Does anyone else have dogs who are afraid of thunder and lightening?

[Raven]

My Newfoundland who weighs 120 lbs. seems to hear the rumble of thunder before I do and she tries to get under the beds. Since she's too big for that, she just moves the furniture around. The older dog tries to get into the closets. We haven't had a real severe storm yet this summer but I know we will. Any ideas on how to calm these dogs down? (I don't think that their behavior is bad enough for drugs.)

[Drifter]

1. Yep ...

and she usually knew it was coming before we did. She would cower and shake. Unfortunately, when we were not home, her only goal was to get the hell out of the house. This lead to 2 incidence where she blew through a screen window on the second floor. It also lead to one occasion where she ran away. She was located 5 days later, and 15 miles away.

Finally, we asked the vet, and he gave us a sedative to give her before storms. It pretty much made her loopy. But she was no longer even aware of storms. She would just sleep.

She was a black lab mix. Unfortunately, she died about a year ago (of old age).

Cheers
Drifter

[Isome]

2. How annoying is that...

I have a beautiful, but ferocious looking, pit bull/chow mix (don't ask how, I just adopted it) that follows you everywhere when it's thundering and lightening, or on holidays when fireworks are being set off outside. He'll try to crawl under every chair or bed in the room you're in, or if you walk around he's right behind you stepping on the heels of your shoes. He's only about 70 lbs, but he's big enough to knock chairs over when he gets bound and determined to get underneath it. Sometimes he scratches at the carpet, as though he's trying to dig something up, but he only does it during a storm. (Does anyone know what that's all about?)

I sure do love that dog, and I go out of my way to reassure him that everything is fine with extra pats and soft words, but that scary bit he does is so annoying.

[bushh8ter]

3. Yes - I have a pomerian who pants and shakes

and tries to get under the furniture or in your lap. Fortunately she is small :)

[WCGreen]

4. I think all dogs are frightened by noises they can not

follow.

My sister is a nurse and she gives her dog, with permission from the Vet, small doses of Valium...

Funny, my cats are never upset about thunder. They do, however, seem to notice when the wind picks up......

[Love Bug]

5. One of my cats is afraid of thunder

she heads for the basement at the first distant "boom." My other cat doesn't seem to care unless the thunder is close enough to make everyone jump.

[zbird]

6. My dog is terrified of thunder.

He exhibits pretty much all of the above behavior. He follows me around or sits on my feet or crawls in my lap. If the storm is at night, he will burrow under the pillows on the bed (of course, my head or my husband's head is ON TOP of the pillows). It's kind of like having "magic fingers" on the bed.

The dog also has separation anxiety issues too. We got him when he was only about 2 months old. Prior to us adopting him, he had been with three other families who decided they didn't want him. We never could understand that. When he was a puppy he was nice and calm. A real fluffball and lover.

We don't do the medication routine. We just help him ride it out.

[Isome]

7. I found this

from .::healthypet.com::.

What to do
Your best bet for helping your pup overcome his thunderstorm fears is to talk to your veterinarian. He can help you develop a program to gradually retrain your scaredy dog by gradually, gently helping him adjust to storms through behavior modification. Technically called "systematic desensitization," this involves exposing the storm-phobic dog to some gentle reminders of a thunderstorm, such as a very soft tape recording of thunder or a flashing light, and rewarding the dog with lots of treats, attention, and other positive reinforcement only if there's no evidence of anxiety. Over time, the intensity of the stimulus is increased, and only calm behavior rewarded. You should get profession guidance, either from a veterinarian or a veterinary behavior specialist, before you begin this process, however. If you introduce frightening stimuli too quickly or don't see signs of fear your dog may be showing, you could possibly end up making the phobia worse.

And, this from .::pethelp.net::.

If your dog is afraid of storms, you can buy a recording of thunderstorms and adjust the volume over the course of a half hour while playing with a ball or feeding him. The dog will NOT think the recording is a real storm. Storms include changes in temperature and barometric pressure so the recording is just a good first step to reduce his fear of the sounds that accompany a storm. Again, act happy and reward all interactive behavior while ignoring all anxious behavior. During a regular storm, offer your dog the same rewards for calm behavior. If your dog is usually motivated by food but won't eat during a storm, wait until you see lightning and offer a delicious food treat that takes a moment to chew. Your dog will be gulping it down just as the thunder claps, perfectly timing the reward for NOT being afraid.

Not the most detailed information, but it's a start...

[noonwitch]

8. Both my dog and cat are afraid

They climb all over me when there is a storm. My dog, especially has problems and if she isn't trying to lay in my lap (she weighs 45 pound, it's not really possible), she's sitting on my feet and leaning against my leg. She reacts the same way to firecrackers.

[molly]

9. Des hates the firecrackers

but seems to be OK with thunder although she will not go out in the rain. Drs.Foster and Smith have a few holistic calming remedies. In case the link doesn't work - go to their site - click on dogs - then search on "calm".

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/search/search_action.cfm

[Imalittleteapot]

10. Standard Poodle goes to the bathroom

in thunderstorms (no, he doesn't pee) and snuggles up next to the bathtub always minutes before we are aware of bad weather.
The schaunzer is not afraid of storms, but shakes violently when the vacuum cleaner is on. Both are adopted and abused by previous owners.

[Monte Carlo]

11. We used to find my dog in the shower...

... whenever a thunderstorm passed by. The dog I used to have, Seamus, was a mostly-labrador retriever that would quietly sneak off with his tail between his legs whenever thunder was bad and hide in our shower. We had to drag him out. He wasn't afraid of much, but loud booming noises scared him.

[DemExpat]

12. YES!

ALthough at 14 years old his hearing is starting to go, so he has less trouble with it.....

Valium made my dog super-agitated....like he was protesting the drugged feeling.

What helps us best is putting calming herb extract drops in his drinking water. If the storm hits suddenly, I squirt some in his mouth mixed with water since he won't drink when he is terrified...

The herbs in the drops we like best (not made specifically for animals, just the ones we take as well when we are stressed or nervous) are a blend of Valerian, Passionflower, and Hop.

Sometimes I keep him on this stuff for several days - like when he has to go stay with my mother-in-law while I vacation, or during and after an epileptic fit, which he has not had in over a year since I teated him homeopathically for this!

DemEx

[MissMillie]

13. When I was little....

We had a Keeshund who was terrified of thunderstorms. We had a front porch and we'd go out and sit w/ him and pet him to make him feel better.

[Raven]

14. Thanks Everybody!

I guess I'm not alone. I'm going to talk to my Vet and maybe try the herbal remedies that were suggested. I also may clear out a closet and put the dog bed in there for both of them. Thanks again.

[Gman]

15. OH yes...

I've rescued my dogs from the pound a couple of times after they dug under the fence to run away during a storm. I poured concrete along the perimeter of the fence and stopped that.

Once the biggest dog, a shepard mix, left for a month before she mysteriously came home.

One summer night last year she was pacing and panting like she does during a storm on what appeared to be a perfectly clear night. We went inside later and saw on the weather radar a small thunderhead about 30 miles from here. She apparently actually "heard" the thunder from this storm. We now call her our "weather dog".

[MountainLaurel]

16. Dear departed Dexter

My parents' old lab mix (part black lab/part horse) used to squeeze his 130-pound self under the bed during thunderstorms, when the neighbors were shooting off guns on holidays, etc. He'd lay down in the space between the bed and the wall, and push his paws against the wall to push himself under the bed. Only problem: no way to pry himself back out. So, when the noise was over, he'd cry until one of my parents heard him and came to lift the mattress so he could squeeze back out.

Happy Friday everyone!

:toast:

[Breezy du Nord]

17. My old dog hated any type of storms

He was a golden and was normally very calm, except in storms. He died of cancer and now our two new dogs don't really care, but Lily can't stand fireworks. She was hilarious on the 4th.

[trof]

18. It's a fairly common problem

Nasha is a 75 pound German Shepherd. She has clawed the trim away from a door and dug a hole through drywall trying to "get away". We tried the thunderstorm CD, so-called "soothing massage" (actually have a video of this) and nothing worked. Tried tranquilizers which made her loopy and wobbly. Still frightened though.
Just staying with her and talking to her and calming her works best. Sometimes Mrs. t. will actually go sit in a closet with her. whew

Of course this means that someone must stay home with her (we're retired) when there is a thunderstorm in the area. Keeps us on a pretty short leash.

I think the noise is what scares them, but they learn to be excellent weather forecasters. I think it's a combination of pressure and electrical charge changes. She goes to the door and scratches, but doesn't want out. just sticks her nose out the door for a weather check. She's 12 now and about stone deaf, so it doesn't bother her as much. still does those weather checks though.
Good luck.

[Robb]

19. Sister hates it, brother doesn't notice

My girl husky used to really freak out, but two things happened to calm her down.

First, once she ran outside in the middle of a storm when I was telling her to come back. Right after I yelled "Come", and she kept going, the thunder and flash happened right over us, terribly loud! She ran back in like I had the biggest "clicker" in the world. :) I gave her a little treat for coming.

The second thing was I try to "work" with them whenever they're stressed -- out comes the clicker and the treats, and we work on commands. It takes their minds off the thunder, and they feel better when they've got orders and a plan!

[leftofthedial]

20. yep

Basinji mix cowers and shakes and is totally disconsolate.

Vet gave us a sedative for her, which helped.

[Coventina]

21. Oh boy howdy, YES!!

Sarah, our 50lb. Heinz 57 is TERRIFIED of storms. First she starts panting and drooling, then shaking, then she'll leap onto the bed (something she is not allowed to do, and never attempts at other times). She'll press up against us, sometimes it almost seems as if she's trying to crawl UNDER us!

Any loud, sudden noise bothers her, but storms are by far the worst! It's really a pain if it is the middle of the night and we're trying to sleep.

[retread]

22. Yes! We are trying DAP (dog appeasing pheromone ) and

it seems to have some success. He is still bothered but is not catatonic.

[flama]

23. Bruce hates thunder -

and vacuum cleaners, firecrackers, chain saws, lawn mowers, air compressers, and portable generators. In short, he hates strange loud noises. He has no complaints with loud music.

Bruce is a 12-year-old Alsatian Hound. (He also hates to be called a German Shepherd.) At 124 pounds, he's smaller than his father who worked for the County Sheriff's Department.

We avoid speaking German around him unless we're talking about cars or food. That's actually quite easy since neither Furry Murray (my SO) nor I speak German other than car names and food names.

We also give him an herbal tranquilizer (made with kava, valerien, and passion flower, along with a short assortment of vitamins) before thunderstorms and on holidays when the neighbors take advantage of the "buy one, get one free" sale at the fireworks store down the road. The one we get is called "Calm-Down" and is available at the supermarket just past the fireworks store. ;-)

Bruce doesn't really relish his "thunder candy" since it smells a bit like passion flower, but he knows that he'll feel better about the scary noises once he eats it.

Can't really blame him for being afraid of thunderstorms, though. We live in Southwest Florida. Thunderstorms often happen before much worse things - like hurricanes or floods.

When a thunderstorm pops up on my way home from work (that happens quite often in the summer), Bruce is usually slapped up against a wall in the hallway where there are no windows. Pretty smart dog, eh?

[Garage Queen]

24. My cats slink away and hide for the duration of any storm.

Personally, *I* like thunder storms. Then again, I'm weird -- I post here. :7