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Celebrate July Fourth With Pet-Friendly Fun
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PLEASE ENJOY THIS ARTICLE THAT WAS WRITTEN ESPECIALLY FOR
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July 4, 2008
LOS ANGELES -- Holiday weekends pose a lot of risks for pets who are scared by hordes of family and friends invading their home for barbeques and lots of noisy fun.
By paying attention to a few basic safety precautions, you can keep them out of harm’s way and enjoy yourself. Here’s a quick checklist.
FIREWORKS: THE BIG BANG THEORY
Because animals have very acute hearing, fireworks can be extremely frightening to very sensitive cats and dogs causing them to bolt if not kept securely locked up at home.
“There’s always a dramatic increase in the number of requests for assistance in looking for lost pets in the days following July 4th fireworks,” ace pet detective Kat Albrecht of Pet Hunters International in Seattle, told Pet Pulse.
“Most cases involve panicked dogs that have bolted and run blindly due to the noise. Some dogs will run until they find somewhere to hide such as a garage, a shed or under a car. Others run for miles often facing the risk of serious injury or death,” Albrecht said.
“Cats that bolt tend to look for the nearest place to take cover,” he continued. “So if your cat vanishes get permission to search your neighbors’ yards, and look in every nook and cranny.”
A single really negative experience of loud fireworks can have a long-lasting detrimental effect, according to professor Nicholas Dodman, director of the Animal Behavior Department at the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University in Grafton, Mass.
Dodman, also the author of “The Well-adjusted Dog” says that it’s imperative that pets be protected from such adverse experiences to avoid scaring them and to help prevent the development of noise phobia.
“Dogs seem to fare worse than cats,” he said. “But that may be because they are more demonstrative. Cats tend to hide and quake with fear in private.”
“Close the windows and the blinds and pump up the music,” suggested Chicago behaviorist Steve Dale. “Classical music can be particularly calming especially if it’s slow and deliberate. But actually any music will do as long as it masks the sound of fireworks.
“Never tie your dog up. Those with a fear for loud noises have been known to choke themselves to death. In fact, dogs should never be tethered under any circumstances,” stated Dale. “If you are having friends over, it’s best to seclude animals in a room that won’t be subjected to any foot traffic.”
PARTY LEFTOVERS
Be sure to remove all food leftovers so that your dog can’t get hold anything left on plates.
“Pets eat crazy and bizarre items all the time,” said veterinarian Dr. Sandy Albright of the Crossroads Veterinary Hospital in Raleigh, N.C. “When you’re barbequing and having fun, its easy to be distracted and foodstuffs such as wooden meat skewers, meat bones and corn cobs are particularly dangerous and can be life threatening.”
The slogan “drink responsibly” applies to pets, too. Alcoholic beverages can be poisonous to pets, so never leave drinks unattended. Dogs can get intoxicated causing them to become depressed and even go into a coma. In severe cases, death from respiratory failure can also occur.
FUN IN THE SUN
Outdoor activities such as a day at the beach or hiking can be thirsty work. Be sure to take extra water along to so that your pet doesn’t dehydrate.
On particularly hot days, special collars that can be filled with ice are an excellent idea to keep body temperatures normal.
Be wary of the sun’s damaging rays by applying sunscreen to pets with pink tummies and noses. Special pet sunscreens with a SPF of 30 are widely available from both pet stores and on-line suppliers.
Always check for fleas and ticks after an outdoor excursion and make sure nothing dangerous like glass is lodged in sensitive paw pads.
CARS CAN BE A DEATHTRAP
It goes without saying; never leave your pet unattended in a car -- even for “a few minutes.” You never know when you are going to be delayed indefinitely!
Research conducted at the Stanford University School of Medicine in 2005 showed that temperatures inside a parked car could get dangerously high even when the outside temperature is a relatively cool 72 degrees.
Inside a car, the temperature can rise as much as 40 degrees over the course of an hour, with an 80 percent increase in the first 30 minutes. The research also showed that leaving the windows partially open made absolutely no difference.
Pet’s like people, can suffer from heatstroke and irreversible brain damage, in a relatively short period of time.
HOME ALONE
Never leave your pets home alone assuming that by putting down food and water they will be OK on their own.
A sudden attack of ants at the food bowl can make them refuse to go near it. And if you have multiple pets, they often don’t know how to share!
If you’ve left your arrangements for the last minute and cannot get a booking at a pet hotel or a pet sitter, ask a responsible neighbor to come in and check that everything is OK.
LICENSE AND IDENTIFICATION, PLEASE!
Always ensure that your pet is wearing an identification tag. This applies to strictly indoor cats, too -- you never know when they manage to escape.
But remember that collars can be removed so having your pet micro chipped and registered with the respective company’s database is excellent back up. Proper identification is a lost pet’s ticket home.
FOURTH OF JULY MICROCHIP SPECIAL
During July and August, the Home Again Proactive Pet Recovery Network has pledged to donate $1 to the Winn Feline Foundation toward feline health research for every new cat micro chipped and enrolled during this period. Find out more at HomeAgain.com
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57 comments found.
Show: 50 100 200 Per Page terrae01
17 hours ago Flag this comment | Good Point | 0 users voted.
Reply My dogs had a safe and happy 4th of July weekend due to these tips!
PartiPomMom
21 hours ago Flag this comment | Good Point | 0 users voted.
Reply Very informative!
Sarah B. (sbutler1976)
1 day ago Flag this comment | Good Point | 0 users voted.
Reply This article contained very good ideas to keep your pets safe & comfortable over the 4th. Common sense ideas really but those that get caught up in the celebration w/ company may forget. Pets don't enjoy every celebration the way people do & may appreciate the quiet room with his food, water & toys over loud people & fireworks. People tend to want their dogs right there w/ them during everything that is going on. Not always a good idea. Especially the car rides in the summer. You just can't leave your pet in a car in the summer ever.
Christine (kikgirl2)
1 day ago Flag this comment | Good Point | 0 users voted.
Reply This is all so very important! People love their fireworks so much they often don't stop to think abou the animals it affects, and some animals, like my mom's cats, really freak out about it and hide in pure fear. Luckily my animals are ok with it, but still... we have a neighbor who will actually ask if they can light their fireworks because of our horses, and that's a nice thing to do I think! And the food and everything mentioned, important stuff!
Mumzy
1 day ago Flag this comment | Good Point | 0 users voted.
Reply sound exciting. ^_^
ArtemisAnoush
1 day ago Flag this comment | Good Point | 0 users voted.
Reply Misha had alot of fun playing out in the park and watching the fireworks from my lap, fearless little guy. I think he enjoyed them as much as we did. =)
suzzieQ
1 day ago Flag this comment | Good Point | 0 users voted.
Reply good read, my black lab maggie [R.I.P] was terrified of loud noises. it was all because some !$#@^$& threw a firecracker right at her when she was less than a year old. everyone should read this.
Sandy F. (jfbass)
1 day ago Flag this comment | Good Point | 0 users voted.
Reply Good article!
Maria (acedogg2001)
1 day ago Flag this comment | Good Point | 0 users voted.
Reply A lot of great tips for all year not just the fourth.
Jessica H. (princessneal3)
1 day ago Flag this comment | Good Point | 0 users voted.
Reply Wow, alot of great information packed into one article
Mike H. (mphjan)
1 day ago Flag this comment | Good Point | 0 users voted.
Reply A very informative article
Gail A. (glabramovitz)
1 day ago Flag this comment | Good Point | 1 user liked it.
Reply Owners need to be sensitive to their pets needs.
Beth I. (MEBI38)
2 days ago Flag this comment | Good Point | 1 user liked it.
Reply The facility where my dog was boarded made extra efforts to keep the dogs calm. They helped prevent diarrhea or stomach upset by reducing the dog's food intake during that time. Also, during the several hours while the fireworks, followed by a terrible thunderstorm, occurred, the staff stayed with all the dogs until the noise subsided and the dogs were calm again.
Julie Kay S. (JulieKaySmiths0n)
1 day ago Flag this comment | Good Point | 0 users voted.
Reply It sounds like you picked the right place to board your dog during the fireworks and thunderstorms! Great that the staff stayed with the dogs during that stressful time and that they reduced the food to help with "digestive after-effects!"
Rebecca Lewis & R. (RLPetLover)
2 days ago Flag this comment | Good Point | 0 users voted.
Reply I found this article to be very informative. I never realize that fireworks bothered cats. I guess my parent's cat doesn't mind them for I never seen him get worked up or hide because of them. Also the sunscreen for pink tummies is a great point for they can get sun burn just as easy as human can.
petmom71
2 days ago Flag this comment | Good Point | 0 users voted.
Reply This is a great article. My cat does better with loud noises than my dog does. As long as we're with our dog outside while neighbors are having fireworks, she'll stay out long enough to go to the bathroom and then come right back in. I find it helps to just talk normal, to her, and between me and my husband, and try to act like the noise isn't a big deal. Also during thunderstorms I find it helps if I close all the blinds so she can't see outside.
Julie Kay S. (JulieKaySmiths0n)
1 day ago Flag this comment | Good Point | 0 users voted.
Reply With Wiggles, although we take a ride through the country during fireworks, for thunderstorms our modus operandi is to get Wiggles out to potty before the storms, then again afterward. This works 98 percent of the time, because I figure that we would like to be outside in a storm "doing our business," either!!!!
Stephanie (MeepsandMunch)
2 days ago Flag this comment | Good Point | 2 users liked it.
Reply This was the first year that I had Sophie for the 4th of July fireworks! I'm happy to say she did quite well.
Rather than chance it, I gave her an herbal pet calmer-- Solid Gold Pet Calmer for Dogs and Cats. Read my journal entry on it! It seemed to work well. We tried it on my in-laws dog who is TERRIFIED of fireworks, and it seemed to work on her too.
I recommend trying it, but for some animals you may have to go the Rx route. If your cat or dog is absolutely frightened of fireworks, thunderstorms or travel, you should talk to your vet for recommendations. He or she might suggest something you haven't tried, or they may write you a prescription to use when needed.
Kim R. (kregan)
2 days ago Flag this comment | Good Point | 0 users voted.
Reply I'm glad my cat doesn't spook easily. He even slept right through the earthquakes we've had here. They shoot so many fireworks off near here all week that he'd be a basket case if it bothered him. For being illegal, they sure shoot off some big charges. I jump and the cat sleeps...as it should be!
ChicoianVolenteer
2 days ago Flag this comment | Good Point | 1 user liked it.
Reply This is a great article, very educational.
Janet V. (janeyv)
3 days ago Flag this comment | Good Point | 0 users voted.
Reply A very informative article! I have a couple of dogs who are petrified of any fireworks.
jadianprime
3 days ago Flag this comment | Good Point | 0 users voted.
Reply Even my outdoor rabbit is afraid of fireworks, but I don't see what I can do about it. It's painful to see her cower up in her cage shaking. I've tried taking her out but she either runs, scratches, or bites me.
Julie Kay S. (JulieKaySmiths0n)
1 day ago Flag this comment | Good Point | 0 users voted.
Reply I am guessing on this, having never had a rabbit, but what if you covered her cage during the fireworks and maybe played some soft music ("white noise"), too?
Carol Ann (camsolares)
3 days ago Flag this comment | Good Point | 0 users voted.
Reply We always turn up the tv or put on music when it is fireworks time. It seems to work. plu my two younger dogs don't seem to be frighten so that helps calm my older dog.
SixGunnRanch
3 days ago Flag this comment | Good Point | 0 users voted.
Reply I use the same sunsceen I used to get when I had a fair skinned horse on my dogs.
My babies are scared of the fireworks so we sent the two-legged children to watch the fireworks and we watched movies with the cuddly babies. The boys said there were people at the party they went to that brought their boxer who, understandably, was terrified. My sons couldn't understand how people could let their dog be upset and not seem to care. How sad.
ruthie (ruthiegirl66)
3 days ago Flag this comment | Good Point | 1 user liked it.
Reply This is alot of great information, I didn't know there was sunscreen for dogs??? Wow. We keep ours as far from loud events as possible. Maggie gets distressed just with us running the weedeater and lawnmower so we know better than to take her to the fireworks.
Chris W. (dogmom)
3 days ago Flag this comment | Good Point | 1 user liked it.
Reply Good advice....however, the phone rang all morning long with calls for lost pets from last night. The poor animals get upset and don't understand what's going on.
Valerie P. (valpegg)
3 days ago Flag this comment | Good Point | 0 users voted.
Reply One of our three dogs is afraid of fireworks, but we turned the tv up and she seemed to calm down a little. She still seemed relieved when they quit firing them, though! The cats didn't seem the least bit fazed!
sunyskip
3 days ago Flag this comment | Good Point | 0 users voted.
Reply Both of my dogs are scared of fireworks, so we stayed in the house last night and they both fell asleep early!!!
Tom (pugbaby)
3 days ago Flag this comment | Good Point | 0 users voted.
Reply Our dog is terrified of the firework noises, cracks and booms.. She doesn't even like thunder storms. She will go to the bathroom and hide behind the toilet until it's over.
Liz (PurrPurrsMom)
3 days ago Flag this comment | Good Point | 0
