Have a Safe and Happy 4th of July!

By Julia Williams

On Independence Day, most people don’t bat an eye when they hear the pop-pop-pop sound of firecrackers going off all day long, or the thunderous boom of fireworks at night. Not me. As a “parent” of three cats who are terrified of those loud noises, I cringe when I see the garishly decorated fireworks stands popping up on every corner.

I dread July 4th and especially nightfall, because I live right across the street from where my town sets off their fireworks display. Those loud booms are unsettling for me; I can only imagine how scary they are for my pets, who have no idea what those noises mean. Are we being invaded? Is the world ending? Where can I hide? At that first boom, my skittish kitties make a beeline for UTB (under the bed) and I usually don’t see them until morning.

It’s made me something of a curmudgeon, hating the Fourth of July when I should be joyously and noisily celebrating freedom and independence like everyone else. Yet, more pets go missing on July 4th than any other day of the year, says the popular adoption site, Petfinder. Emergency pet hospitals also see an upswing of visits.

So while it’s nice to enjoy the backyard barbecues, picnics in the park and fireworks that have become an American tradition on the Fourth, responsible pet owners also need to take precautions to keep their four-legged family members safe (and as stress-free as possible).

Don't take Fido to the fireworks display. This noisy, crowded scene can create anxiety and aggression in even the calmest of canines.

If you plan to set off personal fireworks, be sure to keep your dog in a safe location away from the display. Too many dogs have already been burned and otherwise injured by fireworks; it’s just not worth the risk.

Keep pets indoors and keep windows and doors closed. If your cat is allowed to roam outdoors or your dog spends time in a fenced yard or kennel, on this day it is infinitely safer for them to be indoors. Also be sure they are wearing identification tags in case they do escape.

Puppy Party! A reader sent me this suggestion, which I think is great. Every time there is a loud noise, such as firecrackers or fireworks, loudly and cheerfully announce “Puppy Party!” Run to the cupboard to get their CANIDAE treats. Be excited, be happy, jump up and down, say Hooray!! It’s a party, after all. This helps your dog associate a scary sound with a reward, making a positive connection. I think this idea is worth trying with cats too, but I’m not sure it would be as successful.

Store fireworks out of reach. Fireworks contain substances that are harmful for pets and could even kill them, so be sure they’re kept where dogs, cats and kids can’t get to them. And be sure to clean up the firework debris from your yard immediately after your display.

If you’re having a backyard barbecue, keep your pets away from the people food and make sure your guests know they’re not supposed to slip Fido or Fluffy some of what’s on their plate. (I know, I know…those begging eyes are so hard to resist!). While a taste or two might not hurt them, some of the foods we humans enjoy could cause digestive upsets for our pets, and some people food is actually toxic. Why risk it? It’s best to make all people food off limits and just give your pet their regular food.

For pets that are frightened by fireworks, try playing classical music or turning the TV on to mask the noise. Some people have had success with Thundershirts, pheromone diffusers, and natural calming essences. For the truly terrified, it’s not a bad idea to enclose them in a room with a few of their favorite toys, a soft blanket and/or their comfy pet bed.

The last place you want to be on the Fourth of July is at the emergency vet clinic. That would be a major buzzkill, for sure. However, with just a few precautions, you can enjoy your Fourth of July holiday while keeping your furry friend(s) safe and sound. What are your plans for the day?

Read more articles by Julia Williams

Patriotic Dog Crafts for July 4th

By Tamara McRill

What could be more natural than pairing dogs with a day dedicated to independence, patriotism and love of our country? After all, our furry friends are the epitome of freedom, loyalty and love. At least that’s how my mind works, and so my patriotic canine crafting theme for the Fourth of July was born. These easy crafts range from dog-themed to actually for the dogs, with a little in between.

Uncle Sam Dog Hat

This was my favorite project, because it produced such adorable pictures and inspired the final craft. I started with one of those dollar store cloth hats, but you could easily make one from construction paper. Just be sure to have a camera and dog treats handy – I used CANIDAE Chicken and Rice TidNips™ to reward Wuppy for sitting pretty.

Supplies: Uncle Sam hat, white snow batting or cotton balls, glue gun, glue sticks, and 1 ½ foot of string or elastic.

1. Pull off enough batting to make two sections of pouf white “hair” to hang around your dog’s ears.

2. With the glue gun, glue each section to the inside brim of your hat, so it hangs down like hair, one section on the left and one on the right. Allow glue time to dry.

3. Pull off another section of batting, enough to make a goatee. Hot glue the goatee to the center of your string or elastic. Let the glue dry, then tie the goatee on your dog’s head.

4. OPTIONAL: You can also glue the string or elastic to the hat, like a chin strap, if you want your pet to wear the hat for more time than just picture taking. Loop it around from your dog’s head to chin, to measure the right length.

Firecracker Dog Treat Favors

Since I was handing out treats to get Dusty and Wuppy to pose for pictures, I decided they needed their own rocket favor containers. They were entirely too willing to pose with this craft!

Supplies: toilet paper or paper towel roll, small section each of red and blue poster board or scrapbook paper, white printer paper, scissors, tape, glue gun, 3 inches of string, and markers or paint.

1. Wrap the white paper around your toilet paper roll and tape it where the paper meets. Trim the excess paper off the top of the tube with scissors.

2. Decorate covered roll with markers or paint and write your dog’s name on it.

3. Take one of your poster boards or scrapbook paper and cut a half circle that is 3 ⅓ inches on the flat side. This is going to be the firecracker’s pointed cap.

4. Fold the half circle perfectly in half, tip-to-tip. Tape it where the flat bottom now meets in two sections.

5. Put a bead of glue along the top edge of your toilet paper roll and set the newly made point cap on top, with the point facing up.

6. For the feet: Cut out three or four identical feet from your poster board or scrapbook paper, for your firecracker or rocket to stand on. These should be an inch across at the top and taper where they will stand at the bottom.

7. Tape the string to the inside top corner of one of the legs, if you want a firecracker. You can skip this step if you want a rocket.

8. Cut 3 or 4 slits (depending on how many legs you made) evenly up the bottom of your tube.

9. Insert legs, with the narrowest point facing down.

Fireplace Banner

Fourth of July crafts wouldn't be complete without some flags, but I chose to do a fireplace banner with a red, white and blue motif. Of course I didn't forget the doggie spin! When you pick your patterns, it’s the colors that matter, not the actual pattern.

Supplies: 2 sheets of patterned scrapbook paper, 1 sheet of solid red or blue colored paper, 1 sheet of white paper, 6 to 9 feet of string or ribbon, scissors and clear tape.

1. Cut 3 triangles each from the patterned paper and 5 from the solid colored paper. Triangles should be about 3 inches on the flat top and 4 inches on the sides that form the point.

2. On the white paper, draw and cut out two bones, two paw prints and one dog profile silhouette.

3. Tape or glue one design to each solid color triangle.

4. Find the center of your string and tape the entire top edge of the triangle/flag with your dog profile to it.

5. On either side of the center triangle/flag, continue taping an alternating pattern of the rest of your triangles.

The final pattern of flags should look something like this: Pattern 1, Bone, Pattern 2, Paw Print, Pattern 1, Dog Profile, Pattern 2, Paw Print, Pattern 1, Bone, Pattern 2

Patriotic Feather Pooch Wreath

If you’re looking for a Fourth of July wreath in an unusual texture, feathers are the way to go. One word of caution: This wreath isn't meant to be hung outside.

Supplies: Styrofoam wreath or needlepoint frame, blue feather boa, red bandanna, white poster board, red, white and blue patterned square of scrapbook paper (I used one to match my banner), scissors, hot glue gun and glue sticks.

1. Wrap the feather boa tightly around your wreath or frame, gluing the ends together at the top.

2. Fold the bandanna into fourths. Loop this around the top of the wreath and glue the edges together.

3. Cut out a four inch star from your poster board.

4. Glue the star about two inches up from the bottom of the bandanna loop. When you hold the wreath up by the bandanna, the bottom third of the star should have feathers behind it.

5. Trace a dog silhouette big enough to fill the middle of your star onto your patterned scrapbook paper.

6. Cut out the silhouette and glue it to the center of the white star.

Made in the U.S.A. Plaque

Since all of CANIDAE’s premium quality pet food is made in the U.S.A., I thought it would be cute to include a craft that plays on that.

Supplies: White poster board or paper, cardboard, red and blue markers or paint, glue and scissors.

1. Cut an eight inch long and four inch wide dog bone from the white poster board and three identical bones out of the cardboard.

2. Glue the cardboard bones on top of each other. Allow time to dry.

3. Decorate the white bone with markers or paint, writing out “Made in the USA” and adding a paw print in the lower right corner.

4. Glue the decorated white bone to the top of the cardboard bone. Let dry.

5. Color the visible cardboard edges blue or red.

Fourth of July Dog Art

This craft was inspired by the Uncle Sam hat and pictures. It was obvious that, after getting a tongue-lolling patriotic Wuppy pic, I needed to make a poster of it. There aren't specific instructions for this one, although you could absolutely take inspiration from the three Fourth of July posters I made.

These were created in a photo editing program and I ordered poster prints online. The middle one would look great using actual wood and paint. If you don’t have any photoshop skills, just tackle the project like you would any scrapbooking page.

Another idea I had was to make an American hot dog menu, with a wiener dog and “Best in Show” ribbon. A colorful poster of American dog breeds would also be a great addition to the patriotic dog theme.

Do you have any other ideas for pet-inspired Fourth of July crafts or perhaps have made some yourself?

Read more articles by Tamara McRill

What Would Dogs Do If They Had Thumbs?

By Keikei Cole, Canine Guest Blogger

The other day the “Boss” was laughing about a holiday on March 3rd, If Pet's Had Thumbs Day. Visions of high fives and thumbs up suddenly came to mind. After thinking about it for a minute, I knew this was something I could sink my teeth into, so I decided to bark out my own list of what I'd do if dogs had thumbs.

You Tube videos. Yep, I'd film and post funny hooman videos. It's fun to watch those hoomans – such interesting creatures. I can see it now, Keikei, the internet sensation of the Doggiesphere, made possible with opposable thumbs. The boss is always cackling over videos of my canine cousins chasing their tail or doing a slow motion shake. I'd film hoomans in super slow motion trying to keep up with us at the dog park. Especially their face when we're doing something they think we shouldn't be doing. Hoomans can move pretty fast sometimes. BOL.

The remote control would be mine. I like to watch Animal Planet as much as any doggie, but it would be nice to surf for something else and change the channel without having to use my nose or teeth. I would go with an exciting canine action flick or maybe a canine thriller. And I'd have my own bowl full of CANIDAE TidNips™ and Snap-Bits™ to munch on. I might even sprinkle in some FELIDAE TidNips™ to kick it up a notch.

Texting looks sort of cool. I like the noise it makes. I'd text my doggie pals in the neighborhood to coordinate a specific time when we all howl. Oh wait, this is even better – we could stare at a wall and pretend like we see something the hoomans can't see. That always gets them.

You know how some hoomans love to sit around playing cards for hours? I'd get my own card game going! We would play the doggie version of Go Fish. I'm sure you've heard of it. It's called Go Cat. If we get the wild card, we have to chase a kitty up a tree.

If I had thumbs, I'd brush my own teeth. OK, I get the idea about brushing teeth. But what's with prying my mouth open just to shove some stupid brush down my throat? What's worse is when the boss sticks her finger in my mouth. Think about it for a minute, that finger has hooman germs on it!

Some doorknobs are impossible to open if you don't have thumbs. Imagine being able to open the door and pretend I was going to run away. The look on the boss's face would be priceless. Hey, now that I think about it, I could also drive her car. Who's up for a burger and fries?

It would be fun to learn how to run that carpet cleaning machine the cats don't like. That could make for an interesting afternoon irritating those fleabags while at the same time tidying up the rugs for the boss so I could get brownie points.

I could become a famous artist and paint a masterpiece. I would be known as Keikei, the Magnificent Canine with Thumbs. Yeah, I like that. I'd travel the world, appearing on talk shows and signing autographs. And everyone would want one of my paintings.

I’d learn how to play the piano and then invite all of my friends over for a midnight howl. I’d reset all the clocks in the house to different times and then watch the boss try to figure out what time it really is. Sure, that might be a mean trick, but think of the funny video I could shoot!

If dogs had thumbs, I could sit on a park bench pretending to read a newspaper or do a crossword puzzle while keeping a watchful eye for squirrels to chase. I know that darn refrigerator door opens, but so far I haven't figured out how to do it. Thumbs would make it much easier to raid the fridge for a late night treat.

Have you ever tried to catch a ball with a baseball glove on your nose? Of course you haven't. But if I had thumbs, I would change the whole concept of playing catch! Hmmm, I wonder if there could be a market in doggie baseball gloves.

Oh, the endless possibilities…if only dogs had thumbs!

My feline friend, Rocky Williams, recently pondered the question, “If cats had thumbs, would they conquer the world?” I think not…but don't you dare tell Rocky because he might claw my face! BOL.

Read more articles by Linda Cole