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Health & Fitness

Fireworks Fun for the Family — But Not the Whole Family

A helpful guide on your dog and July Fourth.

This Independence Day we once again celebrate our country's freedom. We will get together with our friends and family.

There will be fairs, grilling, parades, games and of course fireworks.

I personally love all these things. However, not everyone in our families likes all these things. No, this isn't in reference to near-sighted Aunt Trudy's dread of losing at cornhole once again.

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By now you have probably figured out that all my articles will be about your dog. My Hermione is as patriotic as the next pup but there's a specific part of the holiday that she despises.

Fireworks!

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Hermione sees the fireworks as invasion of angry yet colorful lightning, this doesn't bode well for a dog with a fear of thunder.

Today's Pawsitively Lakewood will be giving you some tips helping your furry family member through our celebration.

Tip number one, your dog doesn't like fireworks and doesn't want to go see the fireworks.

Dogs rarely seek out unidentifiable blasts of scary. The fireworks can reach 140 decibels, this is compared to a chainsaw at 110 decibels and at 80-85 you could start losing your hearing after long termed exposure.

Dogs are effected at a more intense level due to their advanced hearing abilities. You may say but my dog enjoys the fireworks. If your dog is standing up wagging his tail and watching attentively without pulling then perhaps he does like it. However, most dogs at best will simply lay down and patiently wait for it to be over. Hermione does not fall into this category and prefers to hide in the shower; Hermione hates baths.

Tip number two don't try to force your dog to like or be ok with the fireworks, this includes yelling at your dog, dragging him towards fireworks or use of items like shock collars and other items that would teach him not to be scared through pain.

The logic against these tactics is that dogs your won't get a stronger sense of well being by facing his fears. Adding stress into a fear based situation will only make him more scared. Just think of a time in which you were scared.

Now imagine that feeling if you added a bunch of stress into it. Obviously you would not be feeling better. Your goal is turn a bad experience into a good one. Every time a firework goes off distract your dog and put him into a sit. Once sitting, reward your dog. Repeat this with every thunder or firework to show that good things happen when the loud noises do.

Independence Day is in this coming week and a quicker fix is probably needed. I'll introduce you to a couple products that can help calm your dog down this long weekend:

There are coats for snow, rain even floatation. Now there is even one to calm your dog down during thunder storms. The Thundershirt uses a steady and tight pressure around your dogs torso to noticeably cut down your dog's anxiety levels. On my own dog I have noticed a moderate level of calming but my veterinarian also uses this with her dog, who experienced an almost complete calming effect. It can be purchased at .

If you prefer drugs but don't want to knock your dog out there is a natural product called Rescue Remedy. This product administered through a dropper was originally promoted for human use. Rescue Rememdy soon found a niche audience in being able to safely calm down dogs without side effects or causing them to simply pass out. It can be dropped in their food or water, I like to just put a couple drops straight into my dogs mouth. The human and dog versions should be found at .

Some dogs don't like to take their medicine.

I have plug in product that may be able to calm down your furry friend instead. Comfort Zone Plug-In obviously acts as a plug-in scent producer that uses the pheromones that a mother dog uses on her pups. When plugged in the room your dog is in will become a calmer environment.

This or a product like it can also be found at Furry Nation.

If you are not sure what product to use, stop by Furry Nation and one of their employees will be able to help you find what your dog needs. You can also add a comment to this article or send me an email at samlakewood@gmail.com. Hope you and your Furry Family Member have a great holiday!

One extra note, come see me in the parade walking with All Dog's Heaven and Pawsitive Influence.

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