Prevention and Treating Thunderstorm Anxiety

Prevention and Treating Thunderstorm Anxiety

It’s that time of year that we don’t look forward to with our dogs.  Those noisy angels bowling up in heaven and the crashing of cymbals from above, can be scary and foreign to a lot of our dogs.  Imprinting young puppies with tapes of thunderstorms early on, can be very helpful in preventing this fear. Sometimes this fear can be caused by a previous bad experience with thunderstorms such as the lightning strike close to the house.  How can we help them during these times of stress?

My thunderstorm a kit includes many different things such as:

• Thunder shirts
• Essential oil of lavender
• Bach’s Rescue Remedy
• Homeopet Anxiety TFLN
• Loud music 
• Turning on all lights in the house
• Toys that squeak to distract dogs during Storm
• Chews such as bully sticks also used to distract
• Running a loud box fan

If you can remain calm and soothing to the dog that is helpful.  Going into the bathroom with the dog shutting the window blinds or curtains and turning on all the lights and playing some louder music to distract from the noise.  This can also be a good plan if you are going to be gone for the day and you know your dog is fearful of storms and that they have been predicted.  If anxiety is severe you might want to check with your vet and consult a professional dog trainer for help.

Nan Long, APDT
Canine Connections Dog Training