Lea-Ann Germinder at WVC 2018, 18 years after the launch of Goodnewsforpets.com at the Conference
Today is not just any day—it’s Love Your Pet Day, dedicated to cherishing our furry friends. But for me, it’s even more special. Today marks the official 25th Anniversary of Goodnewsforpets.com. This milestone gives me great “paws” but also fills me with immense pride and gratitude and the desire to spread love to all who have supported this journey.
The official launch date of Goodnewsforpets.com was February 20, 2000, at Viticus Group’s Western Veterinary Conference (WVC) in Las Vegas, but this was an entrepreneurial adventure from the start. In true entrepreneurial form, the concept for Goodnewsforpets as a portal site for pet news was developed after many discussions with technical experts. Concepts were scratched out on notepads during my many airplane travels when internet access on the plane was also a faraway reality. There were also many sleepless nights well before that inaugural launch day.
Back then, the world was buzzing about the rise of the internet, much like today’s conversations surrounding AI. Websites were the news, and social media platforms were still a few years away. The launch of Goodnewsforpets.com at WVC was a leap into the future—a time of excitement and innovation, but I had no idea what was to come.
Amy Shojai and Lea-Ann Germinder in 2020, 20 years after the launch of Goodnewsforpets.com
When we first started, Goodnewsforpets.com was fortunate to have the support of the Cat Writers’ Association of America (CWA) as our first media organization sponsor, thanks to Amy Shojai’s vision. Soon after, the Dog Writers Association of America (DWAA), with the legendary Mordecai Siegal at the helm, joined us after I met him in the Westminster Kennel Club press room at Madison Square Garden.
Steve Dale had already signed on as our very first featured columnist (I had told him about the idea, and he quickly and gratefully for us said – I’m in), and over the years, we had the privilege of working with Ranny Green, Mordecai Siegal, and Julie Lux as editor, and so many CWA leaders like Deb Barnes. Also, there are so many DWAA leaders, including past president Jen Reeder, who was installed into the DWAA Hall of Fame and who I recently interviewed. I have warm memories of these associations and the many companies and associations we have been proud to work with for sponsored content and pro bono educational purposes.
My focus the last few years has been on responsible AI research, and I am now entering a new chapter of focusing some of this research on veterinary medicine, which I hope will include sharing those insights with you. Through the years, we’ve covered countless stories, attended veterinary conferences, and published thousands of articles and press releases. I hope I can also bring some of those highlights to your attention in the coming months.
I am grateful that Goodnewsforpets.com remains a trusted resource for pet owners and the veterinary community.
So, as we kick off our 25th Anniversary Year, I invite you to celebrate with us! Whether you’ve been with us since the beginning or just discovered us, thank you for being part of this journey. Here’s to celebrating our 25th anniversary year. It feels pretty darn good.
Spreading the love, another look at my recent guest interview with Jen Reeder:
Is your dog scared of fireworks? Don’t wait until the holiday hits. Even with just a couple days’ lead time, you can make a plan and take action now to help your dog be less afraid of the unpredictable scary sounds of fireworks, firecrackers, whistles, and even guns.
Get Ready
Here are some things you can do starting today or tomorrow.
1.Check into medications. If your dog gets very anxious about noises and you have never talked to your vet about it, do so now. He or she may be able to prescribe something to help. And if you can’t get in before the holiday, do your best with some of the other ideas here to get through it and call your vet as soon as you can. This is a long-term problem. Sound phobias tend to get worse and are not something to be taken lightly.
2. Countercondition to noises. Get some great treats and start carrying them around. Whenever there is any kind of sudden or startling noise, including stray bangs and booms as people test their noisemakers, rain treats down on your dog. Use those special treats only for noises; don’t pass them out for nice behavior (use something else for that!), and don’t ask for any particular behavior from your dog when the noise occurs. Just give the special treats.
You may wonder why I am not recommending buying an app, CD, or YouTube video with fireworks sounds to “practice” with. Performing desensitization/counterconditioning with sounds is tricky. People who haven’t done DS/CC before run a real risk of scaring their dogs further instead of helping them. This is why I am suggesting this method, which uses environmental noises that are happening anyway. It’s called ad hoc counterconditioning and there isevidence from studies that it is effective, including this study that is specific to fireworks. Save the formal training for after the holiday, when you can keep your dog safe from accidental exposures to the sound.
3. Create a safe place. Make (or adapt) a safe place for your dog. They may even choose their own! Refrain from trying to get them to come out or change locations, as long as it is safe. Keep in mind that the flashes of light that come with big fireworks displays can be scary too, so consider a method to temporarily darken any windows nearby. Also, please know that acoustic foam and even sound blankets don’t do a thing for booms. The big fireworks sounds can’t be “soundproofed” against except with materials that are much too big and heavy to use inside most houses and are not do-it-yourself friendly. Get the best protection you can in a basement or your most internal room. Despite the marketing claims, dog crates with walls a few inches thick can’t dampen low-frequency sounds to an effective degree, either. The walls of your house are probably five to ten inches thick and include insulation, but you can still hear thunder inside your house, right? But if a crate is your dog’s safe place, that’s great. And a blanket over it can muffle echos and create a cozy feeling for humans and perhaps dogs. Here are some examples of safe places for dogs.
4. Play sound or music. Experiment with sound masking to find out what is most helpful for your situation. Try some kind of recorded white or brown noise, natural noise, a fan, or music to mask the pops and booms. (Even a noisy food toy can be helpful.) This approach is evidence-based and is called sound masking.
And here’s a tip: the lower the frequencies included in the masking or music, the better it can hide those low-pitched booms (Kinsler et al., 1999, p.318–320; Gelfand, 2017, p. 187). So if your dogs are already habituated to pounding rock music, metal, or something else with a lot of bass or percussion, play it! And play it on your best sound system to include those low frequencies. It can mask some of the scary noises coming from outside your house more effectively. Before anyone mentions it: that’s right, heavy metal has not ranked well in the dogs and music studies, tending to make shelter dogs more agitated (Kogan et al., 2012). That’s not surprising. But if you play it already and your dogs are fine with it, they may be habituated. In that case, metal could be the very thing for you and your dog.
Taiko drumming is great if your dogs are accustomed to it. You can buy a few songs and loop them or find some on YouTube. But be absolutely certain that the music itself doesn’t scare your dogs first. If they are already sensitive to booms, it’s a strong possibility.
Household appliances can help. Most fans hit fairly low frequencies and can be helpful. You can run the dryer (no heat) with a pair of sports shoes in it for some booms that will probably be familiar and not scary. You’ll need to find the line of best fit for your dogs. And you can use several of these at once, again, as long as it doesn’t scare your dog.
Review studies indicate that music has only mild (or no) positive effects on dogs (Lindig et al., 2020). Also, all studies so far have been done in shelters. clinics, and labs, not in homes, where there are competing activities and reinforcers. Review studies have specifically indicated that there is no benefit to the “music arranged for pets” products. So the evidence supports choosing music for masking qualities, not for any claimed intrinsic relaxing qualities.
5.Practice going out. Make a plan for taking your dog out to potty. Do you know when the noise is usually at its worst and can you work around that? Are your fences and/or leash and harness secure? If your dog is not used to being on-leash for potty time, start practicing now, including getting the harness on. Dogs who are usually sedate may panic and run off on noisy holidays. Don’t let that happen. Keep your gates locked, your dogs’ ID tags on, and put some redundancy into your safety system.
6. Comfort your dog if that helps. LOSE that idea that there’s something wrong with comforting your dog, if that’s what your dog wants. Helping a dog through a tough time is not “coddling.” Assess what is most helpful to your dog: a cuddle, food or a fun game after every scary noise, some lap time, sweet talk, being in their crate with a food toy, or hiding by themselves in a secluded place. Then help them do it. If they want to hide, let them.
The best part of noisy holidays for Summer was spray cheese!Lewis likes to be close to me when weird noises are heppening
Gelfand, S. A. (2017). Hearing: An introduction to psychological and physiological acoustics. CRC Press.
Kinsler, L. E., Frey, A. R., Coppens, A. B., & Sanders, J. V. (2000). Fundamentals of acoustics. John Wiley & Sons.
Kogan, L. R., Schoenfeld-Tacher, R., & Simon, A. A. (2012). Behavioral effects of auditory stimulation on kenneled dogs. Journal of Veterinary Behavior, 7(5), 268-275.
Lindig, A. M., McGreevy, P. D., & Crean, A. J. (2020). Musical dogs: A review of the influence of auditory enrichment on canine health and behavior. Animals, 10(1), 127.
Riemer, S. (2020). Effectiveness of treatments for firework fears in dogs. Journal of veterinary behavior, 37, 61-70.
