Fearful Schnauzer

My 4 yr old Mini Schnauzer, Joe, is terribly afraid of thunder; he trembles so much it looks like he's dancing. Not joking too boldly, but every Mini Schnauzer I have ever met was FEARLESS of everything and anything! I only adopted him 2 months ago so I don't know much about his previous lives; I do know he's had at least two owners. We live in Houston TX, so this will continue to be an issue. Has anyone found caring ways to deal with a dog in this state? I hate to think of medication 4 months out of every year. I did hear you can take the dog outside during a T-storm, as long as it's not raining too hard and play with them, sort of take their mind off the noise. The only trick to this is that Joe doesn't play much. He doesn't even chase a ball (poor baby). I don't know what this guy has been through but we love him to pieces and want to help him through his terror. Thanks, K-Shea.

Hi K-Shea,

One of my dogs hates thunder too.
She ruined our back door trying to get
inside the house while I was at work.
I started leaving her in the house during rain
storms after that.
I heard you can play a CD/tape of thunder over and
over and try to desensitize. I never tried that.
I am curiouse what others do too.

My grandparents dog used to run under the sofa at the first sight of dark clouds, he nerver out grew it. I always felt so sorry for him, because you could not comfort him.

Welcome to Pet Talk K-Shea A.L. you'll love it here!

Hi K-Shea, Welcome to PetTalk, I can't give you much help but I do have two Mini Schnauzers, Miss Daisy and Perry. So far we haven't had that problem, but when the 4th of July fireworks go off, they don't like that and we play some music or the T.V. to drown out the noise.
Not knowing what your Schnauzer has gone through, I'm sure it will take time for him to gain trust and understand that he is safe.
Good luck with your baby, You are in good hands now.
Jackie, Miss Daisy and Perry

If you dog is alone during the day and you know there are thunderstorms coming through....Kennel them. Kenneling for 8-10 hours is not a bad thing. It is actually helpful in situations like this and can prevent injuries.

In the meantime, if you hear a thunderstorm coming, sit outside with your pet, pet her until she is comfortable. When she begins to stress take her inside. You will have to do this continuosly until she begins to feel safe. It will take some time.

If this doesn't work, ask your vet about benedryl tablets. It takes the edge off and mellows them out a little.

Good luck

This post reminds me of a GSD my grandparents had when I was a kid. I was terrified of him, but he was a nice dog.

Otto was a huge GSD and a great guard dog. He was fearless, but when he hear thunder, that was it! He would freak out and have to come inside and sit on my Granfather's lap. Imagine!

Reggie has always been scared of noises and strange things....thunder, fireworks, balloons, plastic bags, and well, basically anything that looks or sounds odd. Most of it is probably because of my sister teasing him when he was a puppy or something. I don't think there is much help for him now, he's too afraid, I don't think we could break him of it. But we love the little chicken anyway. Oh, and he is a 9 year old schnauzer.