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Smoke Alarm Freak Out


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Kasey is not an anxious dog at all BUT we discovered a smoke alarm really upsets her one yr when ours did the occasional beep to let us know the batteries needed to be changed. Luckily we were home and my hubby was able to change it within 10 minutes. Because of her reaction we change all the smoke alarm batteries every 9 months whether they need it or not. She was panting, drooling and pacing for a good hour before she was able to settle down. It was a horrible experience and we knew we didn't want it to happen again. Well, tonight on the tv show Modern Family a smoke alarm went off and we were back in hell. She immediately started pacing and drooling. I took her outside and walked the neighborhood to redirect her attention, tried giving her a treat, tried interesting her in her toys, nothing worked. It took her a good hour to calm herself and feel normal again. Any tricks to get them to calm down when they get in this state? It breaks my heart that she has this reaction and I can't figure out how to help her. She is 9 and we have had her since age 2 and the smoke alarm thing(the real time it went off)only happened the one time but she has not forgotten :( Nothing else upsets her like this but I feel like I should have a strategy if it should ever happen again.

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Maybe try crating her with a blanket over the crate so she feels like she's in a safe spot. Bu also reacts severely to beeps like that. His reaction is to hide for hours. He's 83# and I've found him under a crib, under all the clothes in a closet, under chairs, under tables, in corners I can't even reach him in, under a pickup truck, under a knee high deck, etc. generally I just let him hide it out since it seems to give him comfort. The crate may let your girl hide it out.

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Poor girl! Unfortunately, beeps are a part of modern life. I think a lot of people get driven nuts, too, but at least we can rationalise.

 

I think I would keep a DAP diffuser plugged in for her. It may just work miracles. It may not work. But it's worth a try, IMHO.

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As these are random and rare incidents, I'd ask my vet for some valium or similar for use on these occasions. IME valium (I give mine 10mg) takes about 20 minutes to take effect.

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Maybe try crating her with a blanket over the crate so she feels like she's in a safe spot. Bu also reacts severely to beeps like that. His reaction is to hide for hours. He's 83# and I've found him under a crib, under all the clothes in a closet, under chairs, under tables, in corners I can't even reach him in, under a pickup truck, under a knee high deck, etc. generally I just let him hide it out since it seems to give him comfort. The crate may let your girl hide it out.

Kasey was a crate chewer and hates being crated. Made potty training fun :ohno Luckily she loves beds and has one in about every room. I ended up putting her in my mud room with her bed and a tile floor which is much easier to clean slobber from. She eventually was fine, just takes a long time and I hate that I can't help her get over it quicker.

As these are random and rare incidents, I'd ask my vet for some valium or similar for use on these occasions. IME valium (I give mine 10mg) takes about 20 minutes to take effect.

I will ask about this in March when she goes in for Heartworm test and annual exam. Good idea!

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