Who doesn’t love fireworks and wild summer thunderstorms? A lot of anxious pets…that’s who!
Summer is ‘Anxiety Season’ for us at The Fish & Bone. And it’s not just because of weather and pyrotechnics. Summer means road trips, visitors from away, open windows that allow in loud neighborhood noise like construction – and often long days at the beach with pets home alone. Anxiety is suffering, and it’s a year-round condition…in summer, the triggers are just bigger and more frequent.
Our Best Advice
1. Try CBD, CBG and hemp products. Due to state laws, we can only sell them in our brick and mortar stores. There are choices to make within this category, and in person we can answer your questions about brand, format (ex, straight oils, the most economical; or in chews, or mixed into honey or peanut butter), dosage, and frequency.
2. Try other natural plant-based products like Happy Traveler Chews and Happy Traveler Capsules have worked for many of our customers. Active ingredients include valerian, St. Jon’s wort, tryptophan and chamomile.
3. Start working out your anxiety solution now (before you need it). It can take a few tries to get the right product, dose and timing for your pet. We want you on the right path well before the road trip/fireworks/visitors from away/thunderstorm.
4. Remember to administer your chosen remedy before the trigger. It’s easier to prevent anxiety than to dial it down once your pet is anxious.
4. Be sure you are feeding a clean diet. How your pet feels is strongly influenced by what he or she eats. Eliminate artificial preservatives, by products, fillers, excess starches – these are low quality ingredients that can cause discomfort, which can manifest in anxiety.
Other Things You Can Do to Help Support An Anxious Pet
Set up a ‘safe spot’ where they feel nurtured and protected. Provide a soothing ‘buddy’ toy stuffed with lavender. Burn off excess energy with extra walks, swims, runs or play sessions before trigger events occur. Pull the blinds to reduce the visual impact of a storm, put on lights during night time storms, and turn on a fan or other white noise (or TV, radio, or music). During severe storms or fireworks, be sure that someone, ideally you, or a trusted stand-in, is available. You don’t want to reinforce fear response, but you do want to allow your pet to seek you out for security. Use the guideline ‘comfort, don’t coddle’ and let your dog come to you if she needs to be reassured.
Sources of Anxiety Can Be Tricky
Anxiety is a broad term that’s applied to any fearful, nervous emotional state. The source of anxiety isn’t always obvious. For instance, you might think that your dog hides in the bathtub during thunderstorms because she is afraid of the loud claps of thunder (which would be understandable), but maybe more likely, according to Tufts Animal Behaviorist Dr. Nicholas Dodman, your dog is afraid of the electrostatic charge, which can be really uncomfortable or even painful in large dogs with heavy coats of fur. As CJ Puotinen points out in the Whole Dog Journal, areas anxious dogs often retreat to during thunderstorms, like bathtubs and behind toilets, provide excellent electrical grounding, and that does suggest that the electrostatic charge, rather than the noise, is what causes the most fear. Which isn’t to say that she might not also be afraid of the thunder claps or the rain beating on the windows, but they may just be ‘secondarily conditioned fears’, in other words, things your dog has learned to be afraid of because she associates them with the static electricity.
Come see us and our team will help you.
Fish & Bone was started with the goal of helping people help their animals through good natural nutrition. We are at our happiest when we can help relieve unnecessary suffering – don’t hesitate to come in and see us with your questions.