v THE HERALD - Your Community Magazine v 26th October 2023 • The HERALD • Page 57 ANIMAL MAGIC HELPING DOGS COPE DURING FIREWORKS by Rachel Clark, Little Rascals Dog Coaching What’s the big deal? Imagine you move to a di erent country, you’re entirely dependent on someone else, and you can only communicate through sign language which is o en misunderstood. One night you hear gunshots and strangers outside, your home is vibrating, there are ashing lights and you can smell burning. You think your life is at risk but you’re trapped. How do you feel? is is how many dogs experience reworks. Will comforting my dog make it worse? ink of something you’re fearful of. Now imagine when you show this fear, someone shouts at you. Did that make you feel better or worse? How about if someone o ers reassurance? Are you now more afraid or do you feel slightly better? Fear is an emotion, an involuntary physiological response that ensures survival; it’s not a conscious behaviour. Reassuring your dog might not make much di erence, but it won’t make your dog more fearful. Ways to help them through it • Walk your dog early and encourage sni ng rather than chasing. Sni ng is calming whereas high adrenaline activity takes time to recover from making it harder for them to relax • Create a den. Close curtains, put a blanket over a crate or a table, and give them somewhere to hide. • Play music. Sound a ects the nervous system of dogs just as it does in humans. Compare how frazzled you feel when you have building work next door compared to listening to your favourite music. Check perceptive and if you appear more vigilant than usual, they nd it harder to relax. • If you have a puppy, invite them to engage in a bit of gentle play. Play builds con dence and is incompatible with fear. • Di erent things help di erent dogs. undershirts can help some dogs feel more secure. Adaptil (a synthetic version of mother’s pheromones) or Pet Remedy spray (plant-based) can help by stimulating calming chemicals in the brain. • Speak to your vet about calming products speci cally designed for noise sensitivity. Some sedatives will make WaterCAN’s nal information sharing session for this year will be held on Monday 13th November at Hythe Community Centre, 7pm till 9pm, led by Shaun Russell on ‘Observing Climate Change: e Earlier Arrival of Spring’. is promises to be a fascinating session. Shaun grew up in Romsey and studied biology before spending 20 years in Africa as a university lecturer and researcher. A er returning to the UK he worked for the British Antarctic Survey and the Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology at the University of Kent, and then with the centre for Arid Zone Studies at Bangor University in Wales, where he ended his professional career as Director of the Botanic Garden at the university. Shaun led the team that produced the UK National Ecosystem Assessment for Wales and he recently received a team award for his contribution towards the creation of the 144,000km2 Diego RamirezDrake Passage Marine Park in the Southern Ocean. Shaun is currently retired and living in Dibden Purlieu. All are welcome. Next year’s sessions begin on 8th January, venue to be con rmed, when Lucie Mann will be leading on ‘Regenerative Culture’. Recent events have highlighted even further the need to focus on preventing and mitigating the impact of climate change. UK re brigades recently reported an increase of wild res from 9,000 in 2021 to 22,000 in 2022. Unfortunately, not everyone seems to have grasped the urgency of the situation. However, the good news is that help may be on its way from an unlikely source; scientists at Birmingham University have discovered that water eas can reduce water pollution by working their way through drugs, pesticides and industrial chemicals! Not to be outdone, Japanese scientists have discovered plastic eating bacteria! Don’t forgot you can add your views and ideas on WaterCAN’s Facebook page or check out their Website at e-voice.uk/watercan. Contact us at: Watercan2024@ gmail.com out ‘ rough a Dog’s Ear’, a series of music speci cally designed to calm dogs. • If you’ve got hard oors, put rugs down to insulate against vibration • Prepare chews and stuffed Kongs in advance. Chewing and licking are soothing, calming activities for dogs. • Be a calm, reassuring presence but at the same time, try to act normal. Dogs are Dog and fireworks (Credit Robert Goebel Dreamstime.com) things worse because they remove the dog’s ability to respond, but not the fear, making them feel powerless. • Keep your dog on a lead or long line for a few days a er the reworks. Stress takes time to recover from so they may be more prone to spooking and running o . • For a longer-term solution, ask for help with desensitising your dog to loud noises. is needs to be done very gradually so don’t start this on the 1st of November! For more tips and advice visit: www. littlerascalsdogcoaching.co.uk Or if you need help now contact me at rachel@littlerascalsdogcoaching.co.uk Update from WaterCAN Faure’s Requiem is always a favourite with one beautiful melody a er another and that is Southampton Choral Society’s next o ering on Saturday 18th November at 7.30pm in the comfortable surroundings of Chandler’s Ford Methodist Church. Since this is a fair distance from the Waterside area and not everyone wants to drive there in the dark, easy transport is arranged by the choir for those who would like to go from this area. All you have to do is ring: 023 8084 6125 to book a seat on a minibus from central Hythe for the very reasonable charge of £5 return and driving and parking worries can be forgotten. Tickets are priced at £15 (U21, £5) and are available via the Southampton Choral Society website: www. southamptonchoralsociety.org.uk or by phoning: 07709 265817. Do treat yourself to a lovely evening of beautiful music and take advantage of the minibus ride. ey hope to see you there. e choir is always looking for new members so you might be inspired to join them! EASY TRANSPORT TO A CHORAL FAVOURITE Fundraising Sale Doreen Hosey will be holding a fundraising sale at Jubilee Hall in Fawley on Saturday 4th November. e sales raise funds for the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance. The Body Through the Porthole Are you over 55 and want to make the most of life once you’re no longer in full time work by exploring and sharing new ideas, skills and interests with your local U3A? Across the UK, U3A members are learning, staying active and having fun in later life. It’s local, social, friendly, low-cost and open to all. Totton U3A is now open to new members so why not join them. ey meet every second Thursday of each month at 1.45pm in the Palm Room at Totton & Eling Community Centre. eir next meeting is on Thursday 9th November for a talk by Steve Herra titled ‘ e Body rough the Porthole’. Followed on Thursday 14th December for a talk by Dudley Stone titled ‘Cabin Crew Singers’. Various interest groups meet throughout the month to participate in learning and leisure activities and perhaps you can bring a new skill to share with others. Contact Christine Farleigh on 023 8086 2882 or email: cefarleigh@gmail.com for further information or just go along to their monthly meetings. Give it a try; you can be sure of a warm welcome! Railway Miscellany Railway Correspondence and Travel Society (RCT) and Mid Hants Railway, Solent Branch meetings are held in association with Mid Hants Railway – Southampton and Waterside Group. Meetings are held at the Eastleigh Railway Institute, Romsey Road Eastleigh SO50 9FE and commence at 7.30pm. e room, on the rst oor (sorry no disabled access), is usually open from 7pm. A bar is available for refreshments. eir next meeting is on Wednesday 15th November for a talk about Railway Miscellany. A donation of £3 is usual to help with the costs of the speaker and room hire. Non-members are very welcome at their meetings. Further details can be obtained from John Godfrey on: 07850 220009 or email: solent@rcts.org.uk Life Under the Veil Hythe & Dibden U3A meet at Hythe Parish Hall on the second Monday of the month at 2pm. eir next meeting takes place on Monday 13th November for a talk by Sandra Simmons titled ‘Life Under the Veil’. Sandra was a foreigner who lived in Iran prior to the 1979 revolution, marrying into a conservative Iranian family. On Monday 11th December for their Christmas Event with Robert Bone, Magician and Entertainer. Please email: membershiphytheu3a@gmail.com or visit: u3asites.org.uk/hythe-dibden or call: 07935 907456. ey are a friendly group so why not give them a go?
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