jjean Posted March 1, 2007 Report Share Posted March 1, 2007 At 4 am this morning I woke to 45 pound Zip trying to fit himself between my hubby's head and mine. Why? A thunderstorm. 60 pound Cinna was between us pushing against me. Jack at 38 pounds, is not afraid of storms but feeds off the stress. He was going back and forth trying to find a spot outside our legs. And 50 pound Bo could only get 1/2 his body on the bed to give me kisses until Cinna would growl and he would get down. As the thunder got louder, Zip moved over my head and sat down. I had to move fast - with Cinna holding the covers down - to keep Zip's butt from landing on my face. Cinna wanted to 'mother' so she was licking hubby's hand. When he moved it, she proceded to clean Jack's ears. And Bo kept trying to give me kisses. Hubby turned on the TV to drown out some of the thunder. When they all settled down, I fell asleep just in time for the alarm to go off. That's when the cats showed up begging for breakfast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoloRiver Posted March 1, 2007 Report Share Posted March 1, 2007 I would look into treating Cinna's storm phobia. Storm Phobias Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bailey44 Posted March 2, 2007 Report Share Posted March 2, 2007 Well that's an interesting way to start your day! I think many of our dogs have quirks/fears. Polly does pretty well with thunderstorms, but at a year she still has some mild separation anxiety at night. We can't put bedding in with her or she rips and shreds it. Now she is at the point where she stress digs for a few minutes on the floor of her crate and then seems to settle in. Thanks for sharing a funny family moment! Charlene Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iluvlucy Posted March 2, 2007 Report Share Posted March 2, 2007 sorry to be laughing, but it is sort of funny. sure hope you have a king size bed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juliepoudrier Posted March 2, 2007 Report Share Posted March 2, 2007 I have several thunderphobic dogs. We're supposed to have severe storms come through early tomorrow morning. I have enough crates in the bedroom to crate the bad ones. I cover the crates since they also seem to react to lightning flashes. That way I don't have to be caught under a crush of dogs who feel a need to get on the bed during a storm and we all sleep better. I have to admit that I was thinking that if the storms didn't come through till 3 or 4 a.m. that I'd at least get most of a night's sleep before all he** breaks loose! (Fortunately, none of mine have phobias so bad as to be a risk to themselves, and usually crating is sufficient to keep things under control. J. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjean Posted March 2, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 2, 2007 Zip has the storm phobias, Cinna has dominance issues. I should put Zip in a kennel during a storm but I wasn't expecting one. He calms down in a covered kennel. Bo has storm phobia from being chained outside the first 4 years of his life. (I rescued him 2 years ago from my in-laws.) He has a lot of other issues but that's a long thread. Cinna wants to be the alpha. She's taught me alot about working with a dominant dog. She usually has only a slight storm phobia. Her problem is that she wants to protect me when I'm in bed. Jack is just a spoild brat and it is all my hubby and my fault. He's like living with a savant. And yes, we have a king size bed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bc4pack Posted March 2, 2007 Report Share Posted March 2, 2007 I have a t-storm phobic bitch and have had good results with 3mgs melatonin,even at first distant rumble.It takes the edge off and no, it does not sedate. I also use a kids t-shirt as an anxiety wrap... This spring t-storm season, I'm going to start adding Rescue Remedy to drinking water. Tara Being storm phobic and having been raised outside do not necessarily go hand in hand. IME there tends to be a predisposition amongst several herding breeds for storm phobias and storm phobia tends to manifest itself as the dog ages. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kat's Dogs Posted March 2, 2007 Report Share Posted March 2, 2007 I feel lucky, my only storm phobic dog is only 8 pounds! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carson Crazies Posted March 2, 2007 Report Share Posted March 2, 2007 I have a pretty badly thunderphobic dog, a slightly thunderphobic dog, and a social climber. The social climber is not really dominant, just pushy because she wants to be. Since her brand of pushiness causes problems and allowing her on the bed with us makes it worse, she is not allowed on the bed when humans are in it. That seems to cut down on the opportunity for growling and snarking not only on the bed, but off as well. As for my very thunderphobic dog I always crate her if there's even a hint at possible thunder. I do DAP's with her, but I'm not sure how much of a difference that makes. I'm planning to try out one of the anxiety wraps this season, so I'll let you guys know how it goes. However, my holistic vet gave me a new supplement to try and so far it seems to be making a difference. If that is the case after a few *big* storms, I'll post about it so you all can try it. I've tried several pharmaceuticals and wasn't pleased with the results, but so far this nutraceutical appears to be very effective. For a while her situation was escalating, but now it actually seems to be improving (very much so). My slightly thunderphobic dog has become better over the years, and now seems to just get concerned if it's really bad - and on those nights I will let her on the bed. Once she's up she curls up tightly and is very still and quiet. One big thing that (IMO) helps with thunderphobic dogs is staying pro-active. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WyoBC Posted March 2, 2007 Report Share Posted March 2, 2007 Sounds like you had a fun night I don't mean to laugh but it's kind of funny. I don't know if Black Jack is stormphobic or not. We haven't had any stomrs since I got him yet. I'll bet he will because most noises scare him. But we'll see. The story reminds me of Black Jack about a month ago. I was down stairs watching tv before my shower and I fell asleep for a min, just to wake up with his butt sitting right square on my face I guess I quit playing for to long Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjean Posted March 2, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 2, 2007 Tara - Thanks for the T-shirt idea. Here is Zip in my favorite costume I made him. This should build his confidence during storms. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bc4pack Posted March 2, 2007 Report Share Posted March 2, 2007 OK, toooooooooo cute! Just snug it up around the waist, and it honestly can help with mild cases. My female is a pant and find her safe spot case. Along the Gulf Coast t-storms are frequent,to say the least,so it has gotten to the point that with the first smell of rain she's finding her safe spot. I am soooooo grateful that she's not the destructive kind. One of our narc dogs ( a Malinois) was a tad strange,she was horribly claustrophobic in storms...she would pant,pace etc but don't put her in a crate,she would break teeth and rip out nails...it was bad...she ended up getting a transfer to a DRY DESERT port. She would get out of whatever she was in run,crate and stay put...the hussy would even get out and stand in the rain! Regular Houdini! Tara Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vickkers Posted March 2, 2007 Report Share Posted March 2, 2007 Awwww I'm sorry but that's too funny. I could totally see the doggy butt coming straight for your head! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bc4pack Posted March 2, 2007 Report Share Posted March 2, 2007 The t-shirt concept is a version of the different wraps used with TTouch.If you're interested just google and there'll be plenty of sites complete with photos etc. Recommended highly with all kinds of nervousness.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoloRiver Posted March 2, 2007 Report Share Posted March 2, 2007 One big thing that (IMO) helps with thunderphobic dogs is staying pro-active. Yup. If you think your dog is noise phobic, don't wait and see if it will get better. It won't. Sorry Jean, I misread your original post. I should have said Zip, not Cinna. I have tried tight T-shirts on Solo and all they did was make him look silly. Melatonin also had no effect. If Rescue Remedy has any effect at all I suspect it is due to the alcohol the flower essences are suspended in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bc4pack Posted March 3, 2007 Report Share Posted March 3, 2007 Just like anything with dogs, whether or not something seems to help ... just depends. I have seen a couple of mildly reactive dogs that have benefitted by inner ear flap application of Rescue Remedy. Again...as is the norm in all things canine.... It depends... every dog is different Tara Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
myiavedder Posted January 6, 2008 Report Share Posted January 6, 2008 My last dog was a storm phobic Bearded Collie. I got him from the Beardie rescue group when he was 5. He died at 13. His thunder related anxiety only got worse as he got older. He had no other noise phobias or anxieties. His anxiety with storms was also not just noise related...he could be on the deck and sense a storm rolling in well before it started. And since we live in Texas, they roll in unannounced on a regular basis! His reaction to storms was interesting. Other storm phobic dogs I've had wanted to find a safe place and hide from the storm so they would cower under beds or in closets. My beardie wanted to attack the storm. He crashed through more than one screen door and even a 2nd story picture window in an attempt to get to the source of the thunder. I went to numerous vets with this issue and none recommended medicating him. I brought it up a few times and they said it was too dangerous. I always left those vet offices wishing those vets could spend a stormy afternoon at my house and then assess what was more dangerous! Through much trial and error, I found a combination of melatonin, Rescue Remedy, an anxiety wrap, and confinement to be the only way to cope. I now have a 10-wk old Border Collie. He doesn't seem to be scared of anything (ANYTHING!) yet. He even cuddles next to the warm vacuum cleaner when I'm done vacuuming! However, I now know that these phobias/anxieties can occur later in life and I'm grateful to be prepared with info regarding medication. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allie Oop Posted January 6, 2008 Report Share Posted January 6, 2008 I second Melanie's suggestion of treating the issue. I currently have a prescription for Valium on hand for Allie (Xanax didn't really work as well for us). Allie is very noise-phobic and I can't stand to see the stress it brings on for her. If we don't medicate she is a basketcase and makes Rusty stressed, too. I don't use the meds very often, but fireworks (4th of July), intense thunderstorms, etc. bring on a terrible reaction and Allie is much happier (and safer) if she is not so stressed out. It doesn't knock her out and she is still a little jumpy, but she can settle down by us and is capable of being comforted. Unmedicated, she is so frightened, I fear she could hurt herself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bo Peep Posted January 6, 2008 Report Share Posted January 6, 2008 Tara - Thanks for the T-shirt idea. Here is Zip in my favorite costume I made him. This should build his confidence during storms. This what Usher thinks of the hooded sweatshirt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sasha's Mom Posted January 7, 2008 Report Share Posted January 7, 2008 I'm going to try the T-shirt thing. I keep saying I'm going to get one of those storm defender capes, but I'm waiting to hear more reviews. My GSD Nik is thunderphobic; Sasha is becoming moreso as she gets older. Both of them just get close to us and shake and pant, although Nik will attempt to destroy doors to get to us. (Crating didn't work at all.) We generally just get up and lay on the couch watching the weather channel when it gets bad. Storms are usually pretty short here, and don't come in waves like they do in the midwest where it would storm all night. (Unless it's hurricaining, and then all bets are off.) We found that benadryl works quite well for our guys (about 0.5 mg/kg dosing)- just a hint of sedation, and much less drooling. I have acepromazine, but don't like using it. I don't know how they'd react to alprazolam. I don't like using it in humans due to the short half-life, but could see a dog-storm role. Might have to try it, but we're in the dry season now - not much to worry about until summer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kcdawg Posted January 8, 2008 Report Share Posted January 8, 2008 Casey is thunderphobic, but he got that from me, which i got from my Mother. BUT, having thunderstom warnings and tornadoes in Wisconsin in early January is enough to make anybody phobic!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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