THUNDERSTORM TERROR

[karen israel]

Funny you should mention that..at 6am today in the rain, the Cody-bugger snuck between our hedges to the neighbors fence to chomp on some grass and smell the other critters that were around overnight. Me, of course, squeezing under the roof overhang to stay dry. Callng, whistling, teasing (look what I have!) Did he budge? Humpf! Selective hearing. Gesh!

[Karen]

My first dog, Sheba, had spent some time on her own as a stray, and even had puppies then, best as the vet could figure. She was a brave, brilliant dog - who was absolutely terrified of thunderstorms. She HAD to climb up into my parents' bed whenever we had them, which in the summer was quite often, poor thing. The vet always guessed she had been outside during a bad one when she was a stray, so we just cuddled her and let her know it was okay.

[Stenograsaurus]

Karen,
Funny you should mention that. The dog that I have who is terrified of these storms was also a stray. I had picked up her along the road. I took her to the vets the next day they were open. They said she was either pregnant or recently had a litter. Well, she wasn't pregnant. She was probably dropped off because she was pregnant, like poor Sheba was. Patience is also afraid of cigarette lighters. I don't even want to guess why that would be. I always get ugly visions in my head. People can be so cruel.
Anyway, I called the vet and they said that they have something that would "knock her out". I was not comfortable with that. I don't want to knock her out, I just want to ease her fear. They said that I could give her a Benadryl. It provides a sedative effect and will calm her down. I'm more comfortable with that. I'll let you know if it works.

[dale_clouse]

Hello, I have a friend whose dog Mindy was afraid of the rain, thunder and lightning. She would always go and either hide in the bathroom, under a table, or get in the bed with you and push one person out of the bed, if there were two! She was afraid of the dark too. Lisa (her owner) would always turn a night light on so that she would go to sleep and not hear the storms. I have not yet experienced a storm with my dog Dale, but I think he will be fine. You could also try turning on a radio next to their crate so that they can not hear any other noises.. That is what I do for Dale during the day while I am at work and it goes right to sleep! Hope this helps !

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Amanda, Damien and Dale

[Albea]

Originally posted by Stenograsaurus:
I need some advise. My dog is scared to death of thunder and lightening. Well, since it is April here and the season for thunderstorms, I haven't been getting much sleep lately. She kept me up all night last night. I feel like a walking zombie today. Being sick doesn't help any either. Friday night she started at 6:00 in the morning, so that wasn't so bad. She tries to hide underneath me and she's panting so bad I think she's going to hyperventilate. It's almost like she's having an anxiety attack. I was wondering if anyone out there in doggy land has any suggestions as to how to help her to overcome this, if it is even possible. I had also noticed stuff in the Drs. Foster and Smith catalog that I get that calms nervous dogs. Has anyone tried such a thing and how does it work? I am willing to try anything because we are all in desperate need of a good night's rest and since the forecast calls for thunderstorms again tonight, it looks like it's not going to happen for a while.
Thanks.

Stenograsaurus:
For some more ideas on what to do for thunder phobia go to: www.ygrr.org
It's the Web site of Yankee Golden Retriever Rescue and has great information on many dog related subjects.

Other sites that may be useful are: http://vetinfo.com/ http://dogomania.com/

[This message has been edited by Albea (edited May 06, 2001).]