We just want to know why humans find it necessary to continue to torture us days after the holiday is over. Give it a rest humans, take a walk and smell the roses without the noise  Sancho and dixie

I sent you a bark after trying this.  Sables "episodes" it that's what you want to call them are scarey...scarey!  I am always afraid her heart will explode.  She breaths so hard and heavily..her heart races like 200 mph.  We've literally tried everything and nothing has worked.  Even the pills from the vet.  All they do is make her sleep "after the event" is over.  It's like she fights them like a baby fighting sleep.  Well when I saw your blog the next time I was in the store I got the Natrol melatonin 3 mg tablets.  Sable weighs 22 lbs so I cut them in half.  We've been having t-storms this week in the evenings so I give her one about mid afternoon and one before i leave for VBS.  Now we have had some t-boomers while I've been here and the change is remarkable.  She is still scared and will hide under the desk or bed but she seems more relaxed.  The breathing isn't as hard or labored and her heart isn't racing as fast.   I don't know if I should give her a whole pill but right now I'm still skeptical because we've had so many failures in the past.  But this one is the first one that I've ever given her that has relaxed her enough to actually lay down and be still (she paces and shakes during loud noise events).  So I'm feeling great about this one right now...do you think it will work for riding in a car  (another very traumatic experience with Sable) and do you think it would hurt to give her the whole pill?  I mean they seem to calm her but you can tell she is still bothered somewhat.  I don't want to harm her in anyway by giving her too much.  But I know it said dogs over 35 pounds can take the whole 3mg and even some bigger dogs can have larger amounts.  I was just wondering because of her high level of anxiety.  Thanks for posting these types of blogs and especially this one because for once...I have some hope she will get help.

You mean melatonin? That kind mom used for her jet lag?

Interesting! Will check the link for info soon.

Hey, Aussies, can you pass this on to your mom?

Tina,

Got the note advising Junior to hunker down. He's a little zoned out right now--got a half thunder pill at about noon and will get another half in an hour or so--but I'll make sure he gets it. (Not that he needs any encouragement to milk humans for all they're worth, as any reader of his blog can tell.)

It's important to stress that there are three distinct parts of negative reactions to the sounds of the 4th: fear, anxiety, and what in humans is called PTSD. One, two, or all three may be at work in any one dog, and in combination aggravate the effects of each other.

The anxiety can have terrible physical effects, particularly in older or out-of-shape dogs, such as increasing heart rate, escalating blood pressure, and creating spikes of cortisol and other stress-reaction enzymes. These are the result of the "fight or flight" impulses you describe so well.

While we tend to associate PTSD with major events, it is better to see it as a response that triggers a bad memory. The mind is sort of stuck in 'replay' and can't get past the traumatic memory (like a needle sticking on a vinyl record, if anyone remembers that). This response becomes a self-fufilling prophecy...which makes the anxiety even worse ("this is going to be bad, omigod this is getting bad, this is going to be horrible," and so on.) This in turn increases the fear when the actual sound happens.

It's important to realize that the bad memory that's being triggered is not necessarily related at all to the present reality (compare PTSD veterans and car backfires). Thus, a rescue dog's memory fragments of thuds, newspaper whacks, or any other loud negative events, can be triggered by the sound of fireworks or thunder.

Fortunately, most dogs do not experience all three (fear, anxiety, PTSD) on the Fourth. But humans should be aware that more than simple fear may be occuring and why the most intelligent dogs can temporarily lose their logic.

Junior's mom, gwyneth

Great advise. Mom read an article that mentioned the risks of this holiday to us canines, and in addition to the information you provided, another risk is eating too much/the wrong kind of people food. If you are going to have a party at your house, or go to a party at another location, make sure your parents caution the other 2Ls NOT to feed you. Also, if there are small children around who are likely to feed you or drop food you can reach, even though it is tempting you don't want to end up at the ER because of this.

Another thing the article said sent Mom into a frenzy - she and we don't understand how this could happen, but apparently there are 2Ls out there who set off their own fireworks and have their dogs close by when doing so. Not only does this cause the noise fear big time because they are so close, but it also causes eye injuries. So stay away from danger! 

Hi Rudy, Chloe and Jack, that is great advice. Even though my mom always says she'll protect me, I still get really scared. This year the vet and she decided that because I'm almost 12 they weren't going to take any chances with my heart.

The vet gave my mom some mild thunder pills (I'm not supposed to know about them) so I won't worry so much and be so scared today. The vet says that the fear/anxiety can be very dangerous to some dogs, particularly northern ones like me who were the tallest things on the tundra and have big opwn ears. She says it can create a very unhealthy level of stress for a couple of hours and that the risk of "heart events" is a big concern.

Let's all be brave together,

Your friend, Junior