Scared of thunderstorms

[kittygurl823]

Are your dogs scared of thunderstorms?

Penny, my piebald mini-dachshund, is just terrified of them, she always has been but I think it's gotten worse lately.. As soon as she hears that faint thunder in the distance, thats it! She wants to be everywhere we are, she shakes so bad and sometimes starts panting, I feel so bad! I think it's to the point of talking to the vet about medication to calm her during them, that's how bad it is. Yesterday, I noticed when she was sitting with me shaking, her paws felt wet, like they were sweating! It's not rain itself, it's that darn thunder. My mom was reading an article in the paper about how piebald dachshunds tend to be scared of thunderstorms, I've been trying to find that on the internet but haven't had luck. I'm wondering then if it's common for the piebald dachshund breed. Kahlua is a black and tan, and a storm wouldn't phase him at all. I know that Brad's friends had a lab that would get so terrified, he'd tear through the house and shove the vacuum out of the closet and go in, they had medication for him when it would storm.

Is there anything else you guys do to help during storms or give to your dogs, instead of medications? I've heard of Rescue Remedy (from you all. lol) but not quite sure of what it is. Would this work? Hmmmm..

[Mallory]

I was gunna say that Melissa would know of that holisitic herb but that I couldn't remember the name of it. When I saw you say Rescue Remedy I thought "oh well" because I'm pretty sure thats what I'm thinking of.

Unfortunately, I haven't got any advice at all. Dakota is very lax about loud noises like thunder... (We take her to fireworks downtown sometimes and she isn't the slightest bit phased and all she is interested in is what kid in the crowd is going to pet her next.)

It reminds me of Marley from "Marley and Me".

Good luck with it, though, hun!

[RSbunny]

Cindy used to be the same...don't cuddle her etc. just go about like nothing is wrong, otherwise they get worse. We had herbal tablets we gave Cindy to help. She did end up being ok during storms at the end...our secret?





She went deaf

Sorry, that doesn't help!

[Mallory]

Carmen!

[Chrissy]

All the animals we've had are afraid of thunderstorms Unfortunately I have no advice for you, we just ride out the storm and comfort our dogs/cats

[Jade]

Gumbo was terrified of them as a puppy, but I made a game of it. Whenever it stormed, he got his favorite toy that was usually put up b/c it's SO annoying and he got some peanut butter. I didn't hold him, talk soothingly to him, etc. because that just tells them there is something to be afraid of and validates their fear. They look to their humans for guidance!

I was able to catch it early, though. Penny might be harder since she's a lot older!

[millie121]

My parent's Westie gets...emotional...with thunder storms. Is it fear exactly, I'm not sure. She runs the length of the house stopping at each window and barking, and will stick her head out the doggie door and bark. However, I must qualify that this is not all that much different from her normal terror behavior. Sorry, that's not much help.

Good luck..hopefully behavior modification with your pup will be easier than with the Westie of doom.

[HappyDancer]

my little babies aren't afraid of anything but grown strange men...but my big boy Puppers is afraid of any loud noises...hes afraid of the vaccum (attacks it) fireworks, poppers...but mostly thunderstorms...he just wants to be with us, does the panting and freaking out, we just put him in bed with us at night and during the day he just crawls under the desk at my feet lol...he then refuses to go out forever afterwards, he will hold it till hes about to bust, once held it for over 18 hours cause he was to afraid to go outside (hes never ever had an accident in the house) lol so I feel for ya...we just let him be mostly, make no big deals, we just simply go about things lol

[Razzi]

Smeagol is scared of thunderstorms. When he hears it coming he'll come running to mommy. I let him set beside me, crawl in my lap( which he is there 70% of the time anyway), or if I'm in bed crawl under the covers with me(he sleeps under the covers with me when he comes to bed) and he is happy. I don't do anything different if it was a sunny day and he comes running to get in my lap. I know he is scare of them but once he is with me I don't react to the storms or his fear and he calms down then chills with mommy.

[Scarlette]

Scarlette doesn't even hear the thunder and she starts panting and getting clingy. I think she senses a change in the barometric pressure and knows there's a storm coming!

I try to ignore the behavior because, like others said, cuddling and trying to calm them only validates their fear and makes it worse. Giving them a favorite toy, as Steph mentioned, is a great idea! I'll have to try that next time.

[evil_vegan]

Piggy gets nervous, and paces with his head and tail down till they are gone. His behaviour hasn't been a problem, so we haven't looked into anything. Sorry.

[kittygurl823]

Thanks guys for your ideas! It seems like alot of our doggies are scared of storms.

Aww Carm!

Quote: Originally Posted by Scarlette I think she senses a change in the barometric pressure and knows there's a storm coming!

I think this is what Penny senses, too. She starts following me around when it looks like a storm is looming. She did really well during all the hurricanes though. I think it's mainly that thunder. We had another horrible storm tonight. I've read to try not to make a big deal out of it, etc. I try not to, I let her sit with me and nothing would stop her from following us. lol! I'll try to make sure we don't act different by talking to her calmly, etc. I feel so bad she is shaking like that..

Steph, great idea! Although I don't know if it would work with Penny, for some reason she doesn't play with alot of toys! I don't know why, but she only plays with toys when taking away Jasmine's toy! lol! Oh yah, if it's storming around when it's time to eat, forget it, she won't even eat her food. Brad was eating Fritos yesterday and dropped one by his foot, and Penny was right there, she sniffed it and wouldn't touch it, not like her at all! I wonder if the peanut butter would be worth a try..

Quote: Originally Posted by HappyDancer he just wants to be with us, does the panting and freaking out, we just put him in bed with us at night and during the day he just crawls under the desk at my feet lol...he then refuses to go out forever afterwards, he will hold it till hes about to bust, once held it for over 18 hours cause he was to afraid to go outside (hes never ever had an accident in the house) lol so I feel for ya...we just let him be mostly, make no big deals, we just simply go about things lol

Ohh wow!!! Poor Puppers!!

[Shady1015]

... yeah, my schipperke gets really freaked out over thunderstorms. Sometimes he can even hear the garbage truck go by & will get freaked out cuz he thinks it's thunder. It's pretty sad. Just last night we had a storm. It kind of came outta nowhere too... ...like, I kept seeing stuff on the tv for severe storm watches & stuff for hours but nothing was really happening. ...until then all of a sudden around 9 it got real windy & like 5 minutes later the power went out ... -_- ...my dog doesn't like that either. He can hear everything shut down & gets even more freaked out.

but umm yeah. I guess what I'm tryna say is he's real bad about it & we do have to give him medication to calm him down. =|

[chocolatecoffee]

My girl, Panna, is terrified of them. I don't remember her being this scared last year, so she's also getting worse. She runs up to me and just wants to cuddle, but I try not to encourage the behaviour. Meanwhile, I don't think the other dogs even notice it!

HappyDancer's idea was great! Also, I give Panna Rescue Remedy before a long car ride, but I hadn't thought about giving it to her before a thunderstorm; I should try that! It's just a liquid with a dropper so I take a treat, put 1 - 2 drops on it and give it to her. I've heard some people say it doesn't help at all, but Panna does much better on car rides when she's had some.

Poor Penny...I hope you find a solution!

[epundt]

I have had lot's of experience with my babies being afraid of thunder. First - I bought one of those high frequency things that only dogs can hear. I used to train my dogs and their barking. After a few times of using it, I noticed that my 7 year old dachshund was really reacting to the sound he heard. Shaking uncontrollably, getting in my lap and as close as he could get. He also has petit maul seizures. He was reacting the same way he does when he has a seizure coming on. I quit using the thing . I had a Rat terrier that would shake so bad, if he had a flea, it would jump off. This dog was also afraid of gun shots. Couldn't take him hunting with us at all. If he saw hubby going to the gun vault, he would start shaking again. I notice that he would get afraid of the thunder before it got here. I used to predict the weather just by looking at him. Have you heard of hunting dog trainers talk about a dog being gun shy? It's the same thing.

Here is my conclusion: Because of the high frequency thing affecting my dachshund, I think the thunder also puts out a sound we can't hear. I have put cotton in my dachshunds ears and it seems to help a little. I also put my hands over his ears and this seems to help. I hold him close, cuddle him and tell him everythings going to be ok. This seems to help. I have a labrastray (lab and stray mix) that doesn't like thunder, gun shots or firecrackers. She's not as bad as the rat terrier was, but I also cuddle with her and this calms her down. She will remain nervous for a day or so, even after there is no more noise. I think it either hurts their ears or they don't understand the noise. It's probably like someone cratching on a black board to you and me. I never tried tranqualizers, but my vet said there's not much you can do except console them, let them know you will take care of them. I have 5 dachshunds and only 1 is afraid of thunder, so I don't think it's breed specific.