Thunderstorms?

[Alysser]

Oh trust me, the thundershirt was tight enough, he is just a Drama-King. He pretended he couldn't walk with it on. It works in the way that he focuses on trying to get it off by rolling on his back rather than on the storm.

Honestly, holding him makes it worse. He usually winds up hurting himself or us, by scratching us or something. I also think he is a little embarrassed by the way he acts. He definitely prefers to be alone. We have tried treats, more specifically, his peanut butter bone but that of course only lasts a few minutes!

I couldn't tell ya why some dogs react to storms and why some don't. I have seen both ends of the spectrum. Sassy never cared. She never acknowledged storms before. Mikey is the complete opposite. I would guess he reacts worse to fireworks because he doesn't expect them to happen, but storms he can sense earlier on. Dogs experience the storm much more intensely then humans. My dad jokes that Mikey wouldn't make a very good "gun dog". You'd guess that Beagles wouldn't react so much to loud noises since they are "gun dogs", maybe it's the Pug? My dads cousin had a few beagles for hunting and my dad was surprised Michael acts like this around loud noises, guess it just depends on the dog.

I could definitely try the blanket over his cage, I'll try anything at this point. Pom, we always put Mikey in his crate when there's a storm warning and Mikey is going to be home alone. Poor Sparky At least he likes to cuddle though! That must help him alot. Sandie, that's really scary that Sugar almost got stuck! Poor girl You must have been a nervous wreck.

[Karen]

I would try the thunder shirt again! It doesn't matter if he spends his time trying to get out of it - it means he's focussing on that instead of panicking about the storm.

[NAPSATX]

A key thing to remember with anxiety is that it works on a reinforcing cycle. Think of it as a cork screw that spirals up. The best way to stop it is to find a way to end that spiral. Calming works along the same spiral, so if you can start a calming spiral, it should start to reinforce itself until it gets to a much calmer point. The key is to not put any more stressful situations into the mix. Make sure you are calm about the situation and do your best to bring your pup in to a calmer situation as well.

[m.uh.notelppa]

My dog used to be perfectly fine in storms, wind, fireworks, you name it. She would sleep by our feet. Then, she snapped. Now, during thunderstorms, she will break through doors to get in the basement bathtub in our rentor's area terrifying their dogs. She has broken 2 crates- the first, she impaled her foot in the metal bar while we were away and we had to cut the crate apart with wire cutters. the seccond, she chewed her way through an airline plastic crate while we were out. She rips off toenails and goes into a panick. She has broken a window to get inside once in a surprise storm. She will run through the electric fencing. Nothing can controll her at all. We have not tried the thunder shirt yet, but holding her does not help. The only way she will calm down at all is if we put her in my parents room while my mom is in there, but she can open the doors and starts freaking out again. Her crate is in my moms closet in the back and she will pull clothes into it and shred them. We have tried calming pills and stuff in her food, nothing helps. We need to try the thunder shirt, but do you have any other ideas?

[Asiel]

I'm the dogsitter for my daughter--- her dog freaks when we have a storm. She has the thunder shirt which seems to help but not much.The day I had him here we had a severe storm out of the blue...I had no thundershirt so I grabbed a bath towel and wrapped him up tight in it...she also gives him rescue remedy which does help a lot, had none here that day. I do have phenos here so I gave him half of one, carried him to the living room where I was reading, set him down on the floor and he just watched me, didn't try to struggle out of the towel. My dog was sitting beside me, she doesn't care if the sky falls on us so he might have taken a cue from her, who knows--- but I just started reading and would check him now and again, he was always peaceful and the one time I looked up h e had fallen asleep.

[pomtzu]

I do have PHENOS here so I gave him half of one, carried him to the living room where I was reading, set him down on the floor and he just watched me, didn't try to struggle out of the towel. My dog was sitting beside me, she doesn't care if the sky falls on us so he might have taken a cue from her, who knows--- but I just started reading and would check him now and again, he was always peaceful and the one time I looked up he had fallen asleep.

He probably just passed out!


Seriously tho, I've never heard of such drastic behavior from a dog during a storm. My RB Sparky developed a fear of them when he got older, but as long as I held him or if he cuddled up next to me, then he was okay. I certainly hope that you can find a solution to this problem!

[Asiel]

He probably just passed out!


Seriously tho, I've never heard of such drastic behavior from a dog during a storm. My RB Sparky developed a fear of them when he got older, but as long as I held him or if he cuddled up next to me, then he was okay. I certainly hope that you can find a solution to this problem!

Ha ha...very funny POM..passed out on half of .5 mg...don't count on it I only gave it to him because I was sure of the dosage. But he gets pretty drastic during storms, this is the dog she found abandoned on the side of the road nearly 7 yrs ago, he had been badly abused. He has so many health problems it's not funny. For the hundreds she's spent on him and still is she could have gotten a registered purebred...the only problem is she won't buy one of those because they don't have trouble finding a home...she's a real bleeding heart when it comes to abused and abandoned strays.