Thunder storms YIKES

[Sheltiemama]

Brandi experienced her first thunder storm this afternoon. It wasn't pretty. I tried to engage her in play with me or toys, or food, nothing would help. She litterally tried to crawl up my pant leg. So I just put a leash on her and let her go with me from room to room to see if my downspouts were clogged (good time to do it huh?) She has settled down now and is learning about toys. Here are a couple of pictures of Brandi.



Brandi with toys





Playing with toys makes me sleepy

[Swiftwind]

Aww she's really pretty! I'm sure she'll be more settled when the next thunderstorm strikes. It would be a very weird thing for a puppy to experience for the first time. I think you did the right thing by trying to distract her with toys. My 10 1/2 year old dog, Harley, hates thunderstorms! In the past couple of years whenever there is a storm he runs straight upstairs and hides under my bed, squashed in the corner, right up against the wall! It's my little chihuahua who isn't scared of storms at all!

[IceyBlueSibes]

Aw! Poorgirl! My boxer/GSD was scared to death of thunderstorms. What always worked for him was just being close to someone. We had to sit up on the couch with him and give a good belly rub for him to go to sleep. As long as he had someone close, he was fine -- hated fireworks too.

I still can't get over how pretty she is

[Spiritus]

Fear of thunderstorms is quite common, and for a lot dogs, it's not necessarily the actual thunder, but the drastic change of pressure that comes with them. Once you notice that a dog has storm phobia, chances are you will notice it gets worse, not better, with time.

Shay is my storm-phobic dog. He HATES them, and will start stressing a good hour before one actually arrives. That tells me it is the pressure. He is five now, and now he reacts to the actual noise. He is better when on his thyroid medication, but still does react.

A general rule of thumb is to NOT try to sooth them and tell them it's okay, because, you are actually letting them know that their reaction is okay. It's not. With Shay, because I know he has it, and I know his mom had it and it played a big part of her getting killed (hit by a car), when a storm approaches, I happily put him in his crate. It is the only time he is crated now, and he DIVES into it during a storm.

People on my Belgian e-list swear that peppermint oil does wonders for storm-phobic dogs. Not peppermint extract, but peppermint OIL (can be found in health food stores). A small drop on each front foot apparently soothes the dog, and nicely scents the house

[IceyBlueSibes]

Originally Posted by Spiritus

Fear of thunderstorms is quite common, and for a lot dogs, it's not necessarily the actual thunder, but the drastic change of pressure that comes with them. Once you notice that a dog has storm phobia, chances are you will notice it gets worse, not better, with time.

Shay is my storm-phobic dog. He HATES them, and will start stressing a good hour before one actually arrives. That tells me it is the pressure. He is five now, and now he reacts to the actual noise. He is better when on his thyroid medication, but still does react.

A general rule of thumb is to NOT try to sooth them and tell them it's okay, because, you are actually letting them know that their reaction is okay. It's not. With Shay, because I know he has it, and I know his mom had it and it played a big part of her getting killed (hit by a car), when a storm approaches, I happily put him in his crate. It is the only time he is crated now, and he DIVES into it during a storm.

People on my Belgian e-list swear that peppermint oil does wonders for storm-phobic dogs. Not peppermint extract, but peppermint OIL (can be found in health food stores). A small drop on each front foot apparently soothes the dog, and nicely scents the house

That's interesting to know it's the pressure. That must be why our outside cat wants in about an hour before a storm comes. We call her our "weather kitty"

It's storming bad here right now. Has been for the past few days. Stupid tropical weather! Thankfully all of my huskies are content if they lay in on my dads bed. It's quiet, dark, and cool back there. Sheiba is the only one who gets a little nervous -- not drastic, but she won't stay out in the living room. Doesn't like the noise --

[shandoggy1]

My 11 year old GSD cross has ALWAYS trembled in fear over the storms. We get alot of thunderstorms in the summer time here when it is hot and humid. Now my VERY OVERLY confident big tough ACD looks up at my ceilings and will sometimes bark thinking that someone is trying to break in the house LOL!

[SmilingDogs]

<<bump>>
Our German Shepherd, "Pooh", used to drive us absolutely crazy with The Paw between climbing into the bathtub & onto our laps.
Poor Corky, he used to open pantry doors and crawl into them, pushing whatever was in there out of the way; wedge under all the things in the bathroom (linen) closet and, of course, under beds. We could never find him. And he was a medium sized critter. We noticed through the years that the bigger the dog, the bigger the Baby.

[ginastags2315]

My golden retriever is scared to death of thunder storms! When she was a puppy she wasn't, but one day she was left outside in one. I had let her outside to go to the bathroom and she never barks to come in, so I forgot she was out there. She was out for about fifteen minutes before I realized she was still out... I felt so bad! Now when there's a storm she runs to the basement and hides in the bathroom and sits in the space between the toilet and the wall, or she lays on the landing of the stairs going down to the basement and puts her head under the coats that are hanging there. It's actually pretty funny

[calgal]

Here in CA. thunder and lightning is a rare occurence, but the last time we had them Zada just lifted her head to look at me and Azrael barked. They had a confused look but weren't a bit afraid. I just got the treat jar out and made things look normal. They were happy.

[rmci]

Yep, living in CA I don't see many thunderstorms either. It's the fireworks that get my Rusty climbing your pantlegs. Nothing seems to work, he just has to be near someone. He'll practically climb to the top of your head.

[laser]

Sheltie Right???? Well I will guess that I hope you know it is not normal for a Sheltie to be like this until they get older! What works som cotton in the ears like a ball it will help. you see it is the sharp snap they hear not the boom... Luck Bye Laser