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How to Keep Your Dog Safe During Fireworks

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Summer can be a scary time for dogs. There is the 4th of July holiday with all the fireworks. And then there are usually lots of thunder storms in the summer with the booming thunder. Not all dogs are sensitive to these loud noises. I have 4 dogs. One of them is deaf and another one doesn’t seem to care. The other 2 are terrified of the booms and will cower in fear, or worse, they will freak out.

So how do you keep your dog safe during fireworks? Here are my tips:

  • If it’s an outside dog, please consider bringing him in for the night.
  • If you have a crate for your dog, move it to an interior room in your house that doesn’t have any windows and put a few soft blankets in there.
  • If you will be out for the evening, you might want to put a t shirt in the crate too that you have worn so your dog has your smell in the crate for comfort.
  • Put a radio on with calming music to dilute the booming noises.
  • If you don’t have a crate, then put your dog in that interior room but be aware, if he freaks out, he might scratch the door and damage it.
  • If you are home with your dog, comfort him by holding him close to you and speaking softly.
  • If you have time, call your veterinarian and see about getting some tranquilizers for your dog.
  • You can also get Anxiety Relief Drops. A friend of mine uses these for traveling with his dog with good results. My friend swears by these. They are good to keep around all year long for whenever you know your dog may be stressed out, like a trip to the groomer, traveling or 4th of July fireworks. Of course it’s too late to buy them for this 4th of July.
  • Some people have reported great success with the new calming vests.  The same friend I mentioned above got one for his dog from Amazon and he said it didn’t work for him so he returned it. But many people swear by it. It may be worth trying on your dog to see if it helps. Below is a picture and you can click on it or the link below to get more info about it:

Thundershirt Dog Anxiety Treatment vest
Thundershirt Dog Anxiety Treatment Vest

 

One other thing. Please keep your pet inside if you have sparklers or fireworks around. Or even if your neighbors have them. There have been so many tragic accidents with fireworks and pets, it’s just not worth the risk. This goes for any outdoor pet, not just dogs.

Have a fun, safe holiday!

Cathy

Ideas for 4th of July Celebrations

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float Independence Day is just around the corner in the US! What are your plans for the 4th of July? Most of us will go to the beach or the park or have a cook out at home. And then of course fire works after dark, if your area has them. Do you want to make this year special and more memorable?

I’m all for keeping with your traditions. Traditions are important for binding families together.

But you can add some fun new things to your holiday to make it extra special.

Of course the easiest thing to do is decorate with red, white and blue. If you were going to have a picnic, instead of the usual plastic tablecloth and white paper plates, get everything in red, white and blue.

You can even have your food in some of these colors. Have you seen the sheet cakes that look like the flag? They have white frosting, with blueberries for the blue part, and red licorice sticks for the red stripes. So easy and so cute.

You can have a 4th of July costume party and have everyone dress as our founding fathers. Although if you live in a very hot area, costumes might be a little uncomfortable.

Since it is so hot this time of year, if you have a pool or are near a lake or beach, there are plenty of fun things to do on (and in) the water. One of the most fun things my kids used to do was to have a water balloon fight with their friends.

Speaking of kids, one of my favorite sites for things to do with your kids for Independence day is http://www.apples4theteacher.com/holidays/fourth-of-july/ You can find games, coloring pages, even recipes for the 4th of July.

For the adults, make sure you have music playing, maybe play some Wii games, poker or board games. If you have an outdoor party that will go on through the evening, hang some of those tiny little white  Christmas lights around your deck or patio.

Whatever you do, try to find some ways to add some extra pizazz to it. Make it memorable. Start some new traditions.

How do you celebrate the 4th of July?

Cathy

Happy New Year

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Happy 2012!!!

I thought in honor of this brand new year, I’d put a video of one of my very favorite groups singing one of my very favorite songs which is U2 singing “New Years Day”. Enjoy!

 

 

How to Dispose of Your Christmas Tree

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Christmas tree It has been a tradition in my family for as far back as I can remember to pack up all the Christmas decorations and such on New Year’s Day. It’s kind of bittersweet.

On one hand I’m glad to get all the clutter of Christmas put away and have everything back to normal.On the other hand, it’s sad to say goodbye to the Christmas season for another year. But it needs to be done.

Okay maybe I’m a total sap (pun intended) but I think there is nothing sadder than seeing a forlorn looking abandoned Christmas tree laying by the side of the highway, dumped by careless people. I actually feel sorry for the tree. It seems it should have more respect since it gave it’s life so folks could have a pretty Christmas tree to light up their home.

I guess that’s why I stick with an artificial tree. I just hate the thought of a real tree dying. I also hate having to deal with watering it every day and dealing with the fallen pine needles, but that’s another story.

My artificial tree is easy to store. I used to just store it in it’s cardboard box but it got accidentally thrown out so I bought a storage bag for it last year, and I actually like that much better. If you want to check those out, Amazon has some nice ones here: Artificial Tree Storage Bags.

Some people will have nothing but a real tree for Christmas. I totally understand why. Live trees are more beautiful than fake trees and they smell so good!

Other than dumping your tree by the side of the road, there are better ways to dispose of it. Many cities will pick it up after Christmas. Call your city’s waste disposal department or check their site online to see what day they will pick trees up.

Unfortunately in my city, it’s late January so if I had a real tree, I sure wouldn’t want it sitting out by the road or on the side of the house waiting for pick up day for almost a month.

One thing you can do to get rid of the tree is to get a large tree disposal bag for it. These usually can be found at big box home improvement stores, garden stores or where you bought your tree. You will need to trim the branches so the tree will fit in the bag.

If you have a wood burning stove or fireplace, you could also cut up the tree for firewood.

If you have a wood chipper, you can use it to make mulch. Some cities even have mulching programs where they will use the city’s wood chippers to make mulch from the tree. Again call your city to see if it has a program like this.

Any other ideas for tree disposal that I don’t know about? Leave a comment and let me know.

Happy New Year!

Cathy