Happy 4th of July--Keep Your Dogs Safe!

Since our yellow lab, Jasmine, has been such a great sport this past month (new puppies can be really trying for the "top dog"), I decided to hand over the writing reins to her today. Happy 4th! Ellen

Fireworks...Humans Love 'Em, Dogs Hate 'Em
This is my sixth year celebrating the 4th of July and I have to confess, it's not my favorite holiday. Yes, the flag bandana is nice and all, but the noise this holiday generates is more than a bit painful for me. You see, a dog's hearing is 10 times more sensitive than a human's. All those fireworks blasting away tend to sound like cannons going off in our ears. But we dogs understand...humans love fireworks and since we love our humans, here are three tips to help us get through this noisy weekend.

1) Leave Us at Home. I know, you've been working a lot and naturally want to spend more time with us this holiday weekend. Please resist the inclination to bring us to your local fireworks display. We won't mind if you leave us at home. Just trust me on this one...
2) Don't Lock Us in the Hot Car. This should be common sense, but I can't tell you how many well-intentioned humans have opted to leave their dogs in the car in order to save them from the stress of a fireworks display. Dogs can die within minutes, even with the windows cracked. So follow the first rule and we'll all be OK...
3) Keep Us Indoors. Like I said, we don't like the noise of fireworks. It hurts our ears and stresses us out. If we are left outside, even in a fenced-in yard, we may freak out and run away. For those of us who might get destructive, consider putting us in a crate or room where we can't hurt anything. Leave a radio or TV on to help us remain calm.

For more details on keeping dogs safe on the 4th of July, check out what the Dog Channel has to say. Oh, and one more thing... I know my feline brother, Kit Kat, doesn't like to admit fear of any kind, but cats don't like fireworks any more than dogs, so keep them inside this weekend. Have a safe July 4th weekend! Jasmine
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