My Dog Freaks Out During Thunderstorms- Is There Relief for Her?

You have a lot of good suggestions with the responses but I might add that in order to give her the optimum relief you really need to give her any medications or putting the Thundershirt on her BEFORE the storm hits. Once it hits her adrenaline is on overdrive and almost nothing short of a sedative does much good. I agree with the Thundershirt and the Rescue Remedy. Those seem to be the best and work extremely well in combination. I would try these first. If these do not work and she is causing herself harm then I would try a sedative like Acepromazine, you can also give Xanax but only in severe or extreme cases.

You can try an herbal supplement called Rescue Remedy. Put a few drops on her tongue about 30 min before an expected thunderstorm.
Good luck!

The Dog Whisperer says to not try to comfort your dog, pet them, talk sweetly to them, etc. This is because you are giving a positive reinforcement to their behavior. Every time they are acting afraid, whining, hiding, shaking, you are basically telling them good dog, those behaviors are correct. And every time you pat and comfort them you are doubly reinforcing the behavior. If you vet can prescribe a sedative, this may help. The other thing I'd advise is to ignore their behavior and not encourage it. Praise them for what you want them to do. It sounds counter intuitive to me, but it really helped with our dog. It's hard to do though bc you just want to help comfort them!

They can give you sedatives. Maybe even for the dog... :p

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My yorkie was rescued from people who threw him outside during storms because he was so scared. The vet gave him pills we hid in cheese and it calmed him down.

I've also heard of the tight shirt...I've seen it in a ton of magazines lately. My SIL has a dog that is just terrible during storms...they now have to give him sedatives when they know one is coming.

Good luck!

Another thing that works great is a tight shirt on the dog. There is special one made for dogs called the thundershirt I think. I know many people that swear by them and use them not only for storms, but anything that makes the dog anxious or nervous and it really helps calm the dog.

Your vet will probably give you a sedative, aceopromazine is one that is commonly used for thunder phobic dogs. It can really knock some dogs out depending on the dose, but usually they are just calmer and able to relax. Trust your vet on the dose, but if whatever they give her really knocks her out talk about changing medications or a lower dose. Sometimes just being out is the best option for the dog though.

Other things that can help, talking in a low soothing voice, rubbing the ears slowly and full body strokes that are slow. All of these can help be calming signals. She is probably too worried, but yawning at her and blinking your eyes may also help, is she will start blinking more or taking deep breaths it will help calm her down too. You can teach those on cue with some work and then use as needed. Also when were is no storm, teaching her a safe place- kennel, bed, etc that you can send her to and she can learn to relax there. Let me know if you want to know more about that. Those are things that are long term though and having a medication can really help for now and as long as needed during storms. The others are some training that can help in general.

Growing up our golden retriever was terrified of storms too. We did medicate her a few times, but usually just let her sit close- she could still eat and function, was just very nervous.

You can use any t-shirt!

I have a Corgi mix that developed a fear of storms after Katrina (go figure, the dog has a form of PTSD).

I have some tranqs that the Vet prescribed that I keep on hand for severe times, but I also give her Benadryl. Most times, just putting her on the bed with me, if it is night time, of on the sofa, calms her down.

Poor thing will follow me around the house during a storm looking pitiful.

My husband would give his dog a baby aspirin during a storm-it would calm her down a little.

I've heard Dap collars can work for some dogs. It secretes the same hormone that a nursing mother would to calm the dog. I know some owners swear by them. I've never needed to try them. Yes the vet can prescribe tranquilizers. I know they also like small enclosed spaces. Do you have a kennel/crate? It might help. But so could a closet or bathroom. My greyhound used to spend thunderstorms in the closet upstairs. She wouldn't sleep, but just stayed alert until it passed. She got better on her own. You're not supposed to make a big deal out of it. Supposedly it can teach them torepeat the behavior because of the extra attention. Just find a place they want to go and let them deal with it. Good luck!

they can give the dog a lot of the same type things that a person would take - our oldest dog(he's 16) takes valium for generalized geriatric anxiety. have you ever tried crating her? sometimes dogs feel much safer in a crate than they do even on your lap! good luck :)

some dogs I know get tranquilizers (sp) from the vet. Our dog freaks out too, but not bad enough yet for intervention.

My mom's small terrier mix is like this (lives right next door and spends a large part of her day hanging out on our front steps). We've worked with her for years, allowing her into the house when thunder, fireworks, or shooting practice is happening in the neighborhood (we're rural).

It's been slow, and she still craves the comfort of soothing voice and touch, but she handles it somewhat better now. She doesn't tremble very often. When storms happen during the night, she hides under my mother's bed.

I understand there are homeopathic remedies that help some pets. It might be worth a try. Three remedies that have been reported useful for fear of thunder are Phosophorus, Aconitum, and Gelsemium. These are available at many pet supply stores or online. They are fairly inexpensive, and have no side effects. You might give them a try individually. Get more info by googling "homeopathy for pets, fear of thunder."

my mom used to put our dog in an interior room of the house thad no windows and turn on a really loud fan that helped drown out the noise. that seemed to help, but these other ideas werent around back then.

Our Chiuaua Pom mix is the same we have to give her a sedative for that and fireworks too! that is the only thing that works for us.