Well, It’s the May long weekend again, and you know what that means, don’t you? Fireworks. And do you know what that translates to in Trixie-land? Puffpantpuffshivershivershakepuffpuffpuff. Last year, I noticed it, but some people told me once she was more bonded to me, she would feel less afraid. Well, nope. It’s weird. People started firing them off on Thursday night while we were out playing, and she didn’t seem super uber weirded out by them. She would walk away from the bangs, but not in an overly insane fashion. As a test, I harnessed her up and got her to walk me home. She did, even thinking enough to walk along the fense until we got to an opening, and then walking down the sidewalk instead of madly cutting across the grass to the building, which she tried to do last year. I thought woohoo! I think she’s better!
Then the next night when a few went off, she was a basketcase! She glued herself to Steve. I don’t get why she chose Steve. That’s just weird. Her ability to listen to me went straight to hell. She would barely do obedience no matter how many times I did it. She didn’t even care about her Wubba! What the? It’s her wubba! Eventually, I tied her down, and again, that was the only thing that worked.
So, tomorrow, I’m going on a walk to the health food store to pick up something called Rescue Remedy. It’s supposed to help people with anxiety and panic attacks and dogs with high anxiety or, ta da, fear of loud noises. Has anyone tried it with their dog? I’ve heard lots of good stuff, so I hope it works!
Now, Here are a couple things I’m confused about. It says there’s a Rescue Remedy and Rescue Remedy Pet version. It seems the only difference is the Pet version is alcohol-free. If there’s anyone out there who’s reading this and using it, is the pet version just as easy to find as the human version? And they say it can actually eliminate their fear of loud noises. How? They say in some cases, you should give it daily. But I don’t think my situation is one of those that call for that. I think I would just give it when there’s fireworks or thunder. Am I right?
Well, I’ll post how this whole thing goes. I’m sure tomorrow night, and the night after, I will have many an opportunity to try out Rescue Remedy! Wish me luck! I need to find a solution, because nothing I’ve tried works. Not music, not obedience, not distraction with toys, not even treats, not leaving her alone. The only thing that does is putting her on tie-down, but we can’t very well do that if we encounter a thunder storm or some goof setting off fireworks while we’re out somewhere. Bang! There goes another one! She’s tied down, but if she wasn’t, the panting would begin immediately.