Maggie - McNab

We adopted Maggie at 4 months--over 3 years ago. I only can imagine what horrible things happened in her first months of life. She joined our family and is much loved. Her fear of loud noises has steadily increased. We tried many things: hemp, 'mother's milk' and tranquilizers. I don't like drugging her. I bought a big kennel to create a safe place for her. I covered it with a 5-sided black cover and several layers of blankets. The door is a flap she can go in/out of whenever she wants. I added cushions and pillows. Shortly after introducing this to her, I couldn't find her. Searched in all her safe spots...and was so happy to find her neatly tucked in her safe kennel. (one success) Then she stopped wanting to go for walks. It was then I started experimenting with just how well her ears work...they are astounding. She can hear me talk at a lowered voice when she is 50 ft away. How noisy our walking path is. I went searching for ear protection on line. I found Mutt Muffs. We've been using them for several weeks now. Well made to stay on. These have helped a lot. She comes to me now when things get loud and I put on the muffs. (And we continue playing outside!) Life is not perfect for this little angel...but she is surely loved (and is beginning to trust this as an unchanging fact). We are still working on making her life less fearful. (These muffs lessen noise, doesn't eliminate it.) Mona N.