My 14 year old Coton de Tulear, Montagu, has suffered from anxiety from thunderstorms since he was a puppy. It would break my heart to see him tremble so much. He would practically belly crawl to either the bedroom to hide under the bed or a closet. I would cancel dinner plans if a storm was threatening. I never considered sedation for him (me? yes!). Several months ago, I stumbled across an advertisment "Calming Collars" a cloth collar filled with herbs and alleged to calm dogs (and cats)during thunderstorms. So, what the heck, I sent away for one. Well, I am now a cheerleader for Calming Collars! If a storm is predicted, I put the collar on Montagu. While he still doesn't like storms, he will now lay at my feet or under my desk and even fall asleep. They are a little pricey, but they do work! www.calmingcollars.com

ZeeZee
Bermuda and Vero Beach, FL

Recently I've been seeing a lot of people buy and put up reviews of the Thundershirt (www.thundershirt.com), including some friends of mine. Some are using it for thunderstorms, some for generally anxious dogs, some for dogs who are anxious in the car. I have been amazed at the amount of positive reviews on how this shirt seems to work almost instantly. Maybe this is a route people could go before using sedatives?

Most behavioural problems during storms are caused by the owners themselves. If the owner is frigthened or terrified, so will the animal be.
A lot of dogs pass through my home and none leave it frightened of storms.
When they first prick their ears up at the distant rumble, I say to them in my 'play voice,' what's that, eh chaps? but I DON'T MAKE ANY FUSS OF THEM .. that's very important.
As the storm nears and increases in violence I take them for a nice casual stroll. If it's raining all the better as they won't go out in the rain unless you get wet as well. Then it is fine for them.
When it's time to take shelter back home, we have fun as I towel them down and watch them spray the TV and everything else in range as they shake.
I appreciate that generally the storms we get in Spain are not as fearce as thos you get in the States BUT a hefty overhead clap of thunder is the same in any country and if a dog will ride that, he will ride almost anything.
If you are feeding your animals your fears, then try to seperate yourself from them during a storm and leave them with someone who isn't frightened. (or who at least can control their own fear
Ian

Spain, you are on the money and I believe most behavior problems are similar in that you can look at the owner and see the problem.

Glad to see the comment regarding the thundershirt.
Bought three at ClickerExpo.
Definitely would recommend trying the shirt before going the drug route.

Certainly there are animals who could have avoided developing phobias if their people had properly addressed their fears.

My middle girl is a great example. Her first thunderstorm (we live in Ontario, between two of the Great Lakes - we get CRAZY thunderstorms), she freaked out. She hid under the bed, tried to get under the covers, paced, panted, etc. We ignored the behaviour, and gave affection to our other dog throughout the storm, seeing if she would learn by watching her sister that there was nothing to fear.

The next thunderstorm we were prepared. We had her favourite cookies (Northern Biscuits Green Tripe - irresistible!) and at the first sign of thunder, we started with the treats. Every time the thunder cracked, we said something like "wow, big thunder!" and gave them all cookies. It took about four thunderclaps before she got the idea. Now, the beginning of a thunderstorm puts her on the end of the couch, staring at me, waiting for the cookie machine to fire up.

However, I have known dogs who were not frightened by the noise, but rather the ozone/energy/barometric pressure that comes with thunderstorms. These are generally extremely touch sensitive dogs. Some are easy to pick out, as they seek out places that guard them against the energy in the air - usually in the bathroom. You will find these dogs in the tub/shower, or behind the toilet/sink. Some people think that they are using the plumbing to ground themselves - giving the energy a place to go.

For these dogs, comfort wrap-type devices can work WONDERS. We don't use anything special, just a fairly wide tension bandage. We start around the neck, and then cover as much of the body as possible with firm tension (not too tight!). The theory is that energy from the storm runs through their fur, upsetting them. The wrap (whether purchased or made) holds the fur tightly together which prevents electricity from jumping hair to hair. It's also just generally soothing (which we know so much more about, thanks to Temple Grandin).

For ALL dogs with thunderstorm issues, we use the thunderstorm/firework version of Homeopet's Anxiety (they come in cat and dog). Added to that is a few drops of Rescue Remedy either in the mouth, in the ear flap, or on a cookie, plus a dose of Gravol (please see your vet for dosing instructions). We do NOT use anything stronger.

Too many dogs have gone home with a few doses of Ace only to have their thunder fears grow exponentially. The theory is that the Ace slows down the body but not the mind. Imagine you're facing your worst fear and suddenly your body goes to sleep while leaving your mind fully alert. Would you panic? I think so. We do not believe in this type of sedation. The sedation that comes with Gravol tends to be more cerebral.

My apologies for the length of the post, but our rescue deals mainly with special needs dogs and behavioural issues. We get a LOT of thunderstorm cases, including severe ones that have self-mutilated, gone through windows or destroyed the home due to anxiety. There has never been a dog (so far!) that we couldn't get past their thunder phobia - all without sedatives. The problem is that people don't want to do the work. They want the magic pill....

Since both my dogs are deaf, this is not an issue. My new cat, however,is afraid of thunder and loud noises in general. Despite his huge size, he is quite meek. As soon as the noises stop, he comes out from under the bed and resumes normal activity.

When I was a child we had an Airedale. I don't remember him being particularly afraid of thunder. Yet one Fourth of July the fireworks caused him to jump in the bathtub with my grandmother. Which brings up another comment - I am stunned to see how many fools bring their dogs to fireworks displays. Ignorance is alive and well.

My Border Collie doesn't care about storms one way or another, save she doesn't like getting wet. But my re-homed Shepherd is very sensitive - she reacts to storms that are still FAR over the horizon - Storms that don't ever come near, and that I only know about because of weather radar - and her reaction. She has been like this ever since I've had her, and clearly the problem came with her, fully-formed by the time she entered my care.

Watching 90 pounds of dog trying to slide under a couch or climb atop the furniture is amusing for about one second, then it becomes a real safety issue. I'm a firm believer in the utility of crate training, and it works on her noise phobias (fireworks - even miles-distant, also set her off, as do sudden loud crowd noises such as cheering after an exciting play). She uses her crate as a resting spot and retreat at any time other than during a phobia attack, but, though she resists *entering* her crate during a phobia attack, once I get her *in* her crate, she settles right down and goes to sleep.

For me, with a race track, stadium, and a ball park nearby, and inconsiderate neighbors, fireworks and loud crowd noises can happen randomly and without warning at practically any time. Likewise, thunderstorms pop up randomly in the late afternoons and through the night all summer long, so planning in advance to medicate her is largely a lost cause – I’d have to keep her sedated more-or-less constantly.

Thundershirts and similar products will work with some dogs, as do other distraction techniques, such as the herbal collars. For my Shepherd, the crate is all the treatment she needs - that, and the care I take to make sure she gets to her place of safety in the midst of an attack. And, yes, of course, for some dogs, medication is the correct route.

There isn't a one-size-fits-all approach. Medication is, in my humble opinion, the last refuge after all lesser means have been tried and have failed, or if they cannot be practicably applied. If owners take the time to learn what works best, and try alternate means, they may find they’ve saved themselves a fair bit of money.

I wonder if the term "sedatives" might be a bit misleading here? Of course, I'm not sure what you like to prescribe for thunderstorm phobia, but really isn't the current recommendation for this problem anxiolytics (benzodiazepines, for example, or short-term SSRIs) rather than sedatives per se (e.g. acepromazine)? My understanding, and I'm not behavior specialist, is that the advantage to anxiolytics is that they are 1) often safer than sedatives, 2) they address the immediate primary problem, which is excessive anxiety response and 3) they may interfere with memory, which can prevent the escalation of the phobia over time.

Certainly behavior therapy is the best way to address the underlying problem over time (which it sounds like you're planning on addressing in the next post on the subject). But it's a tough issue to solve, and as you pointed out behavior modification may not work for some pets unless they have help from anxiolytic medication. And I don't see that relieving the immediate suffering with anti-anxiety medication should be at all "unsavory." I worry about unintentionally making owners feel bad for "drugging" their dog and then ending up with the pet suffering terrible anxiety because other treatments aren't being applied or aren't working and the owner is afraid of appropriate use of medications. I see this all the time with pain medications, so I guess I'm sensitive to the issue. Appropriate recognition of the risks of medications is certainly important, but it's easy for people to go too far and end up with drug phobis, to the detriment of their pets.

CP - have you ever used food and a noise CD to see if you can desensitize your cat?

As for fireworks, we bring our dogs with us, and sit further back so that the sounds is less deafening. Mind you, they have been acclimated to these sounds since they were pups.

MaskMan will probably agree that herding dogs seem to be some of the most sensitive to touch and noise. MaskMan, have you ever tried wrapping her? Sometimes even just putting a t-shirt on them, and tying the excess in a knot is enough cover so that they aren't as sensitive to the static that a storm brings with it.

SkeptVet - this is one area where I have never needed to use medication of any kind, and we've had some pretty serious cases. I don't kid myself, a good portion of this is luck - we've obviously gotten easy cases that were just never addressed properly. While I see your point, and would certainly use medications if I ever found them necessary, I prefer, like MaskMan, to exhaust my natural treatments and behaviour modification techniques first. I have recommended drugs to clients before, as I felt that they had a much better chance of success with medical aids than on their own - but never sedatives per se, rather whatever their vet felt was appropriate.

I don't agree 100% with what Spain said. I'm sure some dogs feed off their owners fear, but both of my dogs have had some sort of thunderstorm anxiety (one shakes and the other hides). They're certainly not feeding off any fear I have as I LOVE storms (I actually moved out to the Midwest at one point in the hopes of seeing a tornado). I always hear storms now with mixed feelings, knowing I'm excited by them and want to watch while my poor dog is hiding in terror.

So much good information. Our dog is a rescue that was returned to the Humane Society twice, all because of being a destructive horrible dog (yeah, right!).

I won't go into detail except to say that reading Babysweet's post along with our experience, every dog can have their issues worked through, and it's rare drugs are needed. They just need someone that understands their needs, their past, and can work with them towards a better future.

Oh, and it applies to more than dogs, folks....

Do antidepressants work for phobeas in pets? I know in humans that they are helpful when Neurotransmitters are a bit out of wack.

wooops did not read SkeptVet's take on SSRI's. Looks like he or she answered it my question already

@Crysania - I don't think Spain meant that the dogs are necessarily feeding off of fear.

I firmly believe that phobias can be avoided but success is highly dependent on how you handle the fear the first time it appears.

Many people try to console a frightened pet, and in doing so can actually feed the fear. I'm not saying that's what happened with your dogs, but this certainly accounts for a high percentage of the phobia cases that I see. Aggression cases as well are frequently caused by the way the owner reacts to the dog's aggressive response. If it's nipped in the bud, it never has a chance to develop into a full blown behavioural issue.

As with most behaviour problems, prevention is always more effective than treatment.

I'm one of those people who believes what Dr. Patricia McConnell says about fear/storm phobia: you cannot reinforce that fear through "coddling". It makes me sad how many people will pointedly ignore their scared dogs in the hope of "not reinforcing" the fear even though they ache to reach out and try to comfort them.

Storm phobia is one of those all too near to me issues. The old shelter dog I pulled several years ago turned out to have terrible storm phobia. He'd start stressing before I could even sense a storm coming. I didn't hesitate to jump right to drugs with him after attempts at cookie parties failed and Melatonin made no apparent difference for him. He took clomipramine twice daily during storm season with Xanax for storms. I have zero regrets. I saw no benefit in letting him suffer from such fear.

Now I have a 20 month old Border Collie. Knowing that BCs are frequently noise sensitive and prone to thunderstorm phobia (heck, the behavioral genetics study people are even doing a special study on the issue) I threw a huge party full of cookies and ball playing joy every time we had a storm during his first summer here. He never seemed to notice storms.

This year, the first storm rolled in, and he would quit in the middle of ball-playing to glue himself to me. He wouldn't engage. He'll still take cookies, but he's very visibly stressed. And truth be told, I'm seriously considering starting him on Xanax *now*, not waiting until he's a freaked out mess who can't even take cookies. Especially with the 4th of July looming.

i also have a Coton De Tuelar and she never liked thunderstorms or rain. she would shake and hide. I tried rescue remedy all natural stress relief, u can find in the health stores.
one drop in the mouth for about 12 lb dog. it helps a little but not as much as getting another dog that doesn't seem to have a problem with storms, now she is much calmer cause all of us are.

i also have a Coton De Tuelar and she never liked thunderstorms or rain. she would shake and hide. I tried rescue remedy all natural stress relief, u can find in the health stores.
one drop in the mouth for about 12 lb dog. it helps a little but not as much as getting another dog that doesn't seem to have a problem with storms, now she is much calmer cause all of us are.

babbysweet;
In general, I refer to herding-type dogs as "alert and vigilant" rather than 'sensitive.' They're bred that way on purpose, FOR a purpose, and that can sometimes get them labaled as more 'reactive' than dogs bred for other purposes. My BC, though, couldn't care less about fireworks, crowd noises, or thunder. They're simply not part of her threat envelope. I've no idea why that is, to be honest - She's a rescue, and I didn't raise her. But she is not even remotely unique in my experience, volunteering at our local BC rescue operation. All said, I see no more noise phobia amongst our transient guests or perminant pack than I've seen in any other breed. Indeed, my Shepherd is the first noise-reactive dog I've ever owned in a lifetime of owning dogs. And no, I've not bothered with the wrap with her, because in her specific case, crating is more than sufficient to calm her down. If it weren't, wraps or thundershirts would be my next step.

This is not to say that a badly handled dog can't be reactive to touch or sound, nor that such a dog couldn't develop an unreasonable fear if mishandled in the wrong circumstances... ANY dog, when scared or uncertain, will react more sharply to any unexpected stimulus, be it sound or touch.

I see fear reactivity, sadly, all too often at the rescue. On initial intake it's entirely normal, but generally fades pretty fast with time and exposure. Sometimes, however, there's more to it than just unsettling new environments. One of the prime jobs we have before we can place a dog is to find as many of their 'triggers' as we can and desensitize them to as many as possible. Usually we win. Sometimes, though, we do not.