dog is deathly afraid of storms and the mower

[blclifton]

does anyone else have a dog like this? we got Katie when she was about 1 year old. she is now 3 years old. she just started showing the fear of storms this spring. the mower she has always had a fear of. is there aything we can do to help her with these fears. we don't know too much about the previous owners other then she was passed around a couple of times in her short life, and she was even in the pound for a while.

[Canis-Lupess]

My dogs tend to attack the mower rather than be frightened of it. Something about smaller engines. They are the same with motorbikes, mopeds, anything that makes a similar noise.
Attacking the mower as you try to mow the lawn is common in Border Collies which is what we have, lol.

Fear of sound often develops with age, pups and very young adults often being unaffected and, even though you hear about these desensitisation tapes that you play with the sound the dog is scared of, I don't think there is much that can change a dogs mind about a really loud sound like thunder or fireworks once they've developed the fear, especially as these sounds can be well loud enough to make the house shake which a tape can't replicate.
Keeping the dog indoors and not fussing around her all the time is your best bet during storms etc...have her own little hideout thats dark like a crate covered in a blanket so she can go and hide. They prefer somewhere smaller that is dark to hide during these types of situations. for certain situations like if you know a big storm is coming, maybe something from the vets to calm her down. Many pet owners get something for their pets here in the UK for Bonfire because of all the fireworks. Several evenings in a row that literally sound like the blitz from getting dark to midnight or later.

With the lawnmower, just allow her to keep away from it and don't make a deal because this can make fear behaviour even worse because you are either further convincing the dog that the sound is bad news or you are actually rewarding their fearful behaviour so they'll do it all the more for attention.

[angelchampy]

I have the same thing with a dog I'm fostering. She's deathly afraid of the mower and storms. With storms, she either runs in the bathroom or under the bed. With the mower, she runs from room to room. The really dangerous part is this - for the entire day that the storm occurred or the mower was on, she is not right. As a matter of fact, the mower was done and two hours later, she tried to get under my legs as I was going out the front door. She almost got out. She never does that on an ordinary day - just when she's spooked that day. I am afraid to adopt her out like this. Some people aren't as careful and she may slip under their legs. I'm not sure if anything can be done about this either, but if anyone has any advice, it would be appreciated.

[Seravieve]

Fox News (not my normal news source) did a story on this.. since its severe weather season.. they were saying to just keep an eye on your dogs and not let them outside when its storming or going to storm... Or crate training them and keeping crated during storms. And they even talked about extreme cases where the dogs took Xanax... Weird... They said its not approved for dogs officially but some vets do prescribe it as a last resort.

My old dog was afraid of thunder and fireworks.. she'd hide under the couch... and she was a dalmatian. So we just kept her inside.. in a room.. so she was safe, while any of that went on.

I know my 3 now dont like the vacuum.. but they just leave the room when I clean.

[Taz_Zoee]

Our DJ was afraid of fireworks. And Zoee doesn't like the sound of the motorcycle. When she sees it outside she just stays in the house.

I agree with Canis-Lupess, ignore the anxiety. I know it sounds easier than it is, but if you remain calm during those episodes that can transfer to the dog and the dog will learn there is nothing to fear as well. Personally, I haven't learned how to remain calm in stressful situations with Zoee, so maybe I shouldn't be the one to give that advice. But that's what I have heard works.

Good luck!

[ratdogg]

i once heard a veterinarian talk about this. He suggested that you play a recording of thunder at a really low volume and play with the doggy. then over time (days, weeks, months) slowly increase the volume and continue playing with the dog. Hopefully the dog begins to associate the thunder with playtime and the fear dissipates...but then when there are thunderstorms the dog may want to play....so you gotta choose the worse of two evils i suppose