Late spring and summer bring some of the most severe thunderstorms of the year. The heat and humidity together create flashes of lightening and extremely loud crackling noises. These explosive sounds can scare almost anyone-small children, adults, seniors, and your pet dog. You can talk to the humans in the family and assure them it's ok. But with your pet dog, what do you do?
Our Maltese pet dog, recently rescued from a puppy mill, is petrified when thunderstorms develop. Whenever the weather calls for a thunderstorm watch, I worry that our dog will be horribly upset. If the storm happens during the day, we can deal with her fears but when it happens in the middle of the night, the family's quality of life is threatened. Normally, she will stay happily in her little dog bed by our bed, but all rules are broken when a thunderstorm hits. She won't sit still, she wants to come up, she doesn't really want to snuggle, she walks on my head when I am trying to sleep, and she wakes my husband up. I have learned that there are methods to controlling this behavior.
Here are some ways to calm a stressful dog in thunderstorm season.
Things You'll Need
- a crate or a bed, natural remedies or drugs, dog behavioral specialist. consistent human behavior
Instructions
Do not emphasize the frightening thunderstorms. Turn up the radio or television to mask the noises and try to ignore the dog's behavior. Make sure the lights are on and her space or bed is available to her.
Get the dog used to loud noises from the start. This can be difficult if you adopt or buy an adult dog. If you have a puppy, you can easily train the puppy to ignore the noises.
Make sure your dog gets a good diet, daily exercise, lots of attention and consistency. If you are consistent in your reaction to thunderstorms, eventually your dog will, too.
Hire a behavioral trainer or go to a behavioral veterinarian. They might be able to help train the dog to ignore the noises. This can be a very expensive option.
Use homeopathic or natural substances to help your stressful pet dog. There are several different ones on the market and each one has a different mix of ingredients.
There is Pet Calm (FDA approved), Bach Rescue Remedy, Calming Treats, and Happy Traveler to name a few. The first two are liquid and can be given by mouth, diluted with water and rubbed into the skin, paws, or ears (if not by mouth). These methods can work immediately, take a few applications, or take up to 6 weeks to be effective. I have not tried these methods yet.
Calming Treats are chicken liver treats. My dog did not like them and I had to wrap them in cheese for her to eat them. One was not enough for her-I have to give her three to take the edge off her fear.
Happy Traveler is a pill. It contains Valerian (a natural sedative sometimes used by humans) so I am hopeful and will try this one the next time my pet dog needs help.
Try a different kind of natural aid. It is called Pet Phero Soothe for Dogs. Pheromones are the smells that humans and canines have for clues for behavior, for clues for identification, and for any other life clues. This spray emits a pheromone that is very calming to dogs. Several friends told me it is wonderful. To use it, you spray it in the area where your pet dog will be about 5 minutes before they enter that area. Its effects last for about 8-10 hours.
Get a doggie anxiety wrap. It is a piece of clothing that puts pressure on certain parts of the body to reduce stress. I have never tried this but people testify that it works!
Procure a prescription for an anti-anxiety drug, if all else fails. There are doggie versions available. You must be careful when giving this type of substance to your dog. One half of the dose prescribed knocked my poor Maltese out for two days! It is definitely not a long-term solution.