Dog's Fear of Thunder

The hard part here is the time the pup is alone - sorta puts a crimp in the human intervention deal. Now, odd as it may sound, a large part of the problem is your "consoling" him - it just amplifies his anxiety when no one is around. About the only way to deal with it effectively is to make no real big deal out of it at all. If there's thunder and the other dog sits there placidly, interact with the placid dog in such fashion the anxious dog notices. If the anxious dog settles down even for just a moment, interact with him in rewarding fashion - not treats, but an ear scritch or a toy toss, a kind word, an enthusiastic, cheerful "good boy", that sorta thing. At the next clap of thunfer accompanied by anxiety behavior, withdraw the positive interaction and return your attewntion to the passive dog.

The whole deal is consistency - the pup hasta see that neither you nor the other dog are bothered by thunder, and that when he doesn't freak out, he gets nice things happening to him. Gotta be positive reinforcement though, punishment or remonstrance will serve only to reinforce his anxiety. The key is consistency - he's gotta see - every time and without fail - that his pack leader and pack mate(s) are not bothered by thunder, and that the pack leader appreciates calmness during storms. Consistyency, calmness, consistency, and more calmness - all without acknowledging or responding to the anxious dog's undesireable behavior, but rewarding his desired behavior.


And all that said, even that prolly won't work 100% - coupla my pups will stay ouside in the most foul of weather - barring thunder. A clap of thunder, and both of 'em rocket through the doggie door (even arguing over who gets in first if their arrival is a tie); one heads for a particular corner in the basement where he curls up into a ball and tries to hide under his own tail, the other gallops upstairs and squiggles under a bed that just barely accomodates the manuever.

I should have been more specific in my definition of console. I didn't mean I lavish more attention on him. Instead, I mean he is calmer when I'm around. He sticks close to wherever I go in the house, which supplies some element of consolation, as he doesn't exhibit the destructive behavior, just a lot of pacing, panting and wide-eyed bewilderment.

I agree with timber. As for the consoling part, the consoling behaviour is interpreted by the animal to mean something like "It's ok, don't worry...we are gonna die together".

Since this will take a lot of "practice", you may want to have a recording of thunder to use during 'training' exercises.

I have a Lab cross that is also scared of thunder. She isn't happy about it, but she now endures it.

Good luck.

Micky
Micky, Welcome to A2K, glad to have you here.

I have two dogs. Madison is 2-1/2 year old male Bichon Frise. Dolly is a year old female Shih Tsu-Japanese Chen mix.

Maddy trembles when thunder arrives. He immediately jumps up into my lap and snuggles. Dolly, my party girl, could care less; the thunder doesn't seem to bother her.

During a thunder storm last week, Maddy got into my lap (and so did Dolly), but he didn't seem to tremble as much. I wonder if it was because they both were on my lap being comforted? Of course, your dogs are bigger than mine and lap snuggling might not be possible.

I've heard of recordings of thunder being used as a conditioning process for dogs who are scared by the sound. Don't know if it works, but might be worth looking into. Better than drugs. Your pet store probably and the recordings and training instructions.

BBB

I downloaded several storm sound files from the internet. There are quite a few places that have 4-5 minute long thunder audio files. My PC system has a pretty good sound system, but my dog knows it ain't the real thing. In fact, I can crank up the volume failry high (louder than a real storm) and he will walk in the room wagging his tail. He gives little acknowledgment that he's noticing the sound.

> Of course, your dogs are bigger than mine and lap snuggling might not be possible.

My bigget problem/fear is when I'm not home (and, unfortunately, I still have to work to put a crumpet or two on the table). That's when he gets destructive.

Perhaps that is because you are there for comfort. Have you tried doing it and not being in the room/house?

my vet told me to find a place where the dog feels safe and when it storms and i was home, to take him to his safe place. we decided on his bed. when it storms i go and sit in his bed with him, not being overly affectionate, but loving enough that he feels safe. the hope is that when no one is home, he goes and curls up in his bed so he feels safe during a thunderstorm.

not sure if it actually works because he wasn't destructive like your dog, but he seems to be doing better when we are home and a storm hits. if one hits in the middle of night, he actually lies down on my side of our bed (on the floor, mr. d is not having any of him sleeping in the bed which he did prior to me meeting mr. d) and sorta snuggles up the best he can and goes to sleep.

did that help at all?

I haven't been away during a storm in the last two weeks. I have been paying him absolutely no attention whatsoever when he is agitated during a storm.

One interesting addition has been what I call the Underdog cape. He really settles down and appears way, way more relaxed with it on during a storm. This isn't a whacky tunes idea either. It was suggested by a DVM specializing in animal behavior issues. The vet is one of only two with this specialization in the state of Florida (The Land of Hurricanes).

http://www.stormdefender.com/

Unfortunately, you're not supposed to put it on and leave the animal, so it helps when you're home but isn't the total answer for my situation. I wonder if the total impact of the cape is from its anti-static properties alone or from the swaddling properties as well.

Anyway, that's where I am right now.

I've seen similar suggestions for calming autistic children.

Gosh, I thought my dog was bad in thunderstorms! She gets very fearful when I'm home, but doesn't destroy anything when I'm out (lucky me!) Being in Florida like you, there are plenty of storms.

The only thing I've read that helps at all is to be very upbeat when there's a storm on, acting happy and fearless. Our other dog is also completely unafraid of storms. We no longer console Ms. Fearful during storms, just talk happy.

She also gets frightened when the lights flicker (recent electrical problems), even if there's no storm. We're not sure whether she associates this with storms(?)

My only other idea is to recruit a (non-working) neighbor, who knows the dog, to dash over (maybe with that nifty cape?) when a storm threatens. Retired folks are often happy to have a "job" such as this, and Florida has lots of 'em.

Wish I had better advice!

All input is greatly appreciated, Boris.

My guy is similar in that flashes of light prompt minor anxiety. I too wonder if it's associated with lightning. However, abrupt changes of most any kind provoke this. For example, we get a lot electrical storms that periodically interrupt power for a couple of seconds. If the television is on during a power interruption, my guy gets agitated by the abrupt switching off of the television.

hmmm, my dog is upset by the noise. he gets minor agitation when planes fly overhead (which he is getting more used to as we are close to the flight path for oceana naval airstation now-love jet noise). he doesn't get upset until he can either hear it rain during huge downpours or it thunders. funny either sets him off. it actually doesn't have to be an electrical storm any more, i guess he associates the heavy rain with it and when he hears that, he assumes its thundering?

oh he also gets scared when the TV does the high pitched beeping when they warn you of severe weather...

I figure there are so many cues associated with a thunderstorm that it is a tough task to desensitize an animal. There is the sound of thunder, the sound of rain, the visual element of darkening skies and the visual impact of flashes of lightening. Not every storm has them all, but over time they become associated with each other so any one cue is sufficient to foster an agitated state. A combination of cues can supply a real whammy.

Of course, there may even be other cues (e.g., electromagnetic charges, fluctuations in barometric pressure, etc.) that we, as lowly humans, are unable to detect.