Sorienew Posted June 11, 2008 Report Share Posted June 11, 2008 Is anyones BC afraid of the fireworks? Birdie has started trembling when she hears them. She has never done it before now. She's 3 A friend has her sister and says she runs and hides in the basement. Any ideas on what to do to help them not be so afraid. Thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bcnewe2 Posted June 12, 2008 Report Share Posted June 12, 2008 Hey Sorienew Welcome home. Hope you made it safely back! My advise is to move to where there are no fireworks. I thought CO was going to be that place!!! Some of mine didn't become afraid till after 2 yrs old. BUt they're all terrified now. We're all thunder phobic here, some worse than others and firecrackers seem to envoke the same phobia. No real advise, research nosie phobias, you can come up with some ideas but for us it's just duck and cover till they're over. Same with the darn thunder. We hide in the house then go out into the fresh new world and start over. We've gotten as used to it as we can. I do have xanax for those real bad ones, Mick is a huge wreck if they keep going for more than a few hours....thunder that is. Fireworks last for way shorter times. I sure did think CO was going to be firecracker free, we were just talking about them the other day when we saw the frist tent going up! down here in DumBass land! K~ Good luck on your girl K~ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allie Oop Posted June 12, 2008 Report Share Posted June 12, 2008 Noise phobic BCs are very common, unfortunately. If you do a search, you can probably locate quite a bit of great information. My own Allie is paralyzingly afraid of fireworks -- to the point that I give her Valium on the 4th of July and on the 24th of July (Pioneer Day here in Utah). She simply is so frightened she can't function, so we have a prescription for the meds and she spends most of the evening sleeping in the bathtub. We don't coddle her or act as if fireworks are bad, but truly the noise is what sends her scurrying for safety in her crate or in the bathtub. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diane allen Posted June 12, 2008 Report Share Posted June 12, 2008 Yep, two of my three are scared of all such loud noises. Its bad this year - the Fourth of July is on a Friday, so in THIS DumBass land, we'll have firecrackers Friday, Saturday, Sunday and probably Thursday. And maybe Tuesday just because. Then any leftovers will be used for "Pioneer Day" in Utah, July 24th. I hate this month! Then there's New Year's too. One of mine now freaks (well, hides) at the descending whine that fireworks make before the loud noise comes - she KNOWS it's coming. One shakes like a leaf, and just wants to hide. The other usually also hides, in the bathtub during thunderstorms sometimes, or just slowly walks around, obviously in some distress. I haven't resorted to meds - but sometimes think I should. Sigh. diane Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allie Oop Posted June 12, 2008 Report Share Posted June 12, 2008 Ohhh, Diane, you're probably right. Sheesh! Allie gets so freaked she gets Rusty going and the whole day is kind of a mess. Good thing I'm taking the crew up to the National Forest camping this year (where fireworks are forbidden), so they won't be around for the show. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Root Beer Posted June 12, 2008 Report Share Posted June 12, 2008 It started here last night. ARGH!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flrpwr52 Posted June 12, 2008 Report Share Posted June 12, 2008 All 3 of my girls are noise phobic. Two of them were so bad they could not even walk because they shook so bad. Then there is the drooling to deal with. I now have them on 50 mg twice a day of Amitriptyline, which takes a couple of weeks to build up in their system, and for really bad storms and fireworks I add Diazepam. The Diazepam lasts for about 6 to 8 hours and can be given as needed. I was so afraid they were going to be zombies all the time but that's not the case. I haven't noticed any change in their personalities at all. As I understand a noise phobia can get worse as the dog ages, and in some cases could lead to heart attack. Talk to your vet about getting some drug therapy. I hope it works as well for you as it did for us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sorienew Posted June 13, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 13, 2008 All 3 of my girls are noise phobic. Two of them were so bad they could not even walk because they shook so bad. Then there is the drooling to deal with. I now have them on 50 mg twice a day of Amitriptyline, which takes a couple of weeks to build up in their system, and for really bad storms and fireworks I add Diazepam. The Diazepam lasts for about 6 to 8 hours and can be given as needed. I was so afraid they were going to be zombies all the time but that's not the case. I haven't noticed any change in their personalities at all. As I understand a noise phobia can get worse as the dog ages, and in some cases could lead to heart attack. Talk to your vet about getting some drug therapy. I hope it works as well for you as it did for us. Thanks everyone. The fireworks started last week here. Supposed to be against the law! We waiting for that to happen! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bo Peep Posted June 13, 2008 Report Share Posted June 13, 2008 Bailey is scared beyond belief. I haven't had her that long- just since Xmas. Not sure about drugs, but my usual scared dogs- not as scared as Bailey, I would put in a quiet spot, dark, with music playing. I hate the forth of July. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bc4pack Posted June 13, 2008 Report Share Posted June 13, 2008 Situational anxiety (ie xanax, valium) or start with melatonin meds along with desensitization and counterconditioning http://www.fearfuldogs.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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