German Shepherd dog

I adopted a adult male years ago who absolutely freaked out during thunderstorms. I did rehabilitate him. Everyday I put a recording of storms on the CD player and play it at an extremely low volume. Every couple of days I increased the volume. After a while the sound of the storm just became a normal background sound and he stopped reacting when we had a real storm. I remember I found the recording of the storm on a halloween sound effects CD and just programmed the player to play that one thing over and over. Hope that helps.

I don't know about phobias and genetics, but I do know that phobias are the result of a negative experience in childhood (usually occuring between 1-5 years of age). As adults, most people can't remember the negative experience because it happens so young. The reaction people with phobias have is the result of them experiencing the same fears and emotions they did during the initial imprinting.

I suspect that dogs can be negatively imprinted in the same way.  I know that with my pups I have always distracted them with play or a toy during their first couple of storms and have, fortunately, never had a problem since.

Karen

Fear of a thunderclap is natural.  

I could show you human's who hide from lightening too.    This fear can also come from actually feeling the static charge of a thunderstorm either directly or indirectly.   A skiddish mother can pass on a fear to her pup's.  Some dog's are not gun shy but lightening is far more intense and harder to condition out if not impossible. 

An electrical shock is something no one forget's especially an animal. 

I have seen dog's who pay no attention to gunfire but they alway's fear a loud nasty thunderstorm, its natural.

Have you ever been touched by lightening?     You'll never forget the experience I promise.

Its genetic yes, from the beginning of time.   Not a mental problem.

You can condition pup's yes, but if one ever feel's the charge you'll never get them to forget that.

Animal's that live outside , livestock and so on know what lightening is.   They can feel it even when it's mile's away.

JMO

 Oh btw, my OWN dog with it started at 15 months when we introduced the gunshots, and he's now 9 years old. He's MUCH better then he used to be...for the longest time there he somehow associated obedience with gunshots and we lost much of his obedience. Tried to associate getting a bite with a distant popping and he refused to bite for awhile...it CAN backfire! He's just a mixed breed (shepherd/malinois type X) so we just bring him out for fun sometimes. But while it did get much better, it never passed. Many of my client dogs have lessened it with work though. 

 The advice about using a recording of a storm at very low volume is correct as one way to desensitize, however, unless I missed it reading very quickly through these posts, one critical aspect has been left out. You MUST also begin to make a new meaning to the sound. So you do something fun with the dog, like play with its' favorite toy, pet it a lot, play with it some other way or give it food. Do a little at a time and go SLOWLY. What you are trying to do is desensitize and that requires small incremental exposure. If you can get the dog, for example, really hungry, then take a really special treat and put on the recording at the lowest possible volume. If you can hear it, the dog can really hear it because their hearing acuity is so much finer than is a humans. So be careful and make sure it is really low volume, for you, just barely perceptible. Do this exposure/reward (however you do that based on my suggestions above) daily, perhaps doing it only, for example, just before mealtime when the dog really is hungry. Stay at the lowest level until you are certain you see no difference in the behavior of the dog. It might take a day, it might take several weeks at the first level. Increase very slowly and always make sure you are carefully observing the dog for the most subtle of signs that it is bothered. If it is bothered, then go back to the previous level. Keep a log of level, reactions, what you used as a positive motivator etc. Don't rely on your memory. In time you probably can make this dog a lot more comfortable.

It is true that some noise sensitivity is genetic and there is a lot of literature that suggests some dogs ARE naturally more sensitive to sound than others. In reality, such sensitivity is good as these would be the canids in the wild that would alert more quickly to intruders in the area. However, taken at its worst, and especially in how humans use dogs, noise sensitivity can be created when someone does something stupid to expose a dog to a loud sound unexpectedly, especially during certain developmental periods. And finally, dogs are used by humans in capacities that put them around gun fire, canon fire, fireworks, loud machinery, loud vehicles, backfiring vehicles etc. So such dogs, if they are to be useful, must either be selected for NOT being particularly sensitive, or worked with slowly as well to build a tolerance for such noises. Too often I have seen SchH people, for example, just walk up to a dog with a firearm and shoot it off. That is stupid, hurts the dogs ears, just like in humans and may cause a problem with a perfectly good dog.

Good luck. If you need more help, I have some other specific techniques.

 I agree with you..we think we are very brilliantLoL

I know it is a natural thing to hide in a secure place but this dog get really nervous and doesn't seem to find a place where he feels safe.  He almost passed trough a patio door one time.  If only he didn't feel THAT bad.  She is afraid that one time he'll hurt himself or someone by being so nervous.

And I know that usually it get's worse..I just hope it's not too late since he is been doing this for 2 years.  But I must say that I think they're is always hope for dogs..With work and patience we can usually rehabilitate but it takes time.  They have a wonderful capacity to ajust.  It's natural Instinct also.

I am thunderstorm phobic and I certainly imagine it passes on down to my dogs.  I have had 2 dogs, one a gsd and my female aussie who are absolutely terrified of storms/fireworks .  The GSD I used Ttouch on, and it did help chill him out some. He would claw at my fireplace,,and would actually hold his breath. :((

My aussie now, shakes, pants drools so bad I think she's going to have a seizure. I swear it gets worse as she gets older. I started giving her 10mg of melatonin, which seems to kick in fast, and definately chills her out, she is more content to lay under my feet vs rip me up by climbing on top of me. 

I feel so bad for any dog that's T storm phobic, luckily both mine recover quickly from the episodes with no lasting effects.

Oh tried the desentizing tapes,,didn't work here

I have a dog that is still nervous before and during thunderstorms.  He used to urinate on himself when we first got him., he was so terrified, we never did find out why but we did want to help him through it.  He is a rescue from an abusive situation.  I tried what a good friend and holistic believer suggested and it worked.  It took a long time and patience.

We would give him melatonin at least 30-45 minutes before the storm and then at first, just calmly talk to him and when he was calmer (only may last a moment) reward him with praise and petting (food did not work).  As time went by, we would begin to be able to play with him in the house a bit. A year later, he will play out in the thunderstorm without melatonin without any problems though he still likes to be by one of us during the thunder. 

I have friends who have used it for their SAR dogs who are terrified of going up in turbo prop planes or helicopters for the first few times and they would work through the fear with positive reinforcement and melatonin.  It never seemed to interfere with the dog's performance once on the ground.  I swear by it.  This dog is one heck of a tracker and can find anything during any noise or storm.  He is amazing and was well worth the long rehab time.

Use only vegetarian grade melatonin (say so right on the bottle).  1 - 1.5 mg for a dog under 35 lbs, I always say start at 1mg then add the half if you need it.  3 mg for dogs between 35 - 100 lbs, and add 1 - 1.5 mg for dogs over 100lbs, again starting with 4 mg total and adding the extra half mg if you need it.

Heidi.

None of of my dogs have ever had noise sensitivity of any kind.  Through training, you can get a dog over it. If your dog is afraid of loud noises due to a nerve problem, yes, bad nerves are genetic.

My SAR K9, is  highly sensitive to barometric pressure change. I know hours before a storm is arriving, because of the way she acts.  She is more accurate than the weather guys. When the actual storm arrives, she is relieved that it is here. When she was young, she would run to the bathroom and jump in tub. Or go to the laundry room and get behind the washer and dryer.

All I did, was bring out her favorite toy, do some training, hide some treats around the house, and sometimes gave her a big bone to chew on. We never made a big deal about it at all.  When we discovered this "behavior" with her, I was concerned I had gotten a weak nerved dog, and was disappointed, at first. Then it was explained to me that the herding breeds tend to be more sensitive to the barometric pressure change that occurs before a storm. Depending on where you live the pressure in the air can be high or low. Some dogs are over sensitive to the low pressure and some are aware sensitivity wise, to the high but don't show high reaction.  This dog does not show negative reaction to gunfire, whip or fireworks, other than to look to see where it is coming from. My other dogs demonstrate no reaction to storms at all, other than to look out the window to watch.

We recently had very strange weather here in the last few days. Tornadoes, high winds, torrential rains, black skies, heavy thunder. They say animals react prior to this type of a weather display hours before. None of my dogs, even the one sensitive to pressure change, did a damn thing to warn us it was coming through(we already knew, I was just watching the dogs).

When I was a child, my first GSD Ricky, was not bothered by storms at all. But come fourth of July, he would hide under my bed and shake like a chihuahua.

Just sold a eight week old puppy to a banker. I assured him that my puppies had genetically strong nerves and he would not have to worry about the anxiety look he had in his previous GS. Saw him a week later at the bank and inquired about the pup. He said the pup was fine and I was right about the nervousness. He said that Sunday they had a big Thunder storm and his 5 year old Golden immediately left the patio and went under the chair in the den...the pup?? well she just kept playing with them with tail wagging and showing no effects of the thunder. She's a fearless little girl he said. I have always said loud nerves are a nerve issue and you can desensitize to a point but the anxiety look in the eyes will remain...very sad!

Two Moons, that was soooooo naughty,but i like it.LOL   Liz

Weak nerve.....Can improve on it, but not fix it.....Yes it is genetic

I can't recall who but he was a professional golfer and had been struck by lightening several time's during his career and told that story on Carson one night.  

Virginia Park ranger Roy C. Sullivan, according to Guiness was struck 7 time's and survived.

I remember lightening striking a poultry barn near my home once and the chicken's were still standing inside burnt to a crisp.

I myself took a shock once on a boat caught out on the river during a storm, I was touching the aluminum frame of the canopy.   I could see the spark inside my head.  That's why I'm so strange maybe...LOL

I strongly dissagree with weak nerve...  genetic yes, as long as there has been life there has been lightening,  I'm sure evolution has included the fear of lightening in all creature's.  Except Golfer's.

Try touching an electric fence sometime, see if you can do it once a day for a week.  Use one that has the weed wacker feature.  You will see that a time will come at some point where you can no longer force yourself to do it.

Animal's who are outside wild or domestic have felt the static charge at one time or another.   Cattle, Deer, Horse's, a lot of time's you will see them laying down out in the open, its the safest place to be.   Low to the ground away from tree's or structure's.

Kitkat,

Your dog is just not right in the head...LOL...:)

JK...lol

Don't know if this willactualy help, but might be worth a try.

Get a CD with "naturalnoises".CDs like this aresold everywhere, with noises from nature,like waterfall,ocean waves, jungle sounds, rain,rain forest, thunderstorms etc...

Of course, all we need is thunderstorms.

Ge your dog's favorite toy, or a favorite treat and play the Cd with thunderstorms at low volume while playing with her and doing your thing with him/her.itdoesn'thave to be one session,could be as many as needed, if possible during the entire session. They key is forthe thunderstomr sounds to be "dialedin" with the volume to be heard by the dog,but for the dog NOT to show the usual response we are trying to avoid. That takes a bit of trial and error on your side.Do low but audible volume first and see how it goes.

If that goes over well, increase the volume slightly, stilldoing the obedience,feeding etc... something powerfully distracting and enjoyable to do for the dog.

Keep at it with the volume going higher as long as the dog has indifferent attitude towards it. Don;tmake the big deal out of it if the dog cowers from it, pettign it softly and saying it's okay, it's okay, that's just reinforcing it to be nervous even more. Treat it as a "background noise", something you wouldnever pay attention to, like car noises from the highway far away.

Hope this helps. As other posters mentioned, could be genetic, could be imprinted, can't guess the cause.