I’m a few days late on getting back to everyone, but this year’s 4th of July was no less stressful for Daisy and Gretchen than usual.  This round was a bit different as we tried a natural stress relief called Rescue Remedy to calm the two and hopefully prevent Daisy from completely falling off the deep end.

Well, the Independence celebration was as expected, completely full of everything but the recommended safe and sane fireworks.  Sparks rocketing into the air followed shortly by an explosion that reverberated throughout the house.  By the way we are located in a county in California that has long ago banned the use of all fireworks because of  the incredible amount of dry brush, open fields, and farmland, etc.

At any rate, the pre-fourth festivities on July 3rd initiated our trial of Rescue Remedy in which we provided the recommended dosage of 4 drops about for each dog.  Approximately 2 hours later I decided to give another dose to see if I could witness a response.  The small amount of fireworks that night did illicit a nervous reaction, but they were rather brief so I could not make an adequate determination if the product worked.

As the evening of the 4th rolled around were provided a double dose to Daisy and single dose to Gretchen for the mere fact that Daisy is incredibly sensitive to the noise.  Well, I did not see any particular calming effect as she performed her usual routine of trying to jump onto book shelves, crawl under/into coffee and end tables, etc.  As 11:00pm struck, both pooches were sound asleep.  Was it the natural remedy finally taking hold or was it all the excitement and stress that put them to sleep?

I am not actually sure, but based on our experience it might be worth a try again on New Year’s Eve with an increase in the number of standard doses, i.e. every hour, starting around 5pm.

So, does anyone have any experience with a natural remedy that works or with rescue Remedy itself?  If so please let us know.  Otherwise our last option appears to be a visit to the vet for a prescription solution.

Her fortress of solitude, our bedroom, was the place Daisy wanted to be and that is exactly where we retired early for the evening. 

As a note of potential interest for those who also have dogs sensitive to fireworks, we are testing Rescue Remedy as a means to calm our two shorthairs.  So, I’ll let you know my findings after the true test tomorrow…the 4th of July.