Dog Gone Positive
Thunder, Lightening, the way you love me frightening!!
by Maria Ryan on 08/05/10
Well, it's definitely that time of year when some of our pets run and hide, others shake like a leaf on a tree in the storm and for the lucky ones, sleep through the storm. What do you do as a concerned pet owner? We can pull out the Rescue Remedy, baby Benadryl and diazepam but by the time we open the package the storm is usually over. If you can predict with the help of weather radar you may want to consider premedicating. The down side is that the storm never reaches your area and you dog is medicated. I like most are never that prepared.
I have done a variety of things that have worked. I want to add I never had a dog with thunderstorm phobia until this year. Our 8 yr old JRT "Scrat" developed this fear this year. Lucky us! Poor little guy. Luckily he is so food motivated he will eat anything, anywhere, anytime. I break out the treats and ask him to do things he knows how to do like sit, down, look cute, whatever. Even if he didn't do anything I would still feed him. By pairing something that he loves with something that absolutely terrifies him is helping to desensitize him to his fear. Depending on the dog you can also pull out toys. You need to know what your dog loves more than anything in the world. All this being said guess what? It may not work. Your dogs' anxiety may be so high and adrenaline is pumping that there is no way to get through. Providing a safe place to escape to like a closet, bath tub, crate or any cozy safe area has worked for my clients.
I used to believe that if dogs where displaying fear and I comforted them I was reinforcing the fearful behavior. I think it can be a fine line at times. Our pets take cues from us. So, it is important for us to remain clam and relaxed. I think if this were true then we wouldn't find a distressed dog home when we are not there. Who's there to reinforce behavior? No one. Also, just as humans change behaviorally as we age I am seeing more of this as my dogs age and my clients dog age. It's like their mid-life crisis.
However, it's pretty obvious to me when "Scrat" is terrified. Here are his signs, pupils the size of cast iron frying pans, full stretched open mouth with heavy panting, pink to red pigment change around the eyes, red pigment change in his ears, and trembling. He will seek me out for contact. He lays in my lap, starts to clam down, and with few trembles typically relaxes fairly quickly. I make sure I have a book or have something to do since I will be stationary. I could be sitting for awhile.
Definitely talk to your vet about medication options. Provide a safe place for your pets to escape to especially if your not going to be home and if you are home pull out all the high value reinforcers.
