Help Your Dog Tolerate Fireworks

What's the worst enemy of man's best friend? For many dogs, it's fireworks. The loud sounds leave them traumatized. As The News On 6's Steve Berg reports, if your dog is one of them veterinarians have some new options.

Dogs aren't that much different from humans when they get stressed out. Medication might be the answer.

Arikka Finn says Roxy reacts the same way each 4th of July.

"Chaotic, terrorized behavior, basically terrorized," said dog owner, Arikka Finn.

Actually, the fireworks aren't just on the 4th.

"No, no, no, no. It's before and about a week-and-a-half after. And it doesn't seem to stop. With each 4th of July, I think it gets worse," said Finn.

She says all of her dogs are edgy, but that it seems tougher on the small breeds. It's not easy on her either.

"I can't sleep. I don't get enough sleep," said Finn. "They get a lot of anxiety, running around, barking, all hours of the night especially."

"This is real common. The week or two before the 4th of July, I'll get a couple of calls every day," said veterinarian Dr. Paul Welch.

Dr. Paul Welch says they used to prescribe tranquilizers for dogs, but the problem is they can take a long time to kick in and don't last very long when they do. He says vets are switching to anti-anxiety medications, which work quickly. In case you're worried about a puppy pill-popper, they are not addictive.

"It just works very, very nicely and it's been researched a lot in the veterinary market," said Dr. Welch.

Finn says she will put the dogs in an interior room where it's quieter or play music to block the sound of the fireworks. But, that doesn't always work.

"I have to come over here and get sedation medication for them so they don't, from Dr. Welch, to make sure that they don't go crazy," said Finn.

Xanax is the drug of choice for dogs, but Dr. Welch says that vets keep the doses small. They also keep a close eye on the prescriptions to make sure it's not being abused by people.