2023-07-05 01:50:00
Here’s how to take care of your pets on the 4th of July and party like Independence Day too
On the 4th of July, a few years ago, I came home from a friend’s picnic to find my otherwise brave cattle dog – the one who defended himself once morest four large raccoons simultaneously and had the facial scars to prove it. – curled up in a fetal position under a desk. Nacho’s back was once morest the wall. His ears were pressed once morest his head. His whole body was shaking and he was panting in distress from the sounds of fireworks coming from a neighbor’s backyard. Seeing Nacho like this broke my heart, and I promised never to leave him alone once more on the 4th of July.
Why do some animals remain calm during loud noises while others go into fight or flight mode? Science provides many answers. For example, mothers who experience high levels of stress during pregnancy can pass on the stress hormone cortisol (and a propensity for anxiety) to their offspring. An animal’s breed, gender, reproductive status, length of time spent with their human companion, and previous exposure to loud noises can all determine how an animal reacts or not.
Many animals hear better than humans. For example, a study by researchers at Louisiana State University showed that dogs hear at a frequency range almost twice as high as humans, and cats almost triple that. But as animals age, they may lose the ability to detect higher frequencies that provide important localization cues, which can increase an animal’s stress level.
Additionally, loud sounds can cause animals physical pain and may be even more damaging to animals’ hearing than to humans. Decibels at 85 or more cause harm to both human and non-human animals, and fireworks often range from 150 to 175 decibels, which is one of the reasons animals react so strongly.
Pets aren’t the only ones affected by the sound of fireworks. Wildlife can also be terrified. Deer and coyotes are known to run to escape sounds and cause traffic accidents, and birds have abandoned nests and flown into buildings and other obstacles, according to the Center for Wetlands Protection and of Huntington Beach Wildlife, as reported by NBC Los Angeles. In 2011, thousands of red-winged blackbirds fell dead from the sky in Beebe, Arkansas, following being spooked by fireworks.
Signs of stress in pets
The volume and unpredictability of fireworks can cause dogs, cats, rabbits, rodents, and even horses to experience a range of anxiety and stressful behaviors, including passive or aggressive behavior; making audible sounds like barking or whinnying, moaning, howling or moaning; paws; chew or bite; drool; tremor; hidden; or stiffening.
Kicking and biting can cause self-harm, just like other behaviors. A horse in Wales caused much heartache to its owner and itself when it was so frightened by the fireworks that it ran around its field and ended up wringing its guts, so it had to be put down, according to the Royal Society for the Protection and Care of Animals.
If an animal attempts to escape from a kennel or home to find a safer place from the noise, it may cause unintended damage to its paws, teeth or other body parts. Audrey Cook at the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences said, “The most common problems we see reflect the animal’s desperate efforts to escape perceived danger. Cats can hide and run away and get hurt in the process. Dogs can also injure themselves trying to get away from noise. The ASPCA warns that nearly one in five lost pets go missing due to loud noises like fireworks.
In 2020, retired Southern California pharmacist Gary Ostrowski and his husband adopted a chowchow they named Jen-Kway. They didn’t know she was terrified of loud noises, but discovered she was following they returned from a dinner party over Independence Day weekend and found the inside of their raw scratched doors. Someone in the neighborhood had set off fireworks, and Jen-Kway desperately tried to escape the noise.
Ways to help your pet
Ostrowski did his best to calm his dog down. But in the end, he had to seek the advice of a veterinarian. Now Ostrowski is giving Jen-Kway the prescription drug Gabapentin to help calm her down. He said the vet first suggested ondansetron, but it had no effect. (Similar to drug effects in humans, some drugs work for some pets and not others.) Ostrowski said gabapentin makes their dog “a little sleepy, so she doesn’t react as harshly to noises.” She still panics, but they keep her curled up with them in a closed room with the TV on. Over time, Jen-Kway has become more tolerant of noise and seeks out her humans for comfort.
Some advice online tells pet sitters that the best approach to dealing with flashing lights and loud explosions of fireworks is to desensitize your pet. This means regularly exposing them to loud, sporadic sounds to get them to overcome their fears. But Cook said that’s not a very effective approach. “It’s probably more effective to shield your pet from noise or train it to focus on you when loud noises occur. »
You can do this by playing with your pet or involving it in a game or training exercise. These types of activities, where you remain calm and cheerful, help your pet deduce that there is no cause for anxiety. You can also, or simultaneously with the room, create a space with white noise of ambient sounds or soothing music or set up a TV show or movie to help block out the noise. White noise can include the operation of air conditioning or fans or even a white noise machine.
If you’ve tried the above and still need extra ways to calm your pet down, you can invest in products like Mutt Muffs, which is hearing protection for dogs, or a Happy Hoodie Calming Cap, or even a Thundershirt. Both are clothes that claim to reduce anxiety and make your pet feel more secure.
Do we really need all this noise to celebrate the 4th of July?
Another obvious way to help our pets is to stop making all that fuss in the first place. Many people take it for granted that on the 4th of July there must be fireworks. Loud fireworks. Otherwise, it’s not an Independence Day celebration, is it?
Not necessarily. Some cities have officially recognized the potential for widespread trauma to wildlife, pets, and people, including veterans and survivors of gun violence, caused by the sound of pyrotechnics. These cities have banned loud fireworks and successfully replaced them with quiet alternatives, such as quiet fireworks or drone light shows.
In 2015, Collecchio, a municipality in the Italian province of Parma, banned everything except silent fireworks, which are still pyrotechnic but much quieter (like the tail of a comet, which shoots through the air with sparks before bursting into the air). extinguish, or the flying fish, which sends tadpole-like embers flying in a silent gust). Other locations around the world, such as Banff, Alberta, Canada, and Jamestown, Rhode Island, and Costa Mesa, California have adopted similar policies and practices.
The advocacy group PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) is trying to increase the number of places that use animal-friendly ways to celebrate the 4th of July. Every year since 2017, PETA has offered numerous United States cities and towns money to use silent fireworks or drone light shows to “increase the quality of life for animals, wildlife, children and those suffering from PTSD,” said PETA spokesperson Colin Henstock.
The best thing we can do for our animal friends is to advocate for their well-being and show them love and care when they are afraid. This principle need not throw a wet blanket over the 4th of July festivities. We can have our cake and eat it too.
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