4 Natural Remedies for Fireworks Anxiety

Uh oh… Here we go again.  The 4th of July is drawing closer. I can visualize my dogs on that evening. As the fireworks blast Harriet freaks out.  She starts trembling and panting.  Her eyes practically pop out of their sockets. She runs for cover into a closet or seeks refuge in the bathroom behind the toilet.  I prefer to use holistic methods as opposed to drugging my dogs up as conventional vets have suggested the temporary use of Benadryl to do the same job for my dogs.  This infuriates me!  Unfortunately, this is not a part of conventional veterinary medicine.  Therefore, the majority of vets who limit their practices to conventional veterinary medicine have no clue about alternative treatments.  I have used several holistic remedies for my dogs.  As far as anxiety and nervousness goes, these remedies are the best.  I combine the following products on occasions that cause excessive anxiety for my dogs.

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Here are 4 natural remedies to alleviate that anxiety from the fireworks:

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1.  ThunderShirt

Healthypets – Affiliate Website

ThunderShirt applies constant pressure to the dog’s body which has a calming effect.  It is similar to swaddling an infant.

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2.  Dog Appeasing Pheromones – DAP

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HealtyPets – Affiliate Website

DAP is safe synthetic dog appeasing pheromones. It reproduces the properties of the natural pheromones that the lactating mother naturally provides to her puppies. The substance helps to calm and reassure her puppies and the DAP products performs in the same way for dogs who are nervous and frightened.  This brand comes in four different forms.  It comes in a spray, a collar, wipes, and an electric diffuser which you plug into an outlet.

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3.  PetAcoustics

HealthyPets – Affiliate Website

Pet Acoustics is a bluetooth speaker that contains a music compilation that is specifically geared toward the hearing and brain activity of dogs to induce calmness. 

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4. PetCalm

Native Remedies – Affiliate Website

PetCalm is an excellent homeopathic remedy made from a combination plant extracts and minerals. I find them to be very helpful. The formula comes in a spray and also in granule form.  Both formulas are taken orally.  PetCalm may also be combined with Problem Pet Solution to calm  and balance the dog that expressing anxiety through unusually excessive behaviors like hyperactivity, jumping, barking, or chewing.

Although I have no video for this product, I have used it for years and I have found it to be very helpful.  I have also used other products from this manufacturer as well.  They make homeopathic remedies for people which can be found in the Native Remedies section of the website.

 

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PetAlive & HealthyPets

4 Natural Remedies for Fireworks Anxietyhttp://essentiallydogs.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/fireworks.jpg

Puppy Mill Investigations

How can you know that a puppy store is getting their from puppy mills? It’s a fair assumption when a store has many puppies for sale and they receive stock on an ongoing basis. These stores get shipments of puppies like any other product they sell. This has been going on for too long and the problem is getting worse.  Puppies in pet shops might look cute, but people who purchase puppies from pet shops are products of horrible circumstances.  They might look fine, but they are subjected to cruel treatment (from birth up until they are sold from the pet shop).  Their mothers are horribly neglected and abused beyond imagination.  Puppy mills refuse access to veterinary care so prenatal care and nutrition is abominable and the puppies are born are at a huge disadvantage.  Pet shops who deal with puppy mills are lacking compassion, hungry to rip off unsuspecting consumers and void of any sense of ethics.

The Humane Society Institute for Science and Policy Animal Studies Repository has performed puppy mill studies and campaigns. You can read 101 Puppy Mills: A Sampling of Problem Puppy Mills in the United States to learn about the basics of puppy mills and their impact. Another exposé about New York puppy stores (a great majority of which carry puppy mill dogs) is called, HSUS Investigates New York Puppy Stores. It actually names stores in New York.  The stores were visited with hidden cameras.  Here are the results:

1. American Kennels
798 Lexington Ave., Manhattan
Refused to give breeder info; linked to puppy sources with problematic USDA reports, including Ruth Zuspann/ Zuspann’s Kennel in MO (see HSUS’s Dirty Dozen report update).

 

2. Le Petit Puppy
18 Christopher St., Manhattan
Gave one breeder name; linked to suppliers with problematic USDA reports.

 

3. Citipups
45 Christopher St., Manhattan
Gave breeder names and falsely stated that puppy miller/broker Sandra
Blake has “wide-open spaces” for her dogs. Linked to puppy sources with problematic USDA reports, including Ruth Zuspann/ Zuspann’s Kennel in MO (see HSUS’s Dirty Dozen report update).

 

4. Metro Puppy
103-23 Metropolitan Ave., Queens
Owner told the “shopper” that “legislation shut all that (puppy mills) down long ago.”
5. Raising Rover & Baby
1428 Lexington Ave., Manhattan
Avoided questions about breeders; review of health certificates and USDA reports show they use some of the worst puppy mills, including Brandi Cheney.

 

6. Pets on Lex
1109 Lexington Ave., Manhattan
Info on breeders obtained from health certificates; bad USDA reports.

 

7. Puppy City
2539 Ocean Ave., Brooklyn
Info on one breeder obtained from salesman; bad USDA reports on suppliers (see Lone Sycamore Kennels and others).

 

8. Puppy Petite or The Puppy Boutique
They have two different names, two different websites, same location address
8002 17th Ave., Brooklyn
Gave one breeder name – “It’s not a puppy mill or anything like that – we only work with private breeders;” linked to MO broker that buys from numerous kennels with bad USDA reports.

 

9. Yipity Yap
1802 East Jericho Turnpike, Huntington (Long Island)
Refused to give breeder info – “I have nothing to hide,” said the salesman three times as he refused to give breeder info; the store has purchased more than a dozen puppies from Brandi Cheney this year.

 

10. Vanity Pups
38-13 Bell Blvd., Queens
Gave one breeder name after telling the “shopper” that the humane society tells everyone that all puppies are from mills because “they want the money.” Bad USDA reports for suppliers, one of which is Lourance in Oklahoma, who has some of the worst USDA reports The HSUS has seen.

 

11. A World of Pups
540 86th St., Brooklyn
The HSUS has received more consumer complaints about sick puppies purchased from this store than any of the stores investigated; problematic USDA reports for many of the puppy mills it uses.

 

Some of these puppy stores are located in very exclusive areas and sell their puppies for top dollar.  I know of people who have asked for my advice.  Despite, they have chosen to purchase for a couple of the stores mentioned above. I practically beg people to look at my articles about puppy mills.  I give them the actual links.  For goodness sake, can’t people just take a moment to check?  Why not?  I just don’t get it.  If you would like to read more of my puppy mill articles, check out The Truth About Pet Shops & Puppies and Do You Know Where Puppies REALLY Come From?  

WAIT!!!  Let’s back up.  What is a puppy mill?  The following video features Charlize Theron describing exactly what a puppy mill is:

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The Humane Society recently published The Horrible Hundred 2015 – A Sampling of Problem Puppy Mills in the United in which the worst puppy mill offenders are cited for shocking violations.

So the most reasonable question to ask is:  Why aren’t these puppy mills allowed to go on?  The pet industry lobbyists, the enormous profits, payoffs to provide incentive for violation to be overlooked, payoffs to vets to discourage visiting, treatment, and reporting, and the list goes on.  When penalties are imposed, the fines are mild and have no impact.

Petfinder has brilliant search engine options!

So where can you get a dog?  Try Petfinder which is a wonderful website where I have found my dogs.  It is basically a database that has listings of dogs (and other pets) from hundreds (maybe thousands) of different rescue organizations.  You can type in your zip code, the breed, size, and the age of the dog you would be interested in.  You can also fine tune your search by checking off other options to make a good fit.  For example, if you have young children, there is a checkbox which will provide results showing dogs who are good with children. 

PLEASE do NOT buy dogs online or from other advertising sources (even in vet clinics) – especially if the seller is not willing to allow you to meet the parents of the puppy at their home.  Reputable breeders do not sell their dogs to strangers.  If a breeder is truly an ethical, reputable, and skilled in breeding, there would be no need to advertise.  I strongly recommend saving a dog from a shelter as opposed to contributing to the atrocities of unscrupulous breeders.  Reputable breeders will require that you spay/neuter the dog that they sell to you and will not sell any dog without a written contract to do so.  You can find virtually any breed on the Petfinder website.  Before adopting dogs, rescue organizations have their dogs examined by qualified veterinarians, who vaccinate, microchip, and spayed/neutered so the dog dogs are all set to go.  This is the reason why they charge adoption fees.  Dogs from puppy mills who are sold in puppy stores are not provided with even close to the amount of attention an healthcare as shelter dogs.  

If you MUST get your dog from a breeder, the best way is to find the official American Kennel Club website for that particular breed.  They have rescues that need to find homes and they have lists of breeders.  If a person is going to purchase from a breeder, there should be AUTHENTIC historical information that can be verified as well as genetic testing to ensure the genetic health of the dog.  This is testing and process of breeding over 3 or more generations of the dog is VERY costly.  Such professional breeders are few and far between and will interview you and grill you to make sure that one of their dogs will go to an appropriate home.  They absolutely will ask for references and they might require a home visit to determine if your home meets the appropriate standards.  In light of this, why not just rescue a dog?    

Sources:

The Humane Society of the United States, “101 Puppy Mills: A Sampling of Problem Puppy Mills in the United States.” (2014). The Humane Society of the United States Puppy Mill Investigations and Exposés. Paper 7. <http://animalstudiesrepository.org/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1003&context=hsus_pmc_iae>. The Humane Society of the United States, “A Horrible Hundred: Problem Puppy Mills in the United States” (2013). HSUS Puppy Mill Investigations and Exposés. Paper8. <http://animalstudiesrepository.org/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1002&context=hsus_pmc_iae>. The Humane Society of the United States, “HSUS Investigates New York Puppy Stores.” (2011). The Humane Society of the United States Puppy Mill Investigations and Exposés. Paper 4. <http://animalstudiesrepository.org/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1003&context=hsus_pmc_iae>.

 

Puppy Mill Investigationshttp://essentiallydogs.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Puppy-Mill-Poster.jpg

These Commercial Dog Foods Source From China

Now listen to this.  China has cornered the market on producing vitamins, supplements and even many of the inert ingredients that our pharmaceuticals are made with.  Yes, I have issues with products that come from China, but it is really hard to avoid them.  The big issue here is that when pet food products have that long list of vitamins and supplements that are added to their products, they are added because the food is processed so much that its nutrients are processed out.  Basically, our pets are living off of those supplements only.  Our dogs need their nutrients to come from the food itself, NOT from all the synthetic garbage that is added to over-processed product which is void of any nutritional value by itself.  Pets who are eating commercial diets (kibble and canned food) are getting their nourishment from those vitamins which are acting as an alternative to real food.  I am not opposed to supplements.  I add some supplements to my dogs’ food because I cannot provide fresh kill for their meals.  The best form of nutrition is raw which is most nutritious right after the kill before extended time, exposure to air and the natural elements affect the nutrients.

Being that manufacturers add so many additional nutrients, you would think that they would be careful to provide high quality supplements since they are providing inferior food product to make profits high.  After all, they care about our pets so why would any corporation or manufacturer do their best to take those profits and purchase ingredients from Germany, France, or Japan?  Yeah right…  The cost of supplements from those countries are exponentially higher.  These manufacturers have a conflict of interest.

To learn more about vitamin premix you can read my articles:  What’s REALLY in Dog Food? and Shocking Dog Food Research Study.  To learn more about raw feeding, I have many articles, but Dog Food – All About it covers quite a bit and I include information about what I have been feeing my girls.

I called several manufacturers and asked them if ANY of their pet food products contain any ingredients whatsoever that are sourced from China.  I listed the label names that the manufacturers produce.  I did not ask about each individual product.  I wanted to give my readers a general list of foods that manufacturers sneak Chinese ingredients into.  I feel that if a manufacturer is ok with putting Chinese ingredients into any of their products, it speaks volumes about the priorities of that manufacturer.  There are no ingredients that cannot be sourced outside of China.  It is purely a matter of making bigger profits at the expense of the health and wellbeing of our dogs.

I asked if there are any products that have ingredients sourced from China.  Getting clear definitive answers was like pulling teeth.  Here are some of their responses:

No.  They continue by naming their meat sources and where it is imported from and that the food is all made in the USA.

I then asked if any of their vitamins were sourced from China.
The answers included:

Yes, we get all our supplements within the USA.

I asked if they get their vitamins from a third party supplier.
They often replied:
Yes, but they are in the USA

I then asked where those suppliers source their products.
Answers varied:

Some of the supplier’s products come from China.
I don’t know.
That information is proprietary.
The suppliers get their products “globally.”
Of course I couldn’t resist to mention that “global” encompasses China.  They reiterated, the products are sourced globally and that they don’t know where.

The suppliers get their products from Asia.
I reminded them that Asia is enormous.  Contained in Asia is Australia, Turkey, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Russia, and (believe it or not) China.  They reiterated, the products are sourced in Asia and that they don’t know where.

We pay extra money to ensure that the products are NOT sourced from China.  Information about their suppliers is proprietary.  (Whether or not they were truthful, it is not possible for me to verify that information because it is proprietary).

Many manufacturers decided to interpret my question as they wished.  Those manufacturers required the third degree from me in order to get a clear answer.  Even after the questioning, some of the answers were still not definitive in that they did not provide answers that could be verified.  Because they I don’t understand why those people had such difficulty understanding that supplements ARE ingredients and by not acknowledging that, they are lying to the public (let alone their lack of knowledge with regard to geography).

Again, my question was:  Are there ANY ingredients in any of their pet food products that contain any ingredients whatsoever that are sourced from China?  I did NOT ask about each individual label brand of the manufacturer.

There are manufacturers that produce food that has no sourcing from China, but having dogs consume empty food that has supplements to compensate for its lack of nutritional value is just not right.  Dogs are not meant to thrive on supplements as their only form of nourishment.

I just want people to be aware of how common it is for manufactures to provide inferior nutritional supplements.  We are trained to avoid products from China, but look at what I found.  Our pets are consuming nutrients that come from supplements which are sourced from China.  These supplements are often the sole source of nourishment.  Something can be MADE in the USA, but it doesn’t mean that the ingredients are from the USA.

Manufacturer	Label Names	Sourced from China
Artemis Company	Artemis	Yes
Petsmart Label Brand	Authority	Yes
Breeder’s Choice Pet Foods Inc	APD Select Choice AvoDerm Active Care Pinnacle Trader Joe’s Brand	Proprietary Information
Del Monte Foods AKA – Big Heart Pet Brands	Kibbles ‘n BitsNature’s RecipeNatural Balance Milo’s Kitchen	Suppliers source globally – not sure
Diamond Pet Foods Inc	Chicken Soup for the Doglover’s SoulCountry Value Diamond Premium Edge Professional Taste of the Wild	Suppliers source globally
Dick Van Patten’s Natural Balance Pet Foods Inc	Natural Balance	Yes
Hill’s Pet Nutrition Inc	Hills Science Diet Hills Prescription Diet Hills Ideal Balance Hills Healthy Advantage	Yes
Costco’s Brand	Kirkland	Yes
Mars Petcare US Inc	Butcher Selects California Naturals Cesar Eukanuba Evo Goodlife Recipe HealthWise Iams Innova Natura Pet Nutro Pedigree Royal Canin	Yes
Midwestern Pet Foods Inc	Pro Pac     SPORTMIX Earthborn	They THINK their 3rd party suppliers source from Europe
Nestlé	Purina Pro Plan Purina ONE Purina Veterinary Diets	Yes
Triumph Pet Industries Inc	Evolve Hi-Tor NeoTriumph	Yes
Wellpet LLC	Eagle Pack Holistic SelectWellness	Yes

These Commercial Dog Foods Source From Chinahttp://essentiallydogs.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Mastiff-Eating-Kibble-photl.jpg