Scared of thunder

[Thebull]

Our collie Star is terrified of fireworks and thunder. We're prepared here In November and we give her sedatives. Tonight there's been storms loads of thunder and she's hyper ventilating and getting very distressed. Aside from turning the music up and lots of love does anyone have any tips?

 

[Palinurus]

It seems animals can be trained to accept the noises of fireworks and thunder strikes without flinching or loosing their wits.

Some examples:

_https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6uTK5VoDcXQ

_https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8vRUjCiTDQ

_http://nos.nl/video/274035-paarden-oefenen-voor-prinsjesdag.html

_https://positively.com/contributors/10-safety-and-calming-tips-for-dogs-during-fireworks/

You could g00gle for more...

Hope this helps a bit. :)

 

[3DStudent]

Our dog is scared of thunder and loud noises in general too. She's quite large so she can be a hassle as she will try to squeeze behind things and knock over things.

We've used an herbal flower liquid product called Rescue Remedy. It takes about 15 minutes to kick in and works well. We also bought some passionflower, which is supposed to help with the anxiety. And I tried a few doses of the passion flower for a day and didn't notice a difference in my anxiety or stress level.

Also we've used Benadryl or generic antihistamine, which calms her down. But it's not the best choice compared to an herbal remedy.

Thanks for those links Palinurus.

 

[Laura]

Our two collies, Elvis and Cherie - especially Cherie - are terrified of thunder. Actually, they begin getting nervous and pacing long before we have any real signs of a storm. I'm sure they sense/feel/hear things we do not. I once asked the Cs about it starting off with a question about our dog at the time, half collie 1/4 chow, 1/4 lab:

Q: Well, Percy is in the kitchen because he gets so
hysterical when there is thunder. Why does he get so
frantic?
A: Sensitive to ozone.
Q: That brings up another thought: in several cases of the
flying boomerangs, collies were involved. And, subsequent
to my own sighting, I lost my collie within 3 months. He
just started wasting away and died and nothing we did
helped. What is the connection, if any?
A: Genetic biological manufacturing defect leaves open
absorption of unusually high levels of collateral
radiation.
Q: But why is it that so many people who have seen these
boomerangs seem to have collies?
A: That is not always the case.
Q: Well, but a significant number! I wonder if there is
something genetic in the people who prefer collies.
Remember, collies are a Celtic dog!
A: Indeed!!

Anyway, Cherie and Elvis get so frantic when a storm is approaching that they resort to extreme measures including opening doors by themselves so that they can get upstairs to our room Then, if a gentle scratch doesn't open the door, they fling themselves against it, and if that doesn't get results, they open it themselves.

What do we do? Well, so far, we just try to calm them down in the room. I'll sleep with my hand hanging over the bed to touch Cherie (Elvis can handle it enough to lie somewhere in the room). On a couple of occasions, it has been so bad I've had to sit up with her. She will literally try to dig a hole in the wall. I'm wondering if she might not like a crate at such times? She never liked her crate when she was a baby, though, so she wasn't fully crate trained. All she had to do was squeak a bit and I would take her up in the bed. That's what she wants when it thunders: to get up in the bed between us but then she just keeps clawing around and we can't sleep. Yeah, it is an increasing problem because of the increasing storms we've been having.

Well, obviously, a tranquilizer would be useful but most of them take so long to act and so long to wear off that you have to know in advance that the storm is coming to administer it.

I know that the sedative the vet gives the dogs is like 100% casein, so maybe giving them a small bowl of milk would help? I just never have any in the house but maybe I should get some powdered just for such occasions. Hadn't thought about it before just now.

 

[Laura]

Hmm.... now that I've written the above I think I'll just ask the vet for a fast acting sedative to have on hand.

 

[Keit]

I know that the sedative the vet gives the dogs is like 100% casein, so maybe giving them a small bowl of milk would help? I just never have any in the house but maybe I should get some powdered just for such occasions. Hadn't thought about it before just now.

If it's made from casein, then it's probably Zylkene? But, yeah, according to the description it can be useful only as a long term treatment. There is another natural alternative called Calmex. Apparently, it is faster acting than Zylkene and can be used in acute situations. But, then, some say that it isn't that effective either. The products and the doses should be tested and adjusted.

As for a pharmaceutical solution, diazepam(valium) appears to be quick and effective in some cases, but not for prolonged use, as it creates dependency.

But maybe you can try another solution. Some time ago I read about a stress relief technique of applying constant pressure from both sides of an animal, like a squeeze or a big hug. The technique was invented by Temple Grandin, and in case of humans it is called a "hug machine". And today when reading about natural calmers I stumbled upon the "thunder shirt" that uses the same principle. This kind of thing is actually being routinely done in vet clinics using "restraining shirts" or blankets, but mostly on cats.

Maybe next time they are scared, you could try and roll them into a big blanket, though not sure if that could be accomplished with such a big puppy!

Here's an image of a collie in thunder shirt, and here are testimonials.

And this is sheltie:

 

[Laura]

Well, I'm getting two. If it works, it will save us a LOT of sleepless nights.

 

[Mrs.Tigersoap]

I heard good things about pheronome diffusers such as D.A.P. (Adaptil). Perhaps it could help?

_http://adaptildogs.com/

 

[Z...]

here are some tips on this page

http://www.vetmalta.com/zoran-daily-pet/132-firework-season-is-upon-us-how-to-help-a-dog-with-noise-phobia

 

[Laura]

here are some tips on this page

http://www.vetmalta.com/zoran-daily-pet/132-firework-season-is-upon-us-how-to-help-a-dog-with-noise-phobia

Just to be clear, our dogs don't have a noise phobia.

 

[Buddy]

The idea of giving our chihuahuas something for thunder terror never occurred to me. During the day time, I would just take them to an inner room in the house and play with them or engage them in some activity to try and distract them. During an actual thunder roll, they still shiver to the point of falling apart, but giving them hugs and letting them lick my face half off seems to help.

If it's during the night, we just cuddle under the covers together in the bed.

The Celtic connection between Collies and humans is interesting. I wonder what the connection between chihuahuas and humans would be, if there is one. I know we can go from napping to chasing each other around the house in about 3 seconds. Maybe it's a temperament thing.

 

[Chrissy]

I have the thunder coat for one of my dogs. She's terrified in thunderstorms. It's like she's a completely different personality. She's a lab/golden retriever mix so she's naturally pretty mellow, but when a storm hits she becomes destructive. I have Acepromazine from the vet, but it takes 30 minutes to start working and by the time we figure out she needs one, she's too nervous to take a pill. The coat takes some training for them to get used to. In my experience, I'd say the difference is when she has it on, at least she will settle herself down on her bed or next to us. She's still nervous and panting, but not pacing, trying to hide or eat through a door.

 

[Z...]

here are some tips on this page

http://www.vetmalta.com/zoran-daily-pet/132-firework-season-is-upon-us-how-to-help-a-dog-with-noise-phobia

Just to be clear, our dogs don't have a noise phobia.

Thunder phobia is classified as a form of noise phobia at least medically and in case of your dogs it seems to be linked to the breed. Acquired noise phobias are much easier to treat then genetic ones but both can be significantly alleviated and stopped from progressing. FWIW

 

[Keit]

Thunder phobia is classified as a form of noise phobia at least medically and in case of your dogs it seems to be linked to the breed. Acquired noise phobias are much easier to treat then genetic ones but both can be significantly alleviated and stopped from progressing. FWIW

Maybe I misunderstood, but perhaps the idea is that they are scared not because they have a noise/thunder phobia, but because they are reacting to the increased levels of ozone in the atmosphere right before the storm?

There is this article that talks about dogs feeling the changes in weather before we do, including smelling ozone in the air.

A dog is more sensitive to the drop in barometric pressure and the shift in the static electric field that comes prior to climate changes. With severe weather imminent, like the often quick turn-about a tornado brings, or the severe conditions in the wake of an approaching hurricane, a dog will not only feel those acute changes in electricity and air pressure — all that much more acute in severe weather — but beyond warning their households, they have been known to seek shelter themselves.

Picking up a scent

Have you ever stepped out of your house, taken a hearty inhale and said, “Mmm, it certainly smells like rain?” Well, if you can sniff out that scent, your dog can too — their noses can detect concentrations of chemicals we couldn’t even imagine. When it comes to the smell of ozone in the air attributed to lightning, rest assured your pooch will smell it before you do!

Many natural veterinarians use ozone to treat animals and with good results, but apparently some say that it can have adverse effects, including being toxic to pets. Maybe it is indeed related to breed, who knows. In any case, apparently ozone can also produce symptoms mimicking allergies. fwiw.

 

[pete02]

You took the words right outta my mouth Keit. I was just thinking the same thing, our little Shelty gets nervous way before we can even see or hear anything coming so it can't be a noise phobia. I know they have much better hearing as well but I'm talking a good ten to fifteen minutes before we even see clouds moving in. He is actually a much better weatherman than the people who get paid to do it!

What blows me away is that he can actually tell the difference between an actual storm or just a passing shower. Showers don't bother him but when he gets nervous I know a storms a comin. I might actually look into one of those coats for him myself. Being that he's so small tho I usually just let him jump in my lap and give him a good rub down but then sometimes he falls asleep and I'm stuck so the coat might be a good solution.