How To Calm Your Dog on New Year’s Eve
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The holiday season is in full swing, and there’s one more happening soon – New Year’s Eve! But for many dogs, this is one of the scariest days of the year.
The biggest safety tip is to not take your dog to watch displays of fireworks. Even a dog that hasn’t had issues with loud noises previously can suddenly get spooked and dart off.
Plus, their noses are very sensitive to all the burning smells that fireworks cause.
With the excitement of New Year’s Eve parties, and loud fireworks, it’s a lot for them to deal with! Read below for four products that will help keep them safe, secure, and calm their anxiety.
Essentials For Calming Anxious Dogs
How Can I Ease My Dog’s Anxiety?
Creating distractions is a great way to help your stressed dog through scary situations. Playing music seems to help Rico during car rides, so we make sure to have some tunes going whenever he’s having an anxious day.
He’s especially a fan of John Mayer, so we kick on the music and chill out.
If your dog likes to watch television, DOGTV can be a great benefit! They offer plenty of TV programs geared toward pup-interests. If your dog tends to get worried while you’re away, this could be a great distraction for them.
Engaging in an activity your dog enjoys is another great tactic to ease stress and anxiety.
If they’re extremely focused during training sessions, why not break out the treats and teach them a new skill?
It’ll keep their attention on you so they have less to worry about.
Puzzles are a fantastic way of engaging your dog’s brain and keeping them from stressing out.
The mental stimulation keeps them occupied and tires them out both mentally and physically. Click here for our favorite puzzles!
Use Lavender Oil To Calm Anxiety
Lavender essential oil is my go-to first step in relieving anxiety. It works great for both me and my pups! It is such a wonderful stress reducer, and can help relax dogs and humans!
Simply mix a drop or two with some coconut oil, and rub it along their back to help calm them down. The coconut oil to make a soothing skin treatment while soothing their stress. Plus, it has the added benefit of making them smell like they’ve had a spa day!
A Thundershirt Is Great For Anxious Dogs
Rico was a stressball when it came to loud noises, fireworks, and car rides. No big surprise, since we rescued him off a busy street in Puerto Rico.
To help calm him down, we purchased the Thundershirt. It applies gentle pressure to key points on the chest and back, which helps calm many dogs and can relieve their anxiety during thunder storms, car rides, and other troubling scenarios.
Calming Treats
Treats are always a good distraction, especially ones infused with natural calming ingredients such as chamomile and melatonin.
Roxy and Rico both like the way this brand tastes, and it seems to help take the edge off when they’re starting to get worried about noises like thunder. They view it as a yummy treat and are happy to take it!
CBD Oil Works To Ease Anxiety
Cannabidiol (CBD) oil is a non-psychoactive oil that’s made from low-THC hemp. It has been wonderful for calming my struggle pup Rico down. It has great benefits, and doesn’t make your pup high or drugged. To see how it can help your dog, read here.
We’re especially fans of KingKanine CBD oil. It’s made with krill oil, which promotes healthy skin and coat, along with a great boost of healthy omegas. Plus, it has lavender oil to give an added sense of calm to your pup. To order some, click the link below!
A Final Tip: Plan Potty Breaks During Quiet Times
We usually do a potty break around 10pm so they are inside and settled before fireworks begin.
Make sure to keep their tags with your address on phone numbers on them just in case they get spooked and dart off. Boomerang Tags (shown below) are our favorite since they don’t make lots unnecessary noise.
They simply loop onto most collars and stay nice and quiet, while still being secure.
Please have your dog wear his collar with your phone # on the tag. These tags are easy to get at most pet stores.