Could use some dog-related advice

[Misery]

Okay, so, it's storm season here. I'm in the US, in a region often called "tornado alley", so... yeah, you can do the math. Lots of storms during this phase every year.

One of my dogs, Dingle, has a huge fear of thunder. Like, I know most dogs get nervous about it but she seems to completely break down. As I type this she's doing circles behind me and generally shaking a lot. It's probably going to be a very long night and she's not likely to get any sleep (it's supposed to storm off and on for most of the night here). I'll be here in the basement with her most of the night, so at least she isnt alone, but still.

So, for you all out there who are particularly knowledgable about dogs, what can I do? We've tried everything, including calming medications as suggested by the vet, or something like one of those weighted jacket things (whatever those are called) and all sorts of things, nothing seems to help.

I really want to make this easier for her to get through, she shouldnt have to deal with that... so yeah, any advice at all, that'd be super nice.

 

[Rodafina]

Rocky is like this. He is hardly bothered by anything, but as soon as a thunderstorm rolls in, he leaves his favorite spot on the bed and curls up in a corner on the floor somewhere.

I tried a few different things that didn’t help, so now, when he goes to curl up on the floor, I just go with him and bring my little camping mattress and lay down beside him.

One thing that actually helps him is if I play loud movies in my room during the storm. This doesn’t bother him under ordinary circumstances and it actually helps him stay more calm during a storm and occasionally he will even sleep through it. But, he is definitely already acclimated to loud movies playing in my room.

Poor little pups don’t know what’s going on. I hate seeing them afraid.

 

[Luca]

My first go-to is usually to request the weighted vests (usually branded as Thundershirt) but if that doesn’t work for some dogs, another thing I often recommend is making kind of like a “den” or a safe space where they can go hide and feel safe and comfortable until the storm passes.

It can be anything like a crate (if the dog is crate trained) with a blanket over it and the door left open (do not close or lock the crate door), a pillow fort, a walk-in closet with a nest of pillows and blankets in it, or a pile of pillows and blankets on the bed.
It also often helps if you go in there with them.
This also doesn’t work for every single dog, but it works for a lot of dogs, and this is what I recommend if a Thundershirt doesn’t work, and I don’t like resorting to recommending medication unless nothing else works.

And some dogs actually like being held and cuddled. Some don’t, but some dogs actually like to be in your arms during a storm, or sleep beside you with your arms around them.
Some dogs also like being wrapped in a blanket.

I also agree with @Rodafina about playing loud music or a movie. Or a white noise machine. I do this when I have to leave my dogs home alone for a few hours.

Hopefully one of these may work, and if they don’t, I will be happy to brainstorm more suggestions for you. I’m always happy to help with dog questions!

 

[Outdated]

Luca's advice is great, just thought I'd add one other option - a weighted blanket like some autistic people use, the dog can hide underneath it and feel safe.

Nothing worked for my dog, 30 Kg (66 lb in your money) of hunting hound sitting on your lap with her nose buried under your armpit and still kicking and scratching in a panic isn't much fun.

 

[MyLifeAsAnAspie]

How about a sedative like Trazadone?

 

[Wolfnox]

It’s the vibrations and sound. Music helps best.

Side note. Hey Misery been awhile.

 

[WhitewaterWoman]

Our border collie huddles, shaking, in a corner of the bathroom. I worry about her because where I live, thunder storms occur daily in the summer.

We’ve tried to hold her, sit with her, cbd, the thunder shirt. Nothing seems to help.

 

[Judge]

My cousin's dogs always cower behind the toilets or hide under the bed whenever it thundered. My Yorkie would just jump into my lap and shiver until it was all over.

And in the desert while it doesn't happen often, we get some serious thunder! Poor doggies....

 

[Rodafina]

Goodness gracious, this thread is making me so sad. I know we are all doing our best and have tried different things, but these poor dogs get so confused and frightened from such a regular thing. I’m glad that we all care so much to try to comfort them and take their fear away.

 

[Forest Cat]

I could be wrong, but I would be careful to not make a big fuzz about it. Because the dog would notice if I was stressed or acting differently than I normally do. So it would be worried about the loud noises and then get more worried because I was behaving differently. In theory, she should calm down after doing it a few times, because she gets stressed because of the noise but then she sees that nothing happens. Nothing changes, it's just loud sounds. But it probably doesn't work like that with all dogs.

But for example, that weighted jacket you mentioned. If I was a dog and stressed out because of loud noises and then someone tried to put some weird new thing on me, I would connect it to the loud noises. I would get more stressed. And then I would bite them a little. The drugs too, if I was stressed and then started feeling weird, I would connect the loud noise to that and get more stressed. But as Luca said, making a nice comfy place to hide sounds smart. Somewhere she can hide and just wait. Luca is the dog expert so you should probably listen to her. I have never had this problem strangely enough, have had dogs and cats but non of them cared about thunder or new years eve fireworks.

 

[Judge]

Goodness gracious, this thread is making me so sad. I know we are all doing our best and have tried different things, but these poor dogs get so confused and frightened from such a regular thing. I’m glad that we all care so much to try to comfort them and take their fear away.

Indeed. I live in a pet-friendly community to the point where every Fourth of July there are public announcements reminding everyone how stressful the sound of fireworks can be on pets. Apart from the overt fire dangers in a very dry desert.

Stress is stress, whether regarding autistic people or our four-footed friends.

 

[MC1Rcat]

I don't have a dog, but my sister in law's mom has a golden retriever who goes into the closet and digs holes in the wood floor or freaks out and is inconsolable during thunder storms and hurricaines. They live in Louisiana, so it happens a lot. They tried thunder shirts, medications, blankets, everything....they said the only thing that works is if they give her a bit of red wine. I don't know how good/ bad that is for the dog. I know grapes are bad for them. But they say it works to calm her down every time. You might want to check w your vet before you try giving them alcohol or wine

 

[Rodafina]

Indeed. I live in a pet-friendly community to the point where every Fourth of July there are public announcements reminding everyone how stressful the sound of fireworks can be on pets. Apart from the overt fire dangers in a very dry desert.

Stress is stress, whether regarding autistic people or our four-footed friends.

If we are talking about fireworks, it’s a whole different story for Rocky. He is absolutely inconsolable. Barking his loudest bark, completely in a frenzy. Nothing I have tried helps except to get in the car and drive away. We stay as far away from fireworks as possible. I don’t love them myself, so it works out.

Something that seems much less upsetting, but gets his attention are the sirens of emergency vehicles. He will howl at fire engines and ambulances as they go by. He never howls for anything else. Just the sirens.

 

[Rodafina]

I don't have a dog, but my sister in law's mom has a golden retriever who goes into the closet and digs holes in the wood floor or freaks out and is inconsolable during thunder storms and hurricaines. They live in Louisiana, so it happens a lot. They tried thunder shirts, medications, blankets, everything....they said the only thing that works is if they give her a bit of red wine. I don't know how good/ bad that is for the dog. I know grapes are bad for them. But they say it works to calm her down every time. You might want to check w your vet before you try giving them alcohol or wine

We should definitely not be giving our dogs red wine or any alcohol. This is very dangerous for them.

 

[Luca]

We should definitely not be giving our dogs red wine or any alcohol. This is very dangerous for them.

I was just going to say the same thing. Alcohol is very toxic and dangerous to dogs. They should not have coffee either and that's something I have had to tell people a lot, surprisingly.

 

[Mr. Stevens]

I don't have a dog, but my sister in law's mom has a golden retriever who goes into the closet and digs holes in the wood floor or freaks out and is inconsolable during thunder storms and hurricaines. They live in Louisiana, so it happens a lot. They tried thunder shirts, medications, blankets, everything....they said the only thing that works is if they give her a bit of red wine. I don't know how good/ bad that is for the dog. I know grapes are bad for them. But they say it works to calm her down every time. You might want to check w your vet before you try giving them alcohol or wine

Any possibility they could get the dog to hide in the bathtub? That's where my golden retriever always used to hide. That way the dog wouldn't be messing up the floor, and might feel safe.

 

[MC1Rcat]

I was just going to say the same thing. Alcohol is very toxic and dangerous to dogs. They should not have coffee either and that's something I have had to tell people a lot, surprisingly.

I had a feeling that it wasn't good for dogs...especially the wine bc it is made of grapes. People in Louisiana use alcohol as a fix for a lot of odd things. So maybe that's why they do it. When I was younger I remember hearing people say to rub a few drops of bourbon whisky onto the gums of a teething baby. I don't think I would do that either.

 

[MC1Rcat]

Any possibility they could get the dog to hide in the bathtub? That's where my golden retriever always used to hide. That way the dog wouldn't be messing up the floor, and might feel safe.

That's a good idea I will mention it to my sister in law next time I talk to her, and ask her if they ever tried that.

 

[WhitewaterWoman]

I could be wrong, but I would be careful to not make a big fuzz about it. Because the dog would notice if I was stressed or acting differently than I normally do. So it would be worried about the loud noises and then get more worried because I was behaving differently. In theory, she should calm down after doing it a few times, because she gets stressed because of the noise but then she sees that nothing happens. Nothing changes, it's just loud sounds. But it probably doesn't work like that with all dogs.

But for example, that weighted jacket you mentioned. If I was a dog and stressed out because of loud noises and then someone tried to put some weird new thing on me, I would connect it to the loud noises. I would get more stressed. And then I would bite them a little. The drugs too, if I was stressed and then started feeling weird, I would connect the loud noise to that and get more stressed. But as Luca said, making a nice comfy place to hide sounds smart. Somewhere she can hide and just wait. Luca is the dog expert so you should probably listen to her. I have never had this problem strangely enough, have had dogs and cats but non of them cared about thunder or new years eve fireworks.

We actually talked about the weighted blanket and if it were used only during thunderstorms she might associate the jacket with trauma.

I don't know about other dogs, but we had no idea she would react the way she does. So, we are just going about our daily stuff and wonder where is the dog? And find her huddled in a corner of the bathroom, shaking. We couldn't just leave her there. Sitting with her or bringing her to a chair to sit with hugs, nothing worked.

You wouldn't leave a small child huddled in a corner shaking and just wait for it to go away. Or at least I couldn't. We try to comfort her, but it is way more that she can tolerate. We got her at four years old, so I don't know how the previous owners reacted or treated her.

All that said, being in Florida, the lightning capital of the USA, we have had lightning strikes that jolt so loud and nearby, that my adrenaline is works overtime.

 

[Forest Cat]

We actually talked about the weighted blanket and if it were used only during thunderstorms she might associate the jacket with trauma.

I don't know about other dogs, but we had no idea she would react the way she does. So, we are just going about our daily stuff and wonder where is the dog? And find her huddled in a corner of the bathroom, shaking. We couldn't just leave her there. Sitting with her or bringing her to a chair to sit with hugs, nothing worked.

You wouldn't leave a small child huddled in a corner shaking and just wait for it to go away. Or at least I couldn't. We try to comfort her, but it is way more that she can tolerate. We got her at four years old, so I don't know how the previous owners reacted or treated her.

All that said, being in Florida, the lightning capital of the USA, we have had lightning strikes that jolt so loud and nearby, that my adrenaline is works overtime.

Ok, I don't really know, I have never experienced this problem with any of my dogs. It just sounded like it could stress the dog even more if the owner acts differenly than usual. I think dogs tend to notice if something changes with owner.