Recommendations to reduce stress in pets due to pyrotechnics at the end of the year

The last weeks of the year are marked by various traditions, some of these promote family unity and are maintained despite the weather. In the case of others such as pyrotechnics, they have been displaced due to the damage it causes to animals and the accidents that are also reported due to their mishandling.

Faced with this situation, the San Francisco de Quito University, through the College of Biological and Environmental Sciences, organized webinars to explain the actions that citizens can take to reduce stress and the effects of fireworks on pets.

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With the title ‘How to reduce the stress caused by fireworks ?, the doctor in veterinary medicine and zootechnics, Gabriela Curipallo, pointed out that there are three factors that can affect the behavior of pets, such as the change of habit styles, eating and increased stress.

The specialist indicated that the changes that can be made in the pet will not give immediate results but must be done with time.

One of the recommendations provided by Curipallo is that of supplementation with tryptophan, which is generally not found in the daily diet. This will reduce territorial aggressiveness and nervousness because it will stimulate the production of serotonin and melatonin.

Another recommendation is to provide natural chamomile extract since it has an anxiolytic activity without causing sedation, relaxation at the muscle level as well as having a spasmolytic action.

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In the case of valerian extract, it should not be obtained at home. This plant reduces anxiety in addition to regulating heart rate and blood pressure.

The specialist stressed that this must be with an adequate dose that the veterinarian must establish.

“Let’s not expect an immediate change … it has to be a gradual change, a progressive change in nutrition,” he explained.

Another of the virtual conferences organized by the institution was about the effects of pyrotechnics on pets by the veterinary doctor and specialist in animal behavior, Verónica Cabrera.

In this the specialist explained that pyrotechnics can cause physical damage to animals such as the rupture of the tympanic membrane as well as the auditory receptors, tinnitus, burns and in nature there are forest fires. They can also generate fear and stress that can lead to phobias.

At the level of the nose and eyes, it can generate poisoning due to chemical particles.

Cabrera specified that the effects on them are stress, freezing or paralysis, destructive behaviors, desperate attempts to escape or hide as well as tremors, accelerates salivation, tachycardia and can lead to poor sphincter control, among others.

“The stress that the dog experiences during these pyrotechnic anxiety attacks is comparable to post-traumatic stress syndrome in humans.

In the case of cats, they will seek to disappear or hide. In addition, they have longer episodes of anxiety, urination problems, gastrointestinal disorders. In other words, the effects are more evident at the physiological level.

Cabrera gave several strategies that can lead to mitigate the situations, especially on December 31. For dogs, people can:

• Have a pretty intense foreplay session.
• Offer a rubber toy.
• Relaxing music or having the television on.
• Adapt a room for the pet with closed windows, reduce sound and visual stimuli (low light).
• Accompany him in the room.
• Use of pheromones that simulate those thrown by the mother when giving birth to the puppies.
• Use the Tellington Ttouch method, which is wrapping the body with a bandage or scarf so that it feels contained and protected.

“In this type of thing, there is no single magic solution but it is necessary to integrate several solutions so that together they can work on different psychological aspects of the dog and that way when the time comes they can handle it much better,” he added.

In the case of cats, it suggests:

• Resembling a burrow that is dark, quiet, and comfortable.
• In case of being left alone, close doors and windows well leaving him with all the tools he needs such as toys.
• Use pheromones. (I)