Thunderstorm Phobia - Page 2

The only one with a t-storm phobia around here is ME! My dogs give me some pretty wierd looks when I scream and run under the bed.

SS

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

Now Miss Shelley:   Pray tell us how do you   RUN UNDER A BED>>> I wish i were a fly on the wall to see that...Does  your bed stand 5 foot off the ground.?????  

You must still be a tiny girl ....lol Better go rest a bit, I think you been working too much today.Take a break and have a cold one...lol

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.

I'm not very big. 5' 3", 118 lbs.

SS

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 dog used to have a major problem with both thunder and fireworks. She has gotten a lot better, but I'm not sure exactly what got her there. She was really bad, though....chewing through garage doors, breaking her teeth off, squeezing herself into impossibly small hiding places, climbing fences bad-- twilight zone, doesn't remember her own name or who you are bad. The only way to keep her from destroying herself and the house was knocking her out with Acepromazine. Then we moved into a house with a fireplace.

At first the fire noises really scared her and she would slink off to the end of the hall when it would start popping. Then eventually she realized that no one else was bothered by it, the fire always stayed in the same place, and it's warm and comfy to lie down in front of it. By the end of our one year in that house she was completely comfortable laying in front of the fireplace no matter how much the fire popped.

For the last two 4th of Julys I have dragged her plastic crate into the hallway and left it there with the door open. I also leave the radio on at a low volume. She will go hide in her crate if she gets too freaked out, I also still give her a 1/2 dose of Ace if I think the noise will be too much for her to handle. But she has not destroyed anything or gone into panic-twilight-zone mode in two years, which is a definate improvement. Last time we had a thunderstorm she planted herself on my left foot and sat there until it was over, panting but not totally panic stricken. 

She may just be losing her hearing. She is almost 8 now.

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.

 Very interesting and helpful discussion.  I will tell her to go get melatonin and see if it works. She downloaded a Cd of thunerstorm yesterday and I told her to put it very low in the beginning until he has no more reaction.

I had an airedale that didn't quite enjoy thunderstorm but her only reaction was a lot of panting and be at our side like glue..didn't bother me too much and it never got worse.  

Thank you all of you..very funny to hear everybody stories (funny now of course but not for the dogs!)

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!