By Jody L. Teiche
Summer is here! And that means celebrations, barbeques, family gatherings…and July 4th. And while the holiday may be fun and exciting for some humans, for most pets, it’s a nightmare. One in five pets go missing on July 4th, and studies show historically, that day sees the highest number of lost pets than during any other holiday weekend.
Pet anxiety on July 4th is heightened, and there are many pets who get anxious at all celebrations and gatherings. One of our jobs as pet parents is to reduce our pets’ stress as much as we can, so they can live their best life.
Calming pets during fireworks or in crowded, loud places in a natural and compassionate way is the goal, so let’s explore some effective and natural strategies to give you a tool kit that works.
While there are medications available I, like many pet parents today, prefer to explore natural remedies to alleviate anxiety in their pets, and resort to meds truly as a last resort.
Create a Soothing Environment: One of the first steps is to create a relaxing environment. Provide a designated safe space for your pet, such as a crate or a specific room, where they can retreat when they feel overwhelmed. Fill this space with familiar items like their favorite toys, blankets, or bedding, as these familiar scents can help them feel more secure and calm.
Make that Safe Space an Enrichment Space: Mental stimulation for pets goes a long way. Treat puzzles are a great way to engage your dog’s brain and belly at the same time and keep them occupied. You can find lots of varieties of these on Amazon, in varying levels of difficulty. I would suggest not waiting until you need it to test a treat puzzle with your dog, to see if they respond, and so you can help walk them through being successful at playing with it.
You can also bring out a yummy raw meaty bone for them to chew on. They are very nutritious, and filled with great vitamins and minerals for their good health. Tips are to source from a place that gets their meat from farms with no pesticides or herbicides used, and no antibiotics and hormones given the animals. And, never give a bone that’s been cooked even a tiny bit (very dangerous), or is too small for that dog, as this will be a choking hazard. Also avoid weight-bearing bones like the long bones like femurs, as they are too hard and can break teeth.
Do supervise a dog chewing on a raw meaty bone.
Calming Music and Sounds: Music can work wonders in soothing anxious pets because each note vibrates on its own frequency. If you choose a pet music player like Pet Tunes by Pet Acoustics, you already know those specific frequencies will be embedded into the music. Janet Marlow, founder of Pet Acoustic, is a master 12-string guitarist who spent the last 20+ years doing research about pets, anxiety and music frequencies. My dogs respond to Pet Tunes and I recommend them.
Homeopathy: Homeopathy is a more than 250-year-old energy medicine, created by Dr. Samuel Hahnemann. It focuses on what symptoms that individual person or animal is expressing and how they are expressing them. Every person and animal has their own unique way of how they present with symptoms, and it is the job of the homeopath or the pet parent, if practicing acute homeopathy at home, to be observant and see what the specific symptoms are. If the energy of the remedy matches the energy of the symptoms being expressed closely enough, it can overpower the energy of those symptoms in the body and make them disappear. It sounds a bit crazy and woo woo, and to me, having used homeopathy for 35 years for my family and in my practice, I’ve seen incredible recoveries from using the correct remedy. I know it works.
With any remedy, if after 4 or so doses, you don’t see any improvement, try another remedy.
Start giving the remedy 30 minutes to one hour before fireworks begin.
Here is a short list of some symptoms you may recognize in your dog or cat, that could indicate this remedy:
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Aconite: These pets will be over-anxious and over-sensitive to noise and are easily startled. They can become extremely distressed and panic-stricken and feel very vulnerable. This is a great remedy for when their emotions are very intense and are brought on suddenly.
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Arsenicum: This is a great remedy for those pets where they are very anxious, fearful and insecure. These pets can’t be left on their own as this is very frightening for them. They are quick to panic and need to be reassured. These are the pets that are going to demand attention, but this does nothing to reduce their insecurities.
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Phosphorus: This remedy is good for all noise phobias. These are the pets that are going to be very restless, nervous and fearful. They tend to be sensitive to sudden noises and easily startle and may be fearful of being touched. This remedy is good for all noise phobias. It can be given once or twice a day.
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Borax 6C– This remedy is specific for fears of thunderstorms, sensitivity to noise, and being easily startled with marked irritability. It can be given twice a day.
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Gelsemium – Great remedy for fireworks, when we see marked trembling especially from a fright. They can be timid, express terror, scared after a fright, and fears.
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Argentum Nitricum – Is a great remedy when the nervous systemsare affected especially with anxiety and a range of fears!
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Aurum Metallicaum 30c – may also be given once or twice a day to combat most noise sensitivities.
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Rescue remedy – This is a wonderful remedy as an in-between to help settle anxiousness and restlessness, can be easily sprayed into the water bowl.
