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Tips to keep your pet safe and calm this July 4th

Anxiety from fireworks is seen in animals every year, but there are treatments available.

YORK, Pa. — The dog days of summer can be a howling good time for your furry friends, but its not always a blast when the fireworks start.  

"Pets do suffer from pretty bad anxiety and stress,"  said Dr. Bryan Langlois, the medical director for Pet Pantry of Lancaster county.  

"For pets that are so scared they will actually claw their way through doors they will jump through plate-glass windows they will injure themselves."

In fact, he says every July 4th holiday, they see the highest number of missing pets because they get so scared and run away, trying to escape the noise.  Luckily, there are plenty of things you can try to prevent this from happening.

Dr. Langlois suggests putting your pet in a room that has a loud air conditioner or fan.  Turn on the radio or TV.  There are even YouTube channels dedicated to specifically distracting while calming your animal during times of stress.  Also, try giving them treat puzzles, kong balls, or catnip toys.   If none of that works, call your vet to discuss anti-anxiety medicine.  If possible, several days before you need it.

"Sometimes it does take a couple of days for the medications to come in, or sometimes we actually do want them to try them on their pets a day or two before just to see how their pets react, to see if we do need to adjust the dose or anything like that," said Langlois.

He also said improvement in the way medications are made is an important advancement making administration a lot easier for the owner.

However, before you try any of this, experts say solving your pet's anxiety could actually be as simple as sitting with them in the same room, so they don't focus on the boom.  

The Pet Pantry of Lancaster County is a non-profit organization that operates a Pet Food Bank Program, offers a lower cost/neuter/vaccination program, and supports animal rescue through their adoption program. For more information about what they do, visit their website, here.



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