After my pet had a long, drawn-out battle with cancer, I realized that I needed to do a better job with understanding my pet's needs. I wanted to be there for them no matter what, so I started focusing on my other animals. They needed more love, attention, and medical care, so I focused on those things. I started taking them in for regular checkups and working on their physical appearance. I was able to spot a few other potentially catastrophic health conditions with my animals because of my actions. This blog is all about understanding your pet's needs.
Understanding Your Pet's Needs
Dog Suddenly Stressed? Ways To Calm Your Dog Fast
Gisele Pereira
As a new dog owner, you've likely been taking care of things like flea treatments and other medications for your pet. But you also need to start learning how to calm the dog down if he or she becomes stressed because of storms, fireworks shows, or other situations. It's not unusual for stressed dogs to suddenly take off, and shelters around the nation usually see more stray dogs show up after these events. Instead of just hoping your dog won't attempt to run out the dog door, try these tactics to keep Fido feeling fine.
Pressure
Applying mild pressure to the dog's neck and shoulders (you can see why it has to be mild pressure!) as well as his or her midsection can help the dog feel protected. There are commercially available shirts and wraps that you can get, or you can try wrapping your dog in a blanket or other material. Remember to be gentle -- you don't want to restrain the dog, just make him or her feel shielded. And try not to overdo the talk about everything being OK. If you grab the dog while constantly cooing at the animal, that could make the dog think something is really wrong instead (because you normally don't act that way with the dog when there's no loud noise). Just treat the fireworks, thunder, or other noise as normal.
Massage
Related to using a mild pressure shirt or wrap is massage. There are points on the dog's body that you can hold, press, or pet to make the animal feel much calmer. Modern Dog magazine says to make long, gentle strokes along the dog's back and all the way down the tail, starting at the dog's neck or top of the head. When done, place one hand on the neck or head and the other hand towards the hips.
Dog Videos
If those aren't working and you really need to distract the dog, try what one woman in California did during the July 4th celebrations in 2016. Put headphones on your dog and let him or her watch dog videos. If you have other videos, like colorful cartoons or shows that your dog always seems interested in, try those as well.
With the right responses from you, your dog can gradually become less stressed by storms, fireworks, and other booming sounds. If you would like more help with deciding what the best dog treatment would be, talk to your vet as soon as you can.
Share