Mea culpa time...Well.... it was a long night. And bad-bad-bad dog parents that we are, we didn't get home before the fireworks started. We could hear Yelda barking when we got out of the car. To make matters worse, a thunderstorm was brewing. I got her out of her crate, and she ran and drank and drank and drank. I finally got her leash on, and took her out... and just as she was getting ready to do her business, lightening flashed, thunder boomed and firecrackers exploded.... literally all at the same time. She totally freaked out, and through herself at the door. My heart was aching for her. Russell said he'd take her out, because we knew that she had to GO.
Well, that was a bad idea... because the storm was really gathering steam, and the firecracker loving diehards in our neighborhood were still going at it. She was so upset that she almost dragged Russell down. They came inside and she flew into the den where she feels safest. I was frantic about her... she was so stressed, and I know how bad stress can be. I remembered the peppermint oil I had purchased in the spring, and grabbed it. I couldn't find any cotton balls, so I grabbed some paper towels and went and sat next to her. I poured some of the oil onto one of the pieces of paper towel, and rubbed it into the pads of her front paw. She wasn't thrilled by this, but she let me. I then took her other front paw and did the same.
The stuff is strong, and the entire room smelled like a peppermint shop. Yelda got up and went to drink some more water... and then came back and licked her feet. I do think that it helped her to calm down. She was still panting, because her body had gotten so hot. So I casualy fed her ice cubes to help cool her down. Russell thinks that I've babied her and that's made her worse. But I dont' think so. In researching for my blog on firework safety, I read horror story after horror story... and some dogs have died from heart attacks caused by stress. And, big dogs such as Newfoundlands can also bloat... and there is the possibility of stress causing bloat. So I wasn't willing to take any chances.
A couple of hours passed, and we were exhausted and wanting to go to bed. Yelda was resting comfortably at my feet, but the weather reports showed the possibility of more storms. Deciding not to take any more chances, I put Yelda to bed in her crate, and then gave her 1 Melatonin... a natural sleep aide that is also good in reducing stress. Many people used this for pets who fear storms and fireworks. Yelda settled and had a quiet night.
It's now the morning after, and I am feeling remorseful that she went through that. I'm glad we got home when we did. Yelda is fine. She got up and went outside without hesitation. She's her chipper mischevious self. And when she stole the roll of paper towels off the kitchen counter, instead of being annoyed, I was actually relieved to see that we're back a status quo!
No comments:
Post a Comment