More troubles with Jenny and thunderstorms :(

[pyr4me]

I'm sure you are all sick and tired of hearing me complain about all of this, but I'm losing my mind over here. None of us has slept through the night in the past 3 days because of rain showers and fireworks. Both of which were brief, but as soon as Jenny hears 1 firework go off, then that's it, she's hysterical for the night. Same with rain, just a little bit, and forget it, she's a mess. I take her outside afterwards and show her that the rain is over, but it doesn't help. I've tried Benadryl, melatonin, prescription from the vet, TFLN, rescue remedy. Nothing seems to have any impact on her AT ALL. It's like I never gave her anything. I made her a hiding place in my closet and pantry. I tire her out during the day. Nothing works. I'm going to call the vet tomorrow and see if there is something stronger that I can safely give her. But I feel like I'm at my wit's end here. 

I was planning on taking a short trip with my daughters to visit my mother prior to the 4th of July. My husband would be working and staying at home with the dogs, but now I feel like I can't go and leave him with Jenny, who will be a disaster with the fireworks.

She handles the rain and storms fine in the daytime. A little anxiety, but manageable. At night, she is a wreck. Now we're all on pins and needles, watching the weather forecast obsessively, to see if we will be able to sleep or not. I wish I could help her, but nothing I am doing seems to help her at all. 

I am now considering contacting that animal communicator that Butt and Tubbs' mom used...maybe she could help Jenny?? It might be worth a try.

Thanks for reading all this. BPO is the best.

[GoldenPyrs]

Oh boy, it sounds like you've already tried most of the things that I'd suggest (we have this problem with Daisy, too  ).  You're right though, the days leading up to the 4th (and of course, the 4th) are likely to be really, really hard for her & you.  Daisy is like my shadow any time of the year, but particularly so this time of year.  Most of the time, I just keep her really close to me (or more correctly, she does this by herself    ).  However, if I absolutely have to leave her alone, I've had the best luck if I leave her in the kid's bathroom (no windows) with a box fan running full blast and a radio playing easy listening or elevator music turned up loud.  Even then she ate a bit of baseboard and some door moulding 2 years ago, but she's been ok since (knock wood).  Usually it works out fine.  .  We've been working on this with Daisy for 9 yrs now & it's not easy.  I wonder if Jenny has been traumatised by gunshots or other loud noises in her previous home(s).  Poor baby.  I know that Sam hates gunshots also, but he's ok with thunder & fireworks.  Since he was so abused, we wonder if someone shot guns around him.  Or if he was a LGD and his livestock was shot & slaughtered around him.    We'll never know.  It's sad.

I hope that the vet can suggest something that will work better for Jenny.  We tried a traquilizer from the vet for Daisy once and in her case, she just shook & panted nonstop anyway & then afterwards she slept so soundly for so long that she really worried us.  So it really didn't work for Daisy, but maybe you'll have better luck with a new med for Jenny.  I sure hope so.  Our best solution so far has just been to keep her close to me or in the bathroom with the radio & fan (oh & no food just before, either  you can imagine why, I'm sure  ).  I just wish that I could offer more help than this.  Let us know how it goes, ok?

[DaPeach]

Do you keep her next to you when she gets upset?  Does she seem to calm down any when she's close to you?  If Kate is across the room she'll have fits, but if I bring her into the chair w/ me or on the bed (I know some don't allow them on the furniture) where I can reach her, she'll settle down...it just takes some talking & petting, no longer than 10 minutes.  I don't know if you read my post in your last thread...We went through it again last night.  She slept through the storm before bed because I think she wore herself out during the afternoon storm (I wasn't home at the time).

[seaherons]

It does sound as though you have tried many, many things.  Have you tried the anxiety wrap?  We really believe that it is helpful with Cirra. 

[marypyrs]

I am deffenitly going to try the wrap with Rainbow. Poor girl - We're going through something much worse that the storms & wind now.

Let's see.  How can I put this so I can post without getting into trouble. I'll just say that some stupid, crazy, off the wall, wacked out 'neighbors' have taken to setting off what sounds like cannons. You can't believe how horrible they are. I was sure when I heard the first one something had exploded. Like the gas line that runs in back of their property. Or the house had blown up. It was followed shortly by another three and I could see them being shot high in the air across the valley below me.

My girl was trembling so hard I thought she'd have a heart attack. It's the first time Whisper has EVER been frightened. The horses were scared to death and wouldn't even touch their grain till the next morning.

I have a feeling it's going to be one heck of a 4th of July this year. I'm thinking of multi anxiety wraps. One for myself as well. 

[seaherons]

That "cannon" sounds like a nightmare!  We are steeling ourselves for the 4th.  Glad we already have the wrap.  No radar to predict it though.  If there weren't so many drunk people on the road here at that time of night, we might put Cirra in the car until the big show in town is over and our neighborhood calms down.  I have started calling, particularly if there is a moderate or higher fire danger on the island.  (That is why they are call Fire works)  We have thousands of tourists and a noise ordinance after 9 pm, so I try to be an equal pain in the ......  I wish you luck with that one though.  We live near the water and things do reverberate for miles and miles, so we have an idea.  Like seaduck hunting tours with boatloads of people all shooting at the same duck...... Needless to say, Cirra doesn't like that either and we then watch the tides to predict them.  Hope the cannon folks run out of gunpowder or money soon!  Denise

[pyr4me]

Jenny has received her first Reiki treatment to help calm her, so I'll keep you all posted on how that works for her. I also am trying yet another prescription from the vet as well.  I do try to keep her near me and while at any other time she is near me (she is my velcro dog), when she is this scared and has her "wild eyed" look, she can't really keep still to stay by me. I have held her to me to see if she can settle, but so far, she is just too freaked out.

Mary, I am so sorry to hear about your crazy neighbors and their fireworks, it sounds terrible for you and your pups. Anxiety wraps for us all sound great!  

[DaPeach]

I know that wild-eyed look!  It's hard to shake them out of it...I really hope you find something for her.  It breaks my heart to see them that upset.

[pyr4me]

Jenny has received 2 Reiki sessions over the last two days, and I also ordered her an Anxiety Wrap today to see if that will be helpful for her, too. 

They are predicting storms tomorrow night, so I won't have the Wrap by then, but will be able to see if the Reiki treatments are going to work for her. I'll keep you all posted! Thanks again for all of your support.