Guy Fawkes, thunder and other scary things can be dealt with by a number of ways. Generally your pets need to be acclimatised to the noises or experiences under calm controlled conditions. Best the owner doesn’t get excited or overly reactive to any odd behaviour associated with the event as this just reinforces the scary evasion panic behaviour.
If you can, ignore the misbehaviour or just do normal things like dinner and vacuuming.
If you can’t or if behaviour is severe say causing destruction of furniture or inappropriate toileting then your pet is probably in the severe category so needs to be medicated to calm it down to a more rational being, so it can learn from the experience and decide that the noxious stimuli are non-harmful.
I may need to dispense a PAR(prescription animal remedy) like diazepam(valium) , or clomicalm a licensed drug for cats and dogs to relax their inner fears .
During fireworks season it may pay to ensure windows,doors and cat flaps remain closed to both prevent pets escaping and reduce noise. Provide distractions, in the form of toys and chews. Draw curtains and put the TV on to mask any noise. Also try not to leave your pets alone when fireworks are going off.
An over the counter treatment for dogs is Adaptil which is a synthetic copy of the natural appeasing pheromone the mother dog produces to comfort and reassure her puppies. It has been scientifically proven to help both puppies and adult dogs cope in stressful situations such as fireworks and loud noises. It is available as a wall socket plug in diffuser and a spray. Use this 1-2 weeks before the stimuli are going to be unavoidable eg before and during guy fawkes.
There is also a feline version called Feliway which also comes in a diffuser or spray.
PET REMEDY is a new herbal essential oil calming diffuser , it works and is cheaper too
Calmex is a Kava based herbal medicine thatdoes calm as well and is available as an OTC natural sedative for cats and dogs
Food there are new high B vitamin foods for stressy cats and dogs especially designed to prevent urinary problems both Royal Canin and Hills science produce them.
Homeopathic drops in water may help (no guarantee) either the bach flowers calming tonics or one called Sedapet have variable activity but as a non-drug alternative may be helpful in some cases.
Desensitisation is also important . You can buy CDs of noxious noise stimulus so you can socialise your pet to get used to these noises under controlled conditions at home. This is best done early as a 10-16 week old pup while at puppy training stage of life.
Thunder jackets work well in some dogs
If you have an Emergency with your pet during our closed hours please see under Services page for a list Emergency clinics in Auckland.
Please do not go to the emergency clinic if it is not urgent/life threatening. ( Runny eyes/nose , coughing , limping , itching & etc can wait until the morning to be seen by our day vet )
If you are very worried or unsure if you are dealing with an emergency about your pet after clinic hours and you are a client with us you can reach Dr Chris on his emergency phone until 10pm or again from 7am each day
- Dr Chris Laurenson - 027 544 4427
Normanby Road Vet Clinic offers a range of friendly and professional vet services for cats, dogs and other animals. From vaccinations to microchipping and even surgeries, we can help your pets remain happy and healthy. Our clinic is easily accessible from all areas of Auckland.
