Tips for Dogs Scared of Thunderstorms

Some furbabies are just plain scared of thunderstorms and loud noises. A couple of my sisters shiver, shake and pace when they hear thunder or fireworks. Maggie runs and hides under the bed and Sallie hides in the bathroom! The rest of us just huddle under my Lady’s feet. If you have a furbaby that’s scared of storms and loud noises then you’re probably familiar with this and know it’s not much fun for them or you! My Lady says we make her crazy with all the pacin’ and makin’ her trip! A lot of dogs suffer from this problem though. So, I wanted to tell ya a few tips for dogs scared of thunderstorms.

They have a thing called a thunder jacket that helps some pooches. The thunder jacket is simply fabric that wraps around your dog’s body snugly. It appears that the thunder jacket reduces the amount of static electricity that collects on your dogs fur making him less anxious. Theory has it that static electricity makes some dogs more fearful. If ya don’t have a thunder jacket, ya could use something similar to a T-shirt. Just make sure that it’s wrapped tightly around your pups body. We can’t be positive if a thunder jacket works or not because Maggie and Sallie won’t have no part of it. They don’t take kindly to wearin’ clothes.

Another idea is to desensitize your dog. They have these CDs that will help desensitize your dog for thunderstorms and for fireworks as well. The idea behind the CD is to play it on your stereo system for example, starting off softly and increasing the volume as the dog becomes more comfortable. You can find these CDs on the Internet or simply make your own. If you want to buy one, simply go to Google and type in thunderstorm and fireworks cd. You will see a whole list of offers. If you want to create your own CD simply use a voice recorder or even your smart phone and then transfer it to a CD. Be sure and start with the volume low and build up as the dog gets more comfortable. As simple as it sounds, this technique helps many dogs.

Another thing you can do to help your dog is create a safe place durin’ storms. This safe place can be anything from a crate to a closet or even under the bed. It’s often a dark place that is quiet. What you’re doin’ is basically creatin’ a little den or a cave for your dog. Some dogs actually prefer a bathtub because static electricity doesn’t build up in a tub. I’m a guessin’ Maggie and Sallie chose their own safe spots! WOOF! For the rest of us, we just follow my Lady around.

Here’s another idea that we haven’t tried, but I thought I’d tell ya about it. This idea involves herbal remedies and aroma therapy. There’s a product called Rescue Remedy that supposedly has been very popular to help dogs that have noise phobias. Probably the most popular product is D.A.P. It’s the smell of a lactating female dog. They say that a dog never forgets that smell and it is very soothin’. Ya can find this product at all the big box pet stores or online.

You can also help your dog by turning up the volume on the TV or stereo. This helps drown out the noise that scares your dog. This like everything else works in some cases and not others. My Lady turns our TV up and I got to admit that  it does help us. If we can’t hear it, then we’re not scared 🙂

If ya got a severe problem with this kind of problem, ya might wanna seek the help of one of them behavior specialists that has experience working with these types of dog behavioral problems. Then there are medications that a veterinarian can give ya. My Lady doesn’t want to have to do that. But she has given Sallie some Benadryl before. But heck, Sallie takes Benadryl for her allergies anyway so that wasn’t so bad.

To make a long story short, our solution for dogs scared of thunderstorms is to hang out by my Lady and crank up the volume on the TV. Of course, Maggie and Sallie like to go to their hidin’ places. Oh, and one final tip that my Lady thinks is important. My Lady’s actually purdy calm durin’ a storm. Those sounds don’t seem to bother her much. But our Man can pace worse than Maggie! When he gets to pacin’ around and lookin’ out windows that makes us worried too! She tells him he’s upsettin’ us with his nervousness and tries to get him to sit down and be still. Hey, maybe we can order him one of them thunder jackets! WOOF 🙂

Do ya’ll have any tips for dogs scared of thunderstorms? My Lady and me would sure like to hear em!