them; he prefers to go and lay down in our main floor bathroom. The other day we were playing ball outside in the afternoon and he heard some firecrackers go off and he immediately went to stand by the door to come in.

[Fluffypants]

For the past week, neighbors have already been shooting off firecrackers. Cody does not like them; he prefers to go and lay down in our main floor bathroom. The other day we were playing ball outside in the afternoon and he heard some firecrackers go off and he immediately went to stand by the door to come in.

That's how Jackie is too, Linda. She doesn't freak out, but she definitely says, "Okay, I've had enough now. Let's go."

[Dillydoodle]

Dillon doesnt care for it either... he may bark on occasion and shows me he is uncomfortable with the noise by pacing around a bit but nothing really manic- i have never seen Gus with fireworks yet, so i dont know how he will be...

Emilie

[The Chipmunk's Mom]

Lady is petrified of fireworks, gunshots or anything that makes a loud noise. Now Jasmine in her old age wants to hide when fireworks start. Chip & Dale look at both of them like they have lost their mind and continue on whatever mischief they are into at that moment or if no mischief can be found, they will try to comfort Lady by kissing her panting face and waggling all over she will have none of it.

[jcj528]

We were woken by a major thunder storm very early this morning and true to form Zack lost it. He cried, he wimpered, he barked and finally he barfed his little Corgi guts out. I felt so sorry for him, he wouldn't even let me hold him and comfort him, he was just so scared he couldn't stay still. All he could do was run. Of course, it doesn't help that when he did run, he encountered the two inches of water in the front part of the house. When I left to go to work, I left him closed in my bedroom with the other three as its the driest room in the house, but I felt so guilty leaving him wet and afraid. Maybe the storm will pass soon and he'll be able to relax and sleep on the bed. There's got to be something that can be done for him to ease the stress he feels, but I sure don't know what it is.

[Jespah]

That's a pretty major reaction Julie - poor Zack. You might be really wise to try the deconditioning with the sound effects cds. It will also help when you have a house that is safe, dry and with a full roof.

Any word on the developer???

Deb

[jcj528]

Deb, you may be right, part of the severe stress Zack was under this morning might have been due to the water he could hear pouring in. The water coming in upsets me, so it might well upset him. Moreover, he knew I was upset and that tends to upset him as well.

[mtoy]

There are a couple things I've heard about but not tried:

DAP collar/plugin (http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/Prod_Display.cfm?pcatid=15080&N=2001+113757)
Melatonin supplement (http://lists.envirolink.org/pipermail/ar-news/Week-of-Mon-20030630/002814.html)

Some people have had great success using one or both together. I haven't tried them, but I happen to have some melatonin here. I think I'll try it. Wish I could find the DAP thing locally, it's too late to order it. Wish I had got on this earlier with the desensitizing CDs, I just forgot and time slipped away.

[Jespah]

Deb, you may be right, part of the severe stress Zack was under this morning might have been due to the water he could hear pouring in. The water coming in upsets me, so it might well upset him. Moreover, he knew I was upset and that tends to upset him as well.

They do feed off of our emotions - there is no doubt about that. I just hope things get better for all of you very soon.

[Shelly]

My old corgi gets real skittish with fireworks and thunder, and rather than her wedging herself under my bed or hiding under something in a closet, I lock her in her crate until the noise is overwith. I don't know if she feels any better, but she's contained in a familiar place.

[Jespah]

If that is her safe place, then it probably does help her.

[ZdogZ]

Tonight someone was shooting off fireworks behind our house. None of the Z's even acted like they had heard them. I'm really glad for that.

[Jespah]

Last night we went outside for the dogs last tinkle about 8:45 and although it wasn't dark yet, some of the kids in the neighbourhood started shooting off fireworks.

I was prepared with grips of steel on their leashes but both of them were frantic. I don't worry about Rupe not tinkling before bed, but Jemma must. She was running from one end of her leash to the other. I kept gently giving her her pee command and walking both of them further from our apartment. She finally did go and the both of them bolted towards home - and almost took me off my feet.

I purposely walked them slowly, even though they pulled like Huskys. I made them sit for a minute at our stoop so they would understand everything was fine. I'm not sure they relaxed and they both went full speed up the stairs and home.

We will probably go through the same thing again tonight.

[taflar]

We will probably go through the same thing again tonight.

Would it be possible to take them out before it gets dark and then they could just go to bed.

This time of year we try to get our dogs in, or at least the ones who are the most afraid of loud noises before it gets dark. Which is around 9-9:30. That way they're safe in their crates when people start lighting fireworks.

Peggy

[LoveMySadie]

We were woken by a major thunder storm very early this morning and true to form Zack lost it. He cried, he wimpered, he barked and finally he barfed his little Corgi guts out. I felt so sorry for him, he wouldn't even let me hold him and comfort him, he was just so scared he couldn't stay still. All he could do was run. Of course, it doesn't help that when he did run, he encountered the two inches of water in the front part of the house. When I left to go to work, I left him closed in my bedroom with the other three as its the driest room in the house, but I felt so guilty leaving him wet and afraid. Maybe the storm will pass soon and he'll be able to relax and sleep on the bed. There's got to be something that can be done for him to ease the stress he feels, but I sure don't know what it is.

Yikes! Water IN the house?? We've been having record rains, floods, power outages...all of the bad things that come along with way too much rain. So far though we've only had one tiny leak - not inches of water in the house! Where was it coming from and what do you do now?

As for noises - Hank (our German shorthaired pointer) is terrified of thunder and loud noises. Not exactly a good quality in a hunting dog! Good thing we don't hunt. :WINK: But Sadie has shown no concern, even when Hank is barking, whining, yelping, and generally making a fool of himself! :LAUGH:

Leslie

[sutulu]

Tuck hates fireworks, barks his head off. Typically, Lulu will look for any reason to bark and Tucker starting it off is a great excuse.

Saturday night we were in bed by 10 as we had to be up and out by 7 a.m. to get to the agility trial. Neighbors started shooting fireworks off around 10 and went on into the wee hours (thoughtful!!). Tuck barked and barked, Lulu in her crate didn't make a peep.

Needless to say when I let the dogs out to potty around 6 am and they barked at the squirrels..... I didn't bother to shush them.....

[ZdogZ]

Leslie ~ How much rain have ya'll gotten? I've been seeing on the news that Dallas/Fort Worth is getting a lot of rain. The lake we go to has risen 5 feet in one week.

[LaRositaMonita]

Leslie ~ How much rain have ya'll gotten? I've been seeing on the news that Dallas/Fort Worth is getting a lot of rain. The lake we go to has risen 5 feet in one week.

You live near Fort Worth, Leslie? I have an old internet buddy out there who can't even drive anywhere because her husband's truck is stuck in mud at the end of her driveway. Her living room and kitchen floors are also being slowly wrecked by all the water seeping in... her house has had some minor problems with water for a while, but this is the proverbial straw that breaks the camel's back :( Hope all is all right with you. (Corgi vibes for the friend might help, I didn't think to ask...)

[LoveMySadie]

You live near Fort Worth, Leslie? I have an old internet buddy out there who can't even drive anywhere because her husband's truck is stuck in mud at the end of her driveway. Her living room and kitchen floors are also being slowly wrecked by all the water seeping in... her house has had some minor problems with water for a while, but this is the proverbial straw that breaks the camel's back :( Hope all is all right with you. (Corgi vibes for the friend might help, I didn't think to ask...)

We've gotten record rains for over a month now - that's following three years of extreme drought. The greatest irony is that for the past two summers, many of the area lakes have had all of the boat docks closed because the lakes were too low for boating...many of the docks were literally "high and dry" as well. Now most of the area lakes have closed the boat docks because they are UNDER water! :EEK:

We got over 5 inches of rain one night last week alone. I can't remember the last day that it didn't rain, and the 10 day forecast is for rain every day.

This is crazy!!!

Leslie

[Jespah]

Would it be possible to take them out before it gets dark and then they could just go to bed.


I took them out before dark both nights. Last night although Rupert was on high alert and wasn't happy about being out, we were fortunate that none went off while we were out. When we went to bed, they started and I ended up with a large black Corgi behind on my head!

Rupe is way too smart. He goes out 3 or 4 times during the day, happy as a clam - but he knows it's the last time out that means fireworks.

[Penutsma]

Deb, you may be right, part of the severe stress Zack was under this morning might have been due to the water he could hear pouring in. The water coming in upsets me, so it might well upset him. Moreover, he knew I was upset and that tends to upset him as well.
How much longer are you going to have to stay there with the leaking roof? Have you heard anything more on the house? As for Zack, have you discussed his overwhelming fear with your vet? I wonder if a lite tranqualizer would help? We used to have to tranq one of our dogs when we moved when I was a kid. He hated being in the car for any reason. As an adult I have always made sure my dogs thought being in the car was a real treat - that way if I had to go on a trip and take them - no problems.