Prozac and ThunderShirts: Keeping dogs calm for prolonged July 4 fireworks

With July 4 approaching, a handsome but skittish German short-haired pointer named Jake is stocked up on his Prozac. He'll be wearing a weighted vest at all times for at least a few days, and he will be on an extended leash most of the time with his owner, Eckerd College biology professor Liza Conrad.

This is what it's like to live with an anxious dog as Independence Day approaches.

"He ate through a pair of vintage French doors when he was home by himself in a thunderstorm," Conrad said. "When he is scared, he is just very, very destructive. I can see why a lot of dogs run away during fireworks. You can tell by his face it's like, 'We have to get out of here. It's not safe.'?"

Owners of nervous dogs are bracing themselves for July 4 as their pups shiver at the sounds of fireworks. With Independence Day falling on a Wednesday this year, explosions will start as soon as this weekend in some neighborhoods.

"I always hope for rain -- for the whole week," said Mary Ann Engelmann, who runs the Sheldegren Pet Resort in Safety Harbor. People take them so lightly, but it is explosions and fire. Don't forget it also affects people with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, so we need to be considerate of people who have been through traumatic experiences, too."

Conrad has run up against a dismissive, "they are just dogs," mentality even among veterinarians. She has left two practices because the doctor didn't appreciate the seriousness of anxiety, she said.

"One even refused to refill Jake's prescription for Prozac when we knew it was helping him," Conrad said. "Our vet now always asks about Jake's anxiety and will suggest new things to try when they come out."

Nash McCutchen of the Humane Society of Tampa Bay said fireworks drive many dogs to run away.

"We do see a big increase in stray intakes both the week leading up to July 4 and the week of July 4," McCutchen said.

Engelmann plans to put on music to distract the dogs in her care at the kennel, and found in past years that the other dogs in her kennel can have a calming effect on the more skittish ones.

Animal behaviorists say that because fireworks are loud and unexpected, many dogs perceive them as a threat, which triggers their "flight" response and causes them to run, or worse.

"When I worked in emergency care, we had dogs who would jump through windows," said veterinarian Kristen Brauer of Clearwater's Sunshine Animal Hospital. "Even though it seems counter-intuitive, most dogs will want to run outside when they get frightened."

Just like humans with anxiety, some dogs are prescribed Valium and Xanax to calm nerves. Brauer said she has also gotten good results with a new drug called Sileo, an anti-anxiety drug designed specifically for noise phobia. It's about $34 for a syringe, but she likes that it comes in a tube with a plunger to administer based on the dog's weight, it doesn't seem to have residual side effects and it takes effect pretty quickly.

There are shelves full of doggy downers in most pet stores and Brauer said many of her clients have had good results from natural supplements and over-the-counter remedies such as Adaptil, Zylkene, Rescue Remedy, melatonin and also hemp-oil derived CBD products such as Swamp Yeti.

The Humane Society recommends heavy vests such as ThunderShirts that run $20-$40 and have a calming effect on anxious dogs.

"What I tell most clients is to use a combination," Brauer said. "Be prepared with a thunder vest, have their Xanax prescription filled and try to distract them, play with a favorite toy, and put on some light music."

Etiquette expert Patricia Rossi of New Port Richey, the author of Everyday Etiquette, urges people to restrict their personal fireworks show to July 4 only.

"You don't need to be shooting them off the day before and the day after and on and on. Just get it all out of your system on the day of," Rossi said.

Contact Sharon Kennedy Wynne at swynne@tampabay.com. Follow @SharonKWn.

Tips from experts

• Keep your pet indoors or in a kennel. Let the dog help you decide what feels like a safe space.

• Make sure your pet has a collar with your contact information. If your pet has a microchip, make sure your information is up to date.

• See your veterinarian for recommendations for a sedative or supplement to help your pet with anxiety.

• You can make your own anxiety wrap using a kid-sized T-shirt tight enough to provide light pressure to your dog. You can also wrap bandages around the dog's various pressure points.

• Put on the anxiety wrap in advance of a thunderstorm or fireworks, so the dog associates it with positive events, like meals or walks. If you only put the shirt on when it storms, the shirt will raise anxiety as a symbol of a negative event.

• Take the dog on a long walk before the fireworks start or get some vigorous exercise.

• Secure locks, windows and gates before the fireworks start.