Doggy downer for fireworks approved

http://www.kare11.com/news/fda-approves-dog-drug-to-ease-fireworks-fears/260626580

Crazy. My BIL recently got one of those “thundershirts” for their dog for his anxiety. Nevermind the fact that they never bring a crate along for him and put next to no effort into training him.

We have several dogs in the family that hate fireworks/guns, but if it were my dog, I don’t think I would go the medication route. I’m not exactly sure how I feel about that.

I had a wheaten Terrier growing up, he was one of the rare friendly ones. Well he didn’t like thunder/fireworks and we tried to put one of those thundershirts on him…He darn near chewed himself apart trying to get it off. It was so bad that we had to have him in a center basement room with the radio blasted. I do not like medication for my pups, but I might have given this a try with him. He was absolutely miserable, shaking and crying when he heard the noises.

Now my GSP is another story…he hears thunder or fireworks and he thinks a shotgun went off and hes scanning the ceiling for downed birds!

404 ERROR wrote:

Now my GSP is another story…he hears thunder or fireworks and he thinks a shotgun went off and hes scanning the ceiling for downed birds!

That’s awesome. My SIL’s mastiff cowers at the sight of a gun, which I think is funny because her husband is a gun nut and has quite the arsenal.

I’m very thankful that my boys have little reaction to thunder and fireworks. If the fireworks get too loud, their heads and ears pop up in excitement and they look to Billy and I to see if they should be searching for a dead bird or something.

My coworker’s late lab Tucker went bezerk during thunderstorms. She would have to wrap him in a thundershirt, hold him close to her, go into the center room of the house, turn on soothing music and close the doors. If it was a bad enough of a storm, she would occasionally give him a benadryl to help calm him.

I’m not sure how I personally feel about giving my boys meds, but I’m glad there is another option out there for these extreme cases. And I would think a dog-specific medication would be better than benadryl.

Sharon wrote:

And I would think a dog-specific medication would be better than benadryl.

Benadryl (aka diphenhydramine) is not FDA-approved for veterinary use, but it is widely accepted and used by vets. I’ve never given it to a dog, but I know that it makes me and my kids sleepy!

I tend to think a lot of the sound aversion/anxiety issues are behavioral and are mostly due to how the pup was raised and how the owner reacts and responds the the issue. I know it’s a real issue, but there are a lot of dog owners that feed into their dogs undesirable behaviors without realizing it.

Ralph Wiggum wrote:

but there are a lot of dog owners that feed into their dogs undesirable behaviors without realizing it.

That is very true. I see that at the dog park too often. I also don’t get why people holler their dog’s name over and over again, expecting some kind of action on their dog’s part – but they’re just shouting their name, no command has been given.

Or reprimanding the dog and then immediately petting it.
Or ordering it away from the table and then giving it food from your plate.
Or repeating a command over and over with no response from the dog.

OK, I’m done.

Ralph Wiggum wrote:

Or reprimanding the dog and then immediately petting it.
Or ordering it away from the table and then giving it food from your plate.
Or repeating a command over and over with no response from the dog.

OK, I’m done.

All of these make me cringe. Also what Sharon mentioned about the dog park, it makes me feel bad for the pup. I’ve had people at the dog park ask me how my pup is so well behaved for being 1.5. Consistent and repetitive reactions to their actions goes a long way with a pup. It also eeks me when someone at the dog park is yelling at their dog using words I know the dog doesn’t understand. At the very best case, the dog is scared of you and confused as to why they raising their voice, and that is why their behavior changed.

404 ERROR wrote:

I’ve had people at the dog park ask me how my pup is so well behaved for being 1.5.

It used to drive me nuts when people would comment, “You really got a good dog.” Yeah, you know why he’s good? Because I am a responsible owner that put in a lot of time and effort to make him a good dog. Dogs aren’t born knowing how to behave!

My dog Ody actually enjoys fireworks. He sits and watches them just like you or I would.

That’s funny, Jesse! What kind of dog is Ody?

Good owner aside anyone can get a difficult dog. You are lucky to have a calm intelligent young dog because you cannot make one out of any dog.

My oldest got spooked by fireworks last weekend and she is mostly deaf. She disappeared one night and we didint find her until the next morning. My house and the neighbors were scouring the woods and roads until midnight. It was a bad deal. Scared the hell out of us.

suzuki wrote:

Good owner aside anyone can get a difficult dog. You are lucky to have a calm intelligent young dog because you cannot make one out of any dog.

Very good point. My aunt had a black lab named Stormy when I was a kid. Stormy was aptly named. He was a bit of a troublemaker if my memory serves me.

Suzuki – I’m glad you were able to locate her and that she wasn’t hurt! We moved a new cabinet into the house last weekend and we accidentally left the gate open. Fritz sat at attention like a solider and didn’t move. Remi on the other hand took advantage of the situation and wandered over to say hi to the neighbors. I had a tiny freak out and thankfully no cars were coming when he crossed the road.

When it comes to medication, I treat my dogs like I do myself. I don’t give them meds unless absolutely necessary.

Tuffy has no issues with thunder and fireworks. He’ll go out in a gully washer with lightning hammering all around him and still take his sweet ole time.

Athena has other issues, but is generally OK with thunder and fireworks. If it is real close she may bark, but that’s about it.

Apollo, he’s gets anxiety bad. I hope with the frequency we get thunder and him getting a little older that it keeps getting better. For now we are thunder buddies. As soon as he hears thunder close he’s searching for my lap and once he’s on it he just monitors the sky for flashes with his ears pinned back. Granted when this is happening we are on the porch and my energy probably doesn’t make things better, because even though I love storms, I have a healthy fear of lightning.

I get annoyed when I see people yelling at their barking dogs to shut up. Don’t they realize when you yell you are basically barking with them and encouraging them to continue?