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Fourth of JulyThe Fourth of July is not necessarily a happy holiday for our furry family members! In this Training Basics episode, Libby and Emily talk about ways to keep your dog safe and work with them to help them settle into their environment this holiday
Cog Dog Radio: https://thecognitivecanine.com/the-podcast-cog-dog-radio/ Behavior Vets on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VBCCO TTouch: https://www.whole-dog-journal.com/training/the-tellington-ttouch-for-dogs/ |
Episode Transcript
Emily 0:09
Welcome to part two, the rescue.
Libby 0:11
Rescuing the dog is just the first step. We're here to help with everything that comes next. Hello, everyone, and welcome back to pod to the rescue.
I'm Libby.
Emily 0:22
And I'm Emily.
Libby 0:23
And we are here today with a little training Basics episode, Fourth of July is coming up. And we know that that is such a struggle for so many dogs and their people. And we just wanted to talk for a little bit about ways to get through Fourth of July with your dog with your sanity intact and their sanity intact. So at some a dog rescue, you know, we have had a really unfortunate experience surrounding fireworks in Fourth of July. And so we really just wanted to do a quick training Basics episode on management to keep your dog safe. And also some ways that you can work with them to make them more comfortable in their environment. So just to jump right in. This episode will air on Thursday, July 1. And if your dog has any sort of noise phobia phobia at all, call your vet today, pause the podcast call your vet, ask them for you know if you can do a quick visit to get some anti anxiety meds on board. There are some faster acting stuff that it that are appropriate for the situation. My first dog was a probably a failed gun dog. And he was terrified of any boom noises. And so he had to take doggy Xanax for the weeks leading up to fourth of July because it was that bad. And but it helped you know, it took the edge off so that he wasn't just total totally panicked for days on end. So if that if you know that your dog is really going to struggle, and you haven't spoken to your vet, call your bet. And that's our first number one tip.
Emily 2:10
Yeah, I can already see Piper, we've had a couple of evenings of explosions around our house. And she's already ramping up and more agitated at night. And there's a lot more barking going on at night from her just from like the big booms. So I haven't started her on any medication yet. But I think for sure, like Thursday and Friday night, I'm gonna do it. And then I'm leaving town for the Fourth of July to go camp with her up in the mountains to be away from the fiasco because she really hates hates Fourth of July.
Libby 2:43
Yeah, that's another great idea. If you're able to, you know, go out in the country, somewhere where you're in a national forests, people aren't going to be setting off fireworks, or, at least in Colorado, they're not supposed to. But if you know if you can go somewhere remote, and just get out of your neighborhood, if you know that your neighborhood is going to be just lit up, then that would be a great plan as well.
Emily 3:13
And then for those who can't get out of town, and they're stuck in their homes, you know, a lot of people got pandemic puppies. And a year ago, perhaps your puppy didn't react to the Fourth of July. They were young, perhaps they were just not as cognizant, and now they're adolescents. And it could be an experience that you're not ready for. So we want to help you get ready.
Libby 3:38
Totally. So what I would do now, if you're not sure how your dog is going to react anytime, or if they are showing a little bit of concern like Oh, was that looking around a little bit, maybe showing a little bit of stressed body language? I would recommend doing something called a boom scatter. And I got this idea from Sarah strimming. And she's a fantastic behavior consultant trainer and podcaster. On what is it called Dog radio?
Emily 4:10
Yeah, cog dog radio. Yes.
Libby 4:12
Mostly all about sport dogs, but super, super sharp behavior consultant and trainer. So the idea behind a boom scatter is anytime there's lightning, thunder or fireworks, any of those big noises. You just very calmly you don't react as the human you just very calmly walk to the kibble bag or jar or wherever you keep it and just toss a small handful of kibble on the ground. And the big noise the boom predicts the food scatter. So boom, scatter. And they learn that those big noises predict good things and food. And if you listened to our training basics on using food and training for counter conditioning, you will have a good understanding of this and if you haven't go back and give that one out. Send as well. It's important that the boom predicts the food, not the other way around. And it's also important to model for your dogs that this is not a big deal. Right? So you're going to be calm. Just toss a little scatter of food on the ground, they get to sniff for it and sniffing produces feel good endorphins and dogs. So that will help their mental state as well. So if your dog is, you know, a little concerned, but not freaking out yet, that's a great thing to start now.
Emily 5:33
Yeah, you want to start before they get to the stage a freaking out like I asked Gigi recently how she was handling this. For those of you who don't live in Boulder, Gigi moss is historically famous trainer in Boulder. And she said that she just cuts up cheese into little pieces. And I think she has four dogs, she calls it boom cheese. She's like, every time there's a firework, I go to the fridge, I say boom, cheese, and she throws cheese. And like same thing, boom, scatter.
Libby 6:05
So that's one option if your dog is kind of on, you know, the calmer end of the spectrum. Now, if your dog is truly experiencing really severe panic and noises. The unfortunate. Yeah, if your dog is on the more severe end of the spectrum of panic response to fireworks and thunder, then the bad news is ideally, you would have started training with this three months ago. We can't go back in time. But the second best time to plant a tree is today. So what you can do is you can do whatever you can to make your environment feel safe for them.
Emily 7:00
Yeah, I would say, um, you know, make sure your gates are latched, that your doors are shut to the point where the dog can't push out the number one thing is to prevent your dog from panicking and escaping the house, I would say close all your windows, no need to have your windows open. Don't want a dog going through a screen and why make it louder in the house. Find a cozy quiet place in your house as a safe space for your dog, turn on some background, lovely music, put a few blankets and a dog bed out. I phrase a lot of cones and topples. And get bully sticks if your dog will eat, and just try to have a relaxing night with your dog that, you know surviving the night as best you possibly can.
Libby 7:52
A like a big meaty raw bone is good for this kind of situation. Because for most dogs, if they're able to eat, like, oh, they might be uncomfortable, but that will at least distract them. And of course, you know, again, the chewing behavior is a healthy outlet for dogs. So you know if you have access to a basement room or something that your dogs are familiar with, and you can go down there with them. And you can be safe and have you know, some calm calming piano music playing classical music or something like that, that will, you know, drown out the fireworks a little bit you don't want it to be too loud. Because again, you know, you don't want to make things worse. But those are all kind of ways that you can just help your dog get through it. And like Emily said, the management is so key if you need to even put a baby gate up around your front door. So that or an X pen so that you have one more layer of safety. You know things like this are really important to think about, you know, if your dog is going outside in the backyard to potty, maybe go do leash potty breaks if it's during a time when there's a lot of fireworks going on.
Emily 9:18
So I agree with that 100% You just never know how your dog is going to respond. And once they get into that completely amygdala driven like I might die from these explosions reaction. There's no predicting what will happen.
Libby 9:37
Yeah, so you know try to walk your dogs early in the morning before people are out there blowing things up. These are all unfortunate things that you have to think about this time of year especially. You know if you're if you know that your dog is going to have a hard time but also if you're you know if you have no history of noise phobia and your dog Dog, it's still something to be aware of. And do you think that people could like if today's Thursday the first, do you think people could start doing counter conditioning now and get their dogs a little bit more comfortable before say the third and the fourth?
Emily 10:16
No, they could in my neighborhood is already starting, which is a major bummer. And there's no predictability. Definitely, you can go on YouTube and have like, a background noise. You know, they have YouTube videos of fireworks, and very quietly, you could play them and start working on that. It's worth trying. I did read some article that said that it's actually, you know, not comparative, because like, the way the sound waves come from an explosion is a different sound wave than something on YouTube. Anyway, but it's worth a try. It's, yeah,
Libby 10:55
yeah. And even you know, even if your dog is still really fearful, try try the boom scatters. Like, there's no Yeah, and trying that, you know, that. Try seeing if you can help your dog be a little more comfortable. is there's no harm and you might have to try a higher value and kibble. But that's fine.
Emily 11:15
Yeah, I like the boom cheese. I thought that was kind of cute. And she, she has four or five dogs, and none of them are scared of fireworks because she just does that immediately when she brings them into the house. So it's a great yeah.
And then, you know, there's other things like adaptable collars, adaptable sprays that have like the pheromone of the lactating Mother, you know, there's all sorts of different things you can do. You could do a massage on your dog, if they're open to massage, and scented candles, I don't know, scented candles might be a little, a little mod. Well,
Libby 11:53
I think that one of the adaptable plugin, the wall plugin thing also has lavender in it, which is safe. You know, there are essential oils that are toxic to dogs and cats. So definitely do your research before using any, you know, essential oil type products. But I think the adaptive plugin also has lavender in it for calming. But yeah, I love the idea of doing massage the tea touch stuff. If your dog likes a thunder jacket, that's a great option. I don't I don't think they ever really worked for my dogs, but some dogs like them. So that's something you could try. And I think just providing them a safe environment. You know, for my for my old dog. The bathroom was his safe place with a bowl with water with a cozy, cozy bed. And you know, we would just go in there and spend time with them. And we'd give him a bone. And, you know, he wasn't super thrilled, but we got through it.
Emily 12:57
I love that. Yeah, it's only one night of the year. That's really the hellacious nights so we can do this.
Libby 13:06
Yeah. Awesome. Well, stay safe out there, everybody. Thanks for tuning in. If you liked this episode, don't forget to rate and review. It helps other folks like you find the show. To find out more about our programming and adoptable rescue dogs. You can visit summit dog rescue.org thanks to Mike pesci for the original music and to Alex Lee Ammons and for the love media for graphics production and editing. See you soon on pod to the rescue.
Transcribed by https://otter.ai
Welcome to part two, the rescue.
Libby 0:11
Rescuing the dog is just the first step. We're here to help with everything that comes next. Hello, everyone, and welcome back to pod to the rescue.
I'm Libby.
Emily 0:22
And I'm Emily.
Libby 0:23
And we are here today with a little training Basics episode, Fourth of July is coming up. And we know that that is such a struggle for so many dogs and their people. And we just wanted to talk for a little bit about ways to get through Fourth of July with your dog with your sanity intact and their sanity intact. So at some a dog rescue, you know, we have had a really unfortunate experience surrounding fireworks in Fourth of July. And so we really just wanted to do a quick training Basics episode on management to keep your dog safe. And also some ways that you can work with them to make them more comfortable in their environment. So just to jump right in. This episode will air on Thursday, July 1. And if your dog has any sort of noise phobia phobia at all, call your vet today, pause the podcast call your vet, ask them for you know if you can do a quick visit to get some anti anxiety meds on board. There are some faster acting stuff that it that are appropriate for the situation. My first dog was a probably a failed gun dog. And he was terrified of any boom noises. And so he had to take doggy Xanax for the weeks leading up to fourth of July because it was that bad. And but it helped you know, it took the edge off so that he wasn't just total totally panicked for days on end. So if that if you know that your dog is really going to struggle, and you haven't spoken to your vet, call your bet. And that's our first number one tip.
Emily 2:10
Yeah, I can already see Piper, we've had a couple of evenings of explosions around our house. And she's already ramping up and more agitated at night. And there's a lot more barking going on at night from her just from like the big booms. So I haven't started her on any medication yet. But I think for sure, like Thursday and Friday night, I'm gonna do it. And then I'm leaving town for the Fourth of July to go camp with her up in the mountains to be away from the fiasco because she really hates hates Fourth of July.
Libby 2:43
Yeah, that's another great idea. If you're able to, you know, go out in the country, somewhere where you're in a national forests, people aren't going to be setting off fireworks, or, at least in Colorado, they're not supposed to. But if you know if you can go somewhere remote, and just get out of your neighborhood, if you know that your neighborhood is going to be just lit up, then that would be a great plan as well.
Emily 3:13
And then for those who can't get out of town, and they're stuck in their homes, you know, a lot of people got pandemic puppies. And a year ago, perhaps your puppy didn't react to the Fourth of July. They were young, perhaps they were just not as cognizant, and now they're adolescents. And it could be an experience that you're not ready for. So we want to help you get ready.
Libby 3:38
Totally. So what I would do now, if you're not sure how your dog is going to react anytime, or if they are showing a little bit of concern like Oh, was that looking around a little bit, maybe showing a little bit of stressed body language? I would recommend doing something called a boom scatter. And I got this idea from Sarah strimming. And she's a fantastic behavior consultant trainer and podcaster. On what is it called Dog radio?
Emily 4:10
Yeah, cog dog radio. Yes.
Libby 4:12
Mostly all about sport dogs, but super, super sharp behavior consultant and trainer. So the idea behind a boom scatter is anytime there's lightning, thunder or fireworks, any of those big noises. You just very calmly you don't react as the human you just very calmly walk to the kibble bag or jar or wherever you keep it and just toss a small handful of kibble on the ground. And the big noise the boom predicts the food scatter. So boom, scatter. And they learn that those big noises predict good things and food. And if you listened to our training basics on using food and training for counter conditioning, you will have a good understanding of this and if you haven't go back and give that one out. Send as well. It's important that the boom predicts the food, not the other way around. And it's also important to model for your dogs that this is not a big deal. Right? So you're going to be calm. Just toss a little scatter of food on the ground, they get to sniff for it and sniffing produces feel good endorphins and dogs. So that will help their mental state as well. So if your dog is, you know, a little concerned, but not freaking out yet, that's a great thing to start now.
Emily 5:33
Yeah, you want to start before they get to the stage a freaking out like I asked Gigi recently how she was handling this. For those of you who don't live in Boulder, Gigi moss is historically famous trainer in Boulder. And she said that she just cuts up cheese into little pieces. And I think she has four dogs, she calls it boom cheese. She's like, every time there's a firework, I go to the fridge, I say boom, cheese, and she throws cheese. And like same thing, boom, scatter.
Libby 6:05
So that's one option if your dog is kind of on, you know, the calmer end of the spectrum. Now, if your dog is truly experiencing really severe panic and noises. The unfortunate. Yeah, if your dog is on the more severe end of the spectrum of panic response to fireworks and thunder, then the bad news is ideally, you would have started training with this three months ago. We can't go back in time. But the second best time to plant a tree is today. So what you can do is you can do whatever you can to make your environment feel safe for them.
Emily 7:00
Yeah, I would say, um, you know, make sure your gates are latched, that your doors are shut to the point where the dog can't push out the number one thing is to prevent your dog from panicking and escaping the house, I would say close all your windows, no need to have your windows open. Don't want a dog going through a screen and why make it louder in the house. Find a cozy quiet place in your house as a safe space for your dog, turn on some background, lovely music, put a few blankets and a dog bed out. I phrase a lot of cones and topples. And get bully sticks if your dog will eat, and just try to have a relaxing night with your dog that, you know surviving the night as best you possibly can.
Libby 7:52
A like a big meaty raw bone is good for this kind of situation. Because for most dogs, if they're able to eat, like, oh, they might be uncomfortable, but that will at least distract them. And of course, you know, again, the chewing behavior is a healthy outlet for dogs. So you know if you have access to a basement room or something that your dogs are familiar with, and you can go down there with them. And you can be safe and have you know, some calm calming piano music playing classical music or something like that, that will, you know, drown out the fireworks a little bit you don't want it to be too loud. Because again, you know, you don't want to make things worse. But those are all kind of ways that you can just help your dog get through it. And like Emily said, the management is so key if you need to even put a baby gate up around your front door. So that or an X pen so that you have one more layer of safety. You know things like this are really important to think about, you know, if your dog is going outside in the backyard to potty, maybe go do leash potty breaks if it's during a time when there's a lot of fireworks going on.
Emily 9:18
So I agree with that 100% You just never know how your dog is going to respond. And once they get into that completely amygdala driven like I might die from these explosions reaction. There's no predicting what will happen.
Libby 9:37
Yeah, so you know try to walk your dogs early in the morning before people are out there blowing things up. These are all unfortunate things that you have to think about this time of year especially. You know if you're if you know that your dog is going to have a hard time but also if you're you know if you have no history of noise phobia and your dog Dog, it's still something to be aware of. And do you think that people could like if today's Thursday the first, do you think people could start doing counter conditioning now and get their dogs a little bit more comfortable before say the third and the fourth?
Emily 10:16
No, they could in my neighborhood is already starting, which is a major bummer. And there's no predictability. Definitely, you can go on YouTube and have like, a background noise. You know, they have YouTube videos of fireworks, and very quietly, you could play them and start working on that. It's worth trying. I did read some article that said that it's actually, you know, not comparative, because like, the way the sound waves come from an explosion is a different sound wave than something on YouTube. Anyway, but it's worth a try. It's, yeah,
Libby 10:55
yeah. And even you know, even if your dog is still really fearful, try try the boom scatters. Like, there's no Yeah, and trying that, you know, that. Try seeing if you can help your dog be a little more comfortable. is there's no harm and you might have to try a higher value and kibble. But that's fine.
Emily 11:15
Yeah, I like the boom cheese. I thought that was kind of cute. And she, she has four or five dogs, and none of them are scared of fireworks because she just does that immediately when she brings them into the house. So it's a great yeah.
And then, you know, there's other things like adaptable collars, adaptable sprays that have like the pheromone of the lactating Mother, you know, there's all sorts of different things you can do. You could do a massage on your dog, if they're open to massage, and scented candles, I don't know, scented candles might be a little, a little mod. Well,
Libby 11:53
I think that one of the adaptable plugin, the wall plugin thing also has lavender in it, which is safe. You know, there are essential oils that are toxic to dogs and cats. So definitely do your research before using any, you know, essential oil type products. But I think the adaptive plugin also has lavender in it for calming. But yeah, I love the idea of doing massage the tea touch stuff. If your dog likes a thunder jacket, that's a great option. I don't I don't think they ever really worked for my dogs, but some dogs like them. So that's something you could try. And I think just providing them a safe environment. You know, for my for my old dog. The bathroom was his safe place with a bowl with water with a cozy, cozy bed. And you know, we would just go in there and spend time with them. And we'd give him a bone. And, you know, he wasn't super thrilled, but we got through it.
Emily 12:57
I love that. Yeah, it's only one night of the year. That's really the hellacious nights so we can do this.
Libby 13:06
Yeah. Awesome. Well, stay safe out there, everybody. Thanks for tuning in. If you liked this episode, don't forget to rate and review. It helps other folks like you find the show. To find out more about our programming and adoptable rescue dogs. You can visit summit dog rescue.org thanks to Mike pesci for the original music and to Alex Lee Ammons and for the love media for graphics production and editing. See you soon on pod to the rescue.
Transcribed by https://otter.ai