03/07/2023
Happy Fourth of July! May you have a fun and cheerful celebration with your loved ones or new friends tomorrow.
These are just some tips and they might work or not, but it is always worth a try. It's far too late to really get your dog's New Year's Eve anxiety under control. Fear of noise, such as the fear of fireworks, bangers, or thunderstorms, are treacherous since they are usually never there from the beginning, but there is usually a moment when they start. Often this is just an insignificant but sudden bang that comes unexpectedly and cannot be assigned. This is the main problem with fear of noise: the noise source cannot be assigned and the dog has no way of allowing its brain to assign the stimulus correctly. Because BUMMMM, the next bang is usually coming. I like to compare it to people's fear when they fly: you get a fright, your brain wants to orient itself and recover, and then it jolts again and again... And at some point, all that's left is the fear of fear.
Fears protect us from many things, but in some cases, they can be very limiting and dysfunctional. The problem: they are programmed in the cerebral cortex and cannot simply be erased, but can be positively superimposed with patient training
It is best to close curtains and blinds early. Relaxing music that is played at the highest possible but still comfortable volume dampens popping noises well. If possible, go down to the basement with the dog early enough. dr Incidentally, Deborah Wells from Queens University in Belfast used various animals to research that it has been proven that classical music is relaxing. For example, shelter dogs were exposed to light classical music such as Mozart or ballads, which was shown to calm the dogs, whereas pop music or exposure to the taped human conversation had no effect on the dogs' mood. Wagner, hard rock, or heavy metal music, on the other hand, caused significantly more stress.
Behavioral veterinarians recently reported that the banal idea of putting some cotton in your dog's ears and fixing them around the head with a scarf and self-adhesive bandage has made a significant contribution to relaxation. Alternatively, special earmuffs for dogs would also be conceivable. Crawling is allowed everywhere on New Year's Eve (even if the area may otherwise be prohibited). Set up early enough and correctly, your own foldable transport box can also be a well-suited den for the dog, not only on New Year's Eve. If your dog suddenly crawls onto the sofa or bed, please allow it. Take it as a big compliment to your human-dog relationship - after all, the dog is looking for your closeness and security to relax.
If your dog wants to snuggle up to you, please allow that. The advice not to pet the dog in a fearful situation, so as not to increase the fear, is now outdated. Although it is important not to make the situation even more special for the dog by paying too much attention to it. Radiating calm and serenity will help your dog to find nothing out of the ordinary about the situation. Incidentally, a gentle massage has been shown to release the bonding hormone oxytocin, which is an antagonist of the stress hormone cortisol.
However, a gentle crawl only makes sense if your dog enjoys it and is not forced to do so. Some dogs just appreciate being held or relax a little more if you lay a hand on them to show closeness.
a tight body that is intended to give the dog security and calmness through the rather tight compression on the body, as was previously intended with the tight swaddling of babies. To be honest, we have had some noteworthy experiences with it, Here, too, it should be emphasized that your dog should of course be used to wearing coats or bodies of this kind or at least have to accept it without any problems. Otherwise the application would be more than counterproductive.
Before New Year's Eve, the dog should be used as much as possible. The best way to do this is to get out of the city during the day to escape the noise and smell of firecrackers as best as possible. If your four-legged friend is mentally and physically well exhausted, he will be happy to have peace and quiet at home and will rather deal less with his fear. For example, use creative foraging games, complex retrieval tasks and a bit of physical training to make your dog really tired. Attention: To be on the safe side, the training and the walks should already take place on the tow line.
