We had a ninety-pound dog who used to try to wedge himself under the sofa when we had a thunderstorm. What made it worse was he could sense the storm was coming before the first thunderclap or lightning strike. The shaking, whining, and panting was hard to watch. The only way to calm him down was to let him lie on you, (did I mention how big he was?) while you petted and spoke to him.
We have had a few small storms this summer and our dog Bandit really hasn’t paid much attention to them, but last night, we had one of those storms that rattles the house, and Bandit had a much different reaction. He was acting frantic, and then he lay down on my feet and leaned into me. I whispered to my husband, “He’s lying down. This isn’t normal.” Usually, at night we are relaxing in the living room throwing tennis balls to Bandit. Each time the thunder rumbled, he would look up at me to see if I was going to tell him what to do. It’s difficult to see your pet be in any kind of distress, so I researched how you can help a pet who is afraid of storms.
There are anxiety pills to give your dog. Research the variety that are available on the internet to find the one that is right for your dog.
There is also something called a thunder shirt calming wrap. It provides pressure around the torso calming the dog.
Use a sound machine to create white noise to drown out the thunder.
Close the shades to eliminate as much of the visuals from the storm as possible.
Distract the dog by throwing a ball, giving a treat, or brushing him.
I hope some of these will help you calm your dog during the next storm.
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