Fear of Thunderstorms

Many dogs in the Midwest are afraid of thunderstorms. How dogs become afraid may be hard for us to understand, but to the dog big booming thunder and high winds can really be frightening. Maybe a dog was left alone during a bad storm and did not know where to go or what to do. It may be genetic, or it may be something that has been increasing over the years. Whatever the cause, thunderstorm phobia is very common and can range from mild to severe. There is help for your dog. It may not completely cure the fear, but make it more manageable for you and your pet.

Thunderstorms have a lot of different cues going on hours before they come that we humans do not sense. Our pets do. Sensing the change in air pressure, wind speed, smell, humidity, temperature and other changes begins to stimulate fear and anxiety in the dog because they associate these changes with the impeding storm. It is really difficult to mimic these events to train the dog to be calm during them. A dog may learn to be less anxious to the sound of thunder by using a recording, but all the other things cause as much fear as the noise. So the dog may be a little less fearful, but not much by training alone.

When your pet is young do train them to be rewarded for calm non anxious behavior during a storm. Have a tornado drill on non storm days running into the bathroom, calling your pet in quickly and give them a yummy treat. Teach them to go down the basement stairs on command and reward them. Give them a bed, crate or in the bath tub to lie on and reward them for going there fast and lying calmly.

DAP is a calming phereomone collar that can help some anxious pets. The collar must stay on all the time, tight like a belt not loose like a necklace. DAP is available at Okaw Veterinary Clinic.

For the dogs that are pacing, panting, drooling, circling, howling, pawing at their owners, climbing on to furniture, hiding under the bed, in the closet, digging out of doors or windows there is help for them. There are different levels of fear, and each level causes some physical pain. It may be impossible to reach no fear in a dog with thunderstorm phobia, but decreasing their fear is possible.

Ways to do this is first with medication through the storm season. There are a few combinations of medications that can be safely given to your pet prescribed by a veterinarian that help to decrease the anxiety. These medications are not sedatives, although sedatives may be a part of combination treatment in severe cases. Your dog will not be constantly drugged out. A check up and blood check are needed before starting treatment. Many dogs that have been on medications through a storm season needed significantly less meds or even none at all the next season.

A plan to help your pet have a better storm season is possible with the help of a veterinarian and staff offering behavioral help. Contact us at 253-3221 for more help. You can also take a look at the behavioral services we offer.

Print off the Thunderstorm check list and read Butterscotch's playlist for storms.