Dog Questions

[Phoebe]

Our previous dog had separation anxiety and other such issues, but as long as she was with you, she had no worries about fireworks. I don't think she loved them, but she didn't freak out either.

Current doggo was doing fine last year - the one before doesn't really count because he was an emotional mess after rescue for a while anyway. But last year he made it through the fourth without too much problem. He was stressed and preferred to be indoors, but also came outside and seemed to be tolerating overall.

This year a total meltdown is in progress, getting increasingly worse as more people are starting to let off more fireworks approaching the holiday. The little fella is shaking at night sometimes when they go off, in full flight-panic mode when he's on a walkies with Dad and they hear loud booms in the neighborhood. He is also chewing through his own foot, which is a very negative crisis. I get you, kid, for some reason we humans are often attracted not only to dogs that resemble us, or the people we find cute, but to those which share our particular mental issues. Now what to do, fearful OCD dog? It does seem that reassurance makes his problem worse, like the more you assure him the more he requires assurance, spiraling downwards into the total basket case scenario. But if you don't reassure him, that doesn't exactly help. You can ask him to perform his commands, get treats, you know, soothing jobs, etc. The doctor prescribed Benadryl in case allergies are part of the foot problem, with a side effect of slight chilling out, but very little chilling occurred. Would you go for a stronger chill pill of some sort? What worries me is that he seemed more fearful along with being more chill. He was sleepy in his bed, but also nervous, like failure to be in command of his situation was only making him more anxious despite the temporary improvement in foot-gnawing.

I think I can solve the foot-chewing problem by simply threatening to put a sock on his foot every time he tries it, and he hates that sock and holds his foot in the air piteously when I put it on, as if to SHOW me how horrible the result is by displaying the stocking foot in its full glory. Yet the underlying anxiety will manifest in some other way and that's what we need to work on for the next week, at least, until this July 4 noise subsides. Not sure what to do.