So we have 3 dogs, 2 mutts and a Great Dane. Our Dane, 6 years old, a rescue, who we’ve had for a little over a year, is absolutely terrified of thunderstorms. When one pops up she pants and shivers like crazy. We’ve tried one of those thunder shirts and even those hemp treats that are supposed to help. Anyone else have these issues with your dog? Anything to help them through it? My other dogs are perfectly fine through storms and fireworks and such.
Dogs and thunderstorms
- Thread starter 93redzj
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skyhighZJ
Gov retirement < needs to live
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- Aberdeen, NC.
RatLabGuy
You look like a monkey and smell like one too
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- Churchville, MD
We used to give something similar to our Mountain Cur mix mutt. He was a basket case when we got him, definitely from a prior abusive home.
That has really mellowed out as he's goten older and we don't need to anymore.
Jeff B
Thanos was right
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- Dec 23, 2006
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- Lincolnton N.C.
My cane corso was scared of storms as a puppy. I ignored the storm on every lightning strike and he realized it was nothing to be scared of. Being your dog is much older I really and has locked in that fear, have no advice to give.
We definitely feel like our Dane is from a prior abusive home. When we got her she had a blank stare in her eyes, zero emotion. Now her ears perk up, she jumps around in excitement when it’s feeding time or time to go outside, but these storms still get her, woke up to poop on the floor this morning
Croatan_Kid
How's your hammer hangin'?
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I put blankets at the end of the hallway where my bluetick goes and lays down during storms. She's not overly scared or anything, she just goes to the spot in the house where there aren't any windows. It's something she's always done and it's kinda brilliant, really.
My little beagle wants to crawl inside my chest cavity, but only when the thunder and lightning are super close. I usually let her in my lap and wrap the blanket around her. She'll usually relax and fall asleep. I realize that's not feasible with a dane though
I figure it'll either take a lot of love/affection, weed, or benadryl to calm down your small horse dog.
My little beagle wants to crawl inside my chest cavity, but only when the thunder and lightning are super close. I usually let her in my lap and wrap the blanket around her. She'll usually relax and fall asleep. I realize that's not feasible with a dane though
I figure it'll either take a lot of love/affection, weed, or benadryl to calm down your small horse dog.
skyhighZJ
Gov retirement < needs to live
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- Aberdeen, NC.
What I do know after years of dog ownership is it’s not just about past homes or current homes and the situations they may create. There are dogs that, despite them being big, small, known to be tough or whatever, have anxiety issues when certain situations present. Take for example our Malinios, he is a bad ass in every respect and has bowed up to other dogs twice his size. Livestock, shooting guns on the property, XYZ doesn’t phase him a bit. When a good banger of a thunderstorm comes close enough he will damn near eat his way through a door to get to the couch to be next to you. Of the 17 Dachshunds we have, 2 have issues with thunder. One is old (14) and one is much younger (4). They both came from different backgrounds. The old one was a rescue from elderly people who passed and the younger one we have had since a puppy. My moms dog (golden lab/Dane behemoth) that she had from a puppy right after I left for the army was the same way until the day he crossed the rainbow bridge. He literally ate his way through an interior door to get into the bath tub because that was his spot during a thunderstorm. From then on mom left the bathroom door open all the time lol. Some dogs just have triggers emotionally. It happens. How you sooth them is the important part. The best thing I’ve found is CBD.
skyhighZJ
Gov retirement < needs to live
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Our adopted old man weenie came off Xanax and went to the above CBD “treats”. Has worked great. Malamutes are naturally high strung just like huskies (cousins). I can’t wrap my head around feeding animals human prescriptions especially something like Xanax. Don’t mean to be an ass but I don’t like chemicals in my body let alone my animals.
It's definately not ideal using a prescription, but we tried the CBD treats, but no amount of them seemed to have any affect on him. With nothing, he will try to break down a door, jump out a window, and shake so hard you'd think he might have a heart attack.
skyhighZJ
Gov retirement < needs to live
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Poor buddy. I’m sorry to hear that.
CLRracer
Mopar Nut
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My little beagle wants to crawl inside my chest cavity, but only when the thunder and lightning are super close. I usually let her in my lap and wrap the blanket around her. She'll usually relax and fall asleep. I realize that's not feasible with a dane though
It might not be feasible, but you'll have a damn hard time convincing the great dane of that
We have one dog that is loud noise scared. We just let him in the house if we're home and let him find a place to hide, which is usually the furthest he can get from the back door. Never mind that half the time that place is the front door
Duane
Cherokeekid88
Well-Known Member
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- Jun 30, 2007
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- High Point, NC
Our dog Chloe was afraid of thunder and we figured out that if we just create a "safe space" for her which was typically the laundry room, she would just hang out in there and be fine. It was when we tried to get her to come out and expose her to it that she would act worse. We haven't had a bad storm since we got our new puppy, so I'm not sure if he will be affected by it. I know that eventually Chloe would just go in there and it wasn't a big deal, but she just felt safe in our laundry and after a while, she wouldn't even shake.
mbalbritton
#@$%!
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- Mar 22, 2005
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- Lakeland, FL
Abusive Home doesn't have anything to do with it. Our Boxer was flat frightened of storms and Fireworks. We had her from a pup and she was definitely not abused. On the contrary, she was freaking spoiled rotten more than our kids. We used to cover her with Blankets and pillows when it was bad and have her curl up to us as close as could be. then just wait it out. it helped, but didn't completely alleviate the issue. Never tried the "herb" on her though. Worth a shot.
Wes
Well-Known Member
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- Oct 14, 2007
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- Ridgeway, SC
Maybe it’s a puppy thing, but my little guy doesn’t flinch. Took him outside mid storm to go drop one and it didn’t bother him a bit. Loud noises from my Tasmanian devil 6 year old don’t bother him either. Things might change, but as of now he’s good.
I don’t think that’s spoiled… I think that’s just a boxer lol
both of mine have required blankets and pillowsAttachments
As we speak… in her personal camping chair at the beachI don’t think that’s spoiled… I think that’s just a boxer lol
Attachments
Tacoma747
Well-Known Member
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- Mar 20, 2005
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- Winston-Salem
Great Pyrenees mutt we used to have (Sarge) wasn't scared of thunder, heck he'd walk around in a storm. Gunfire always got him though, more than one occasion he would escape and go running towards the trailer park when he heard gunfire. Didn't have issues at our old house as much because he stayed inside alot more, here they can still get in the basement, but not upstairs.
My fix for known fireworks times was to lock the dogs in the basement and cut a fan on for noise, that pretty much solved the problem. But dang all those people that set off fireworks and random times sure were a pain.
My fix for known fireworks times was to lock the dogs in the basement and cut a fan on for noise, that pretty much solved the problem. But dang all those people that set off fireworks and random times sure were a pain.