Episode Transcript
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Dr. Sugerman (00:00):
Welcome back to
Vetsplanation, where we discuss
all things veterinary health.
I am your host, Dr.
Sugerman, and with the 4th ofJuly just around the corner,
today's episode is crucial forall pet parents out there.
Do you know that more pets gomissing on the 4th of July than
any other day of the year?
Fireworks and festivities.
(00:20):
They're a lot of fun for us.
But they can be just terrifyingfor pets and even dangerous for
our furry friends.
So stay tuned as we share vitaltips on how to keep your pets
safe, calm, and happy duringthese celebrations.
And don't forget, if you likeour content and want to learn
more about how to keep your petshappy, healthy, and safe,
subscribe now.
(00:43):
So Independence Day, it is atime for celebration, but for
our furry friends and wildlife,the loud fireworks and the
parties, those can all beincredibly stressful.
Every year, animal shelters andemergency hospitals, we see this
huge surge in lost pets andinjured pets.
So in this episode, we're goingto share some essential tips on
(01:04):
how to keep your pets safe andcomfortable during this festive
but noisy holiday.
So let's dive right in with thetopic of noise.
Fireworks can be reallyoverwhelming for pets.
Especially since they havereally sensitive hearing.
More sensitive than we do.
So here are some strategies tohelp minimize the impact of
(01:24):
these loud noises.
First, we can create a quietspace.
So set up something that'sreally comfortable, a really
quiet area for your pet, andensure it's as secure as
possible.
We want to make sure thatthere's no way for them to
escape because they hear allthese really loud noises, and
dogs have definitely been knownto jump through windows in order
(01:46):
to get out.
So we want to make sure thatthey are as secure as possible.
You want to close doors, closewindows, and even draw the
curtains to block out that noiseand all that flashing light.
All they're seeing is just tonsand tons of flashing.
They don't understand what itis.
So just blocking out thatflashing can really help.
Using white noise is a reallygreat tool as well.
(02:09):
You can turn on white noisemachines or calming music.
You can turn on white noise onyour phone, on your Alexa,
whatever.
Or you can even use the TV tohelp drown out the sounds of
those fireworks.
I do like to make sure thoughwhen you're using the TV that
you're going to be usingsomething that's really
peaceful.
You don't want to use somethinglike Animal Planet.
(02:29):
That's really interesting forus, but if a lion comes on the
screen roaring, then your cat ordog might be a little too
scared.
That's a little bit scary forthem.
You're probably going to want topick something that's more like
a talk show.
Something that you know isn'tgoing to have loud noises, not
loud bangs.
Sometimes you put it on one TVshow and suddenly there's a
western or something that comeson and then there's loud
(02:50):
shooting noises.
Or maybe it goes, you put it onthe news and then suddenly it's
showing fireworks on the TV.
So we want to make sure we justpick something that's going to
be very quiet and calming.
Alright, third thing we can dois make sure that our pets are
in a cool environment.
So make sure this area is reallycool to help prevent overheating
(03:11):
and avoid rooms without properventilation or air conditioning
or a fan or something to helpkeep them cool.
This is especially important forour brachycephalic dogs, meaning
our flat faced dogs, and ourdogs who have collapsing trachea
or laryngeal paralysis.
Cats with asthma because they'regonna inhale a lot of that
smoke.
(03:32):
And then also pets who haveheart problems.
All of these pets can overheatreally fast, much, much faster
than our normal pets.
So we want to make sure we keepthose pets in a very cool area.
If your pet has extremereactions to noise, you might
want to consider anxietymedications.
And don't forget it is best totalk to your veterinarian now,
well before July 3rd, to avoidthose last minute rushes.
(03:56):
Otherwise, they may not be ableto get that medication to you
because they have so many peoplerushing in to try to get it.
I also suggest starting thosemedications a couple days before
the fireworks begin.
One, it's going to help you seehow your pet responds to that
medication and if you need toadjust the dosage.
Because maybe you give the firstdose right before the fireworks
starts and their anxiety is toohigh.
(04:18):
Their adrenaline is rushing andit's not going to work well.
But if you start it a coupledays before, even 48 hours
before, now that can reallyhelp.
You can decide whether you'vegiven them enough of that
medication, or if they need moremedication.
Maybe they aren't really drowsyat all and you need to give them
more, or maybe you find thatthey're just out and are just
sleeping.
(04:39):
Maybe you need to give a littlebit less.
But you won't know that unlessyou start before the fireworks
start.
Also remember, fireworks don'talways start on the 4th of July.
A lot of times they start theweekend before the 4th of July.
Even just starting the sedationthen, the weekend before the 4th
of July, is still a great ideato try to help make sure that
they're as calm as possiblethroughout the majority of it.
(05:02):
Alright, let's talk about somecommonly used medications for
sedation.
Trazodone is a good one.
It helps to keep our pets sedateand calm them.
And it's usually given everyeight hours.
You do want to make sure thatyou've kind of like timed that
out so that way you're giving itand they have that eight hour
window before you're going to behome again to give more.
(05:22):
Acepromazine is anothersedative.
Though, it does lower the bloodpressure and it's not suitable
for all pets.
Do make sure you've talked toyour veterinarian to make sure
it's going to be safe for them.
Dexdomitor or Sileo is anotherone.
It's a sedative that comes asboth an injectable, which we use
in hospital or a paste that youcan use at home.
(05:42):
It is important again to testthe effectiveness beforehand
though, when you're at home,just to make sure that it's
going to work for your pet.
I have had some pets who it'sactually made them more nervous
or anxious.
So make sure that you have usedit before.
So many pet owners ask me aboutCBD treats and some pets respond
really well to CBD and somedon't.
(06:04):
I do suggest, just like with themedication, you try it ahead of
time to see if it actually doeswork.
That way you'll have time to beable to get medication if you
need to.
Also, we need to make sure thatyou use the same brand and same
dosage consistently.
You might use one brand and thentry a second brand thinking that
it didn't work very well.
But if you do that, you don'tknow how it's going to affect
(06:26):
them.
There's no regulation on CBD forpets.
And so by using different brandsor different dosages, you're not
going to be able to figure outwhat dosage is going to work
best for your pet.
If you are going to try it, likeI said, use it ahead of time.
Also make sure you stick withone brand.
One dosage.
That way you can see if it doesactually work or not.
(06:48):
I do also find that some people,especially I tried with my pet,
it wears off after a shortamount of time.
For my dog it wore off afterfour hours and I also found that
it only worked for one or twodays and didn't work for much
longer after that.
So you want to make sure that wetry this beforehand to see if it
is going to work for your pet.
(07:09):
All right, another tool that wecan use is something called a
Thunder shirt.
Which you can find on Amazon, atPetSmart, and I think at Petco
if I remember correctly.
But it's a shirt that fitssnugly around your pet, and it
just provides a sense ofsecurity.
It's like a security blanket forthem.
Just remember you need to use itin a cool environment just to
make sure you preventoverheating for them.
(07:31):
Next, consulting an animalbehaviorist can always be
beneficial.
Though it's not going to be ashort term solution for right
now, it can be a long termsolution for the following
Fourth of July, or maybe whenthere's other fireworks.
When the Seahawks win here, wehave lots of fireworks.
It can be something to try tohelp them, even in times when
it's not specifically the Fourthof July.
(07:53):
Next, let's talk about our petsat our parties.
So barbecues, bonfires, loudmusic, those can all be very
overstimulating and reallystressful for our pets.
So here are some tips to try tohelp with that.
One, again, we're going tocreate a safe space.
Somewhere to ensure that yourpet has a comfortable place to
go, away from all of that noiseand all of the people and all of
(08:14):
that action.
Maybe it's that they can go intoa kennel or maybe it's they can
go into a room.
Something to make sure that theyare in a comfortable space that
is not overwhelming.
Second thing is monitor thefood.
Keep an eye on what your peteats.
Try to make sure that otherpeople are not feeding your pet.
Avoid things that are like fattyand spicy and greasy, as well as
(08:36):
things like bones.
These can all cause some serioushealth issues, so we want to try
to avoid those things as much aspossible.
And avoid having other peoplefeed those things as much as
possible as well.
Hydration and cool areas, wewant to make sure that we keep
them very hydrated.
July is really hot, right?
So we want to make sure thatthey stay cool, and stay
(08:56):
hydrated.
Some people will put like alittle kiddie pool out for them.
That's great, they can lay in itbut make sure that there's water
consistently for them to be ableto drink.
So if you plan on setting outfireworks, make sure you keep
your pets far away from them andsecured.
Unfortunately, animals becometoo curious about what's going
on and fireworks can causereally severe injuries if our
(09:18):
pets get too close or ingest anyparts of it.
So if they are out with you,they're not anxious about it,
make sure to keep them on aleash so that way they cannot
get to those fireworks.
Now, after all of thosefireworks are said and done,
make sure we clean this area upthoroughly.
Firework debris can be reallyhazardous.
It contains chemicals and smallparts that pets might ingest and
(09:41):
also that wildlife could ingestas well.
You want to make sure thateverything is cleaned up really
well.
All right.
Finally, let's talk aboutidentification.
People don't think about this,but if your pet gets lost, it is
crucial to have properidentification.
A collar with a tag on it, it'sgreat.
Just make sure it has up to dateinformation.
It has up to date phone numberon it, or up to date microchip
(10:06):
information on it.
So that way, somebody can get ahold of you.
The hard part with collars issometimes those tags rip off.
My dogs have a collar that has alittle plate on it that has our
phone numbers engraved into it,so that they cannot pull that
off, because, my dogs tend toplay a lot, and they'll pull
that off.
So make sure that you have someidentification on that collar.
(10:28):
Second big thing is a microchip.
So make sure your contactinformation and all the details
are up to date on thatmicrochip.
What happens is they come intothe vet clinic, we scan the
microchip and we call themicrochip company.
And if you do not have yourmicrochip information up to
date, there's no way for them tobe able to get ahold of you to
(10:48):
tell you where your pet is.
We want to get your pet back toyou as soon as possible.
So if for some reason, none ofthose things work.
And your pet does go missing,make sure to contact the local
ER hospitals and HumaneSocieties to be able to see if
you can find your pet.
And not even just like localwithin who is the closest Humane
Society.
You want to do multiple HumaneSocieties because sometimes it
(11:11):
just depends on what street thatthey were found on or what
jurisdiction.
And it might be one over fromwhat your normal Humane Society
is, like one street over fromwhere they would normally pick
up.
Or maybe somebody picked up yourdog on a street close to yours,
but they took it to an ER, youknow, 20 miles away.
Because that's the only one thatwould take them.
So make sure you're callingaround to multiple ERs and
(11:34):
multiple Humane Societies to seeif you can find your pet, cause
we want to try to help reuniteyou as soon as possible.
And there you have it, our toptips for keeping pets safe and
calm during this 4th of July.
Remember to create a quietspace.
Secure them during parties andfireworks and ensure they have
proper identification.
(11:54):
Do you have any other tips,things that have helped you and
your pets during the 4th ofJuly?
Make sure to drop them in thecomments and let us know,
because I'm always open tohearing new ideas that can help
more pets.
Also, if you like what we do,please make sure you give us a 5
star review, so we can help morepets.
Thank you for listening toVetsplanation.
If you have any questions ortopics you'd like us to cover,
(12:16):
like I said, always reach out.
You can reach us on our email orsocial media, I'm usually on
Facebook the most, but make surethat you reach out and let us
know.
Be sure to tune in next weekwhen we talk to Dr.
Cerná, the Crazy Cat Vet, abouttips on how we can make our
trips to the vet the easiest aspossible on our feline friends.
(12:37):
Bet you didn't know that thetrip to the vet office doesn't
actually start in the vetoffice.
It actually starts at home.
I also want to thank ShawnHyberg for editing the podcast
and Kelly Reopelle Dwyer for herhelp on our website.
So until then, please make sureto keep your pets happy,
healthy, and safe.
We'll see you next week.