Jerilyn Posted January 23, 2011 Share Posted January 23, 2011 Lila had a bad scare with fireworks last summer. Fortunately there have not been any in a while. However, for the past three weeks there have been neighborhood fireworks after each of Packer's wins. Lila's fear has escalated each time. She is shaking and panting in a dark bedroom right now. I try to make sure I am not reinforcing her behavior by just leaving her alone, but I feel bad for her and am worried about her. The only thing I can think of to help are desensitizing CDs. Have you used them? Did they work? Any other suggestions for me and my sweet girl? It is her 6 month gotcha day today and I hate for her to be scared. Quote Jerilyn, missing Lila (Good Looking), new Mistress to Wiki (PJ Wicked). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DesiRayMom Posted January 23, 2011 Share Posted January 23, 2011 Last july 4 I broke a Xanax in half & each boy got half.....worked like a charm. Guess I'm too lazy to do the desensitizing thing for just a few times a year. Does she react to thunderstorms as well? Quote Blessed is the person who has earned the love of an old dog. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerilyn Posted January 24, 2011 Author Share Posted January 24, 2011 Last july 4 I broke a Xanax in half & each boy got half.....worked like a charm. Guess I'm too lazy to do the desensitizing thing for just a few times a year. Does she react to thunderstorms as well? She was not reactive to thunderstorms before, but I am afraid she will be now. Quote Jerilyn, missing Lila (Good Looking), new Mistress to Wiki (PJ Wicked). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverfish Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 I tried the desensitising CD with Renie. She was just SO terrified of fireworks ... I'm afraid that it didn't work with her. I know there will be some people who will say that I didn't do it correctly or persist for long enough, but I followed the instructions to the letter, beginning with the sound so low I could barely hear it and taking weeks to increase the volume to a reasonably audible level - still in no way could be called loud. Every time I got the sound to a certain level, she'd behave just as if the fireworks were really happening. I tried, very patiently, four or five times, going through the whole ritual from the beginning and taking longer to increase the sound each time. Didn't work. We'd get to the same volume, Renie would freak out and take hours to calm down. It got so she'd leave the room when I went to put a CD on. They DO work for some, and it's well worth a try, just didn't work for her. Quote The plural of anecdote is not dataBrambleberry Greyhounds My Etsy Shop Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest arlosmom Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 Kingfish is terrified of thunder and fireworks. I put beds in an inner bathroom for him. turn on a CD of baby lullibyes with a heart beat and give him either rescue remedy or valium. None of it really works and last summer he actually crawled in my laundrey room closet on top of some paint cans in his desire to get into a tight dark space. So none of them have really worked for me. Sorry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hawthorn Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 We've had no success with the desentitizing CDs either. We just put on music to disguise the sound of the fireworks as much as possible and give 10mg valium if necessary. Quote When a relationship of love is disrupted, the relationship does not cease. The love continues; therefore, the relationship continues. The work of grief is to reconcile and redeem life to a different love relationship. ~ W Scott Lineberry Always Greyhounds Home Boarding and Greyhounds With Love House Sitting Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurenbiz Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 I don't know if the desensitizing CDs are the same as the 'calming dog CDs' out there. A friend of ours burned a copy of 'Through a Dog's Ear' for us for Bernie. He has fairly bad separation anxiety. When I'd looked online about 'Through a Dog's Ear,' it's apparently 'clinically proven' to decrease levels of stress. ...And Bernie still has separation anxiety. Quote Lauren the Human, along with Justin the Human, Kay the Cat and Bernie the Greyhound! (Registered Barney Koppe, 10/30/2006) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerilyn Posted January 25, 2011 Author Share Posted January 25, 2011 I was hoping for a bunch of success stories. I don't know if I will bother with the CDs. She stoped shaking and panting shortly after the fireworks stopped but she stayed in the bedroom for a couple hours. I would check on her about every 30 minutes and ask her if she wanted supper or to go outside. Finally she said yes to a trip outside and was pretty much back to normal after that. My next step might be Rescue Remedy. Quote Jerilyn, missing Lila (Good Looking), new Mistress to Wiki (PJ Wicked). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mystella Posted January 28, 2011 Share Posted January 28, 2011 Interesting that Lila reacts to fireworks but not thunder, my Jeffy seems to not care about fireworks at all, but thunderstorms terrify him. Having said that he doesn't react in any way to thunder sounds on radio or tv, only to the real thing. I think when that time of year rolls around again I will give the t shirt idea a try since maybe it is the electricity in the air that bothers him. Quote Take the time to stop and smell the flowers - appreciate your everyday ordinary miracles Carolyn, Faith, Jeff Gordon (aka Jeffy) and Oscar the chilla. Desperately missing our Stella, we'll see you later sweet girl. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mickie37 Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 The things that worked for me were, 1. a tight t shirt (thunderstorms I add a dryer sheet); 2, a bed in the bath tub, 3. Tellington touch ear rubs; 4. Classical music playing rather loud in the room he chooses to hide in. This routine takes the edge off all repetitive loud noises : thunder, fireworks, gunshots. He doesn't shake and only has a minimal amount of panting. Good Luck. Mickie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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