How do I help a dog with storm anxiety?

[Lanshark]

We recently adopted a 3 year old Great Pyrenees from a rescue. They think she was a puppy mill breeder female and then turned loose when her mammary glands became infected.

We absolutely adore her. She is huge, smart, stubborn and lovable. Well, we had a huge thunder storm last night. I knew she was afraid of storms but we hadn't had one during bedtime until last night. Dh and I experienced a 100 pound dog jumping into bed with us. She was so scared she was shaking. Her anxiety during the storm also contributed to a flatulance issue. We felt so badly for her that we let her stay (I know this was probably a mistake). I am a teacher and off for the summer so I finally took her into the den and until she calmed.

Within about 30 minutes she was sleeping and I went back upstairs and back to bed. About an hour later it feels like an earthquake as she jumps back into bed and carefully steps over me so she could lay inbetween dh and I. Needless to say, Lexi is the only one that got any sleep.

Does anyone have any tricks to help a dog who is afraid of storms? Someone at work told DH about a Thundershirt but I have no idea if that will help. She doesn't bark but paces, pants and farts. I guess I could put that into a google search but I trust that someone here has experienced this.

 

[mamacatnv]

Congrats on your Pyr! We adopted a young male, now 18 months old from a rescue a few months ago. He's a total marshmallow and loves to be in the middle of our bed.

There is a great website for Pyr owners greatpyr.com there are several members there with scaredy cat Pyrs. They may be able to offer a lot of insight not only for the T-storms but also the breed in general. They are a rather unique dog

I know some people have luck with the Thundershirts - there was a Dis discussion just the other day regarding the Thurndershirts

 

[goofyintoronto]

We recently adopted a 3 year old Great Pyrenees from a rescue. They think she was a puppy mill breeder female and then turned loose when her mammary glands became infected.

We absolutely adore her. She is huge, smart, stubborn and lovable. Well, we had a huge thunder storm last night. I knew she was afraid of storms but we hadn't had one during bedtime until last night. Dh and I experienced a 100 pound dog jumping into bed with us. She was so scared she was shaking. Her anxiety during the storm also contributed to a flatulance issue. We felt so badly for her that we let her stay (I know this was probably a mistake). I am a teacher and off for the summer so I finally took her into the den and until she calmed.

Within about 30 minutes she was sleeping and I went back upstairs and back to bed. About an hour later it feels like an earthquake as she jumps back into bed and carefully steps over me so she could lay inbetween dh and I. Needless to say, Lexi is the only one that got any sleep.

Does anyone have any tricks to help a dog who is afraid of storms? Someone at work told DH about a Thundershirt but I have no idea if that will help. She doesn't bark but paces, pants and farts. I guess I could put that into a google search but I trust that someone here has experienced this.

sorry, I know its immature to laugh, but I couldnt help it. Your dog is such a cutie! I just realised that my dog is the same way. kinda. It didnt rain in our area, but when you look out east, you can see the lightening going off every few seconds. it looked pretty bad! the lightening in the distance must have freaked out the poor guy cause he kept panting in the house and pacing. He begged to be let out, so I let him out, but all he did was stare up in the sky for the longest time. Lol. He calmed down after a bit, I guess he calmed down when he realised that the storm wasnt coming near us. I know it sounds silly, but when my dog is stressed I talk to him to calm him down. Believe it or not, it works with my dog!

Sorry I dont have any helpful hints. Im sure others on here will have more helpful hints thou. Good luck!

 

[MOpGrad2013]

Our schnorgi (schnauzer & corgi) was abused by his breeders..they were not pleased with mixed breed. So we got him at 4 months. He's now 3 1/2 yrs but still suffers from fright aggresion. When he gets scared, he tends to growl and snap. Of course he feels remorse immediately and we give him his muzzle for time out...Anyway, on to the storms, he is terrified by thunder and any loud bangs (fireworks..). I never had a night kennel until he climbed in the carrier and started sleeping there. Now he has our closet with blankets and a night light. So when a storm is coming, we take him out for his business and then allow him to choose either the kennel or his closet and he crawls in and takes his nap. If it's an extremely bad storm (like tornado), we move his kennel near the family safe spot and we are all together.

Of course, your dog is much larger than my 30pounder, but maybe the closet will work for you. Shedding and gas would probably still occur so don't suggest using the master closet.
Good luck. Hugs to your furry baby!

 

[Christine]

I once had a dog with this issue. It was very bad. On nights that they were calling for storms, I had to give the dog a anti-anxiety med. It's the only thing that worked. You could try thundershirt but when it's severe it's almost really hard to have anything that works. Unfortunately, we can't give talk therapy to our pets!

 

[JessicaR]

Poor big baby! I have one also. My male Neapolitan Mastiff has HUGE storm and firework issues. We have tried everything. You can ask your vet about Acepromazine. It is a tranquilizer. Although it worked the dose was too high and my dog was very sensitive to the effects. Knocked him out for 12 hours.

What works best is to take him into a room with a TV on and no windows and someone has to stay with him. He can calm down enough that way and sleep. This is what we have been doing as soon as we know a storm will hit.

Unfortunately it's that time of year for fireworks and we are dealing with that nightly now!

Hope you find something that works and if you do please share!

 

[Katy Belle]

From your title my answer was going to be "Put her in bed with you." LOL! Our beagle gets scared during storms. She has had back surgery and can no longer jump into our bed, so she whines at my side of the bed and I pick her up and put her in bed with us. She goes right back to sleep! Not an option for your big doggie.

I have a friend with a large dog, mutt, that has had good luck with the Thunder Shirt.

Good luck!

 

[Sugardimples]

We had a dog with bad storm anxiety. We got a Thundershirt and it did wonders.

 

[Anri]

Congrats on your new addition! My parents have a German Shepherd who is terrified of storms. At the first clap of thunder, all 135 pounds of him comes crashing into you as he scurries to get on your lap. They got thundershirt for him and it did work wonders for him as well. However, I am not sure if it works for every dog. For some it may work, for others it may not. You can always try it to see if it helps her or not. You may be able to get a mild tranquilizer from your vet. Pet stores sell calming chews as well which did not help my parents dog, however, they do help me with my Rottweiler. I have to give them to her when I am rearranging furniture (odd I know) because the change makes her panic at first.

 

[Lanshark]

From your title my answer was going to be "Put her in bed with you." LOL! Our beagle gets scared during storms. She has had back surgery and can no longer jump into our bed, so she whines at my side of the bed and I pick her up and put her in bed with us. She goes right back to sleep! Not an option for your big doggie.

I have a friend with a large dog, mutt, that has had good luck with the Thunder Shirt.

Good luck!

According to my big doggie it is definitely an option. I'll tell her you said it's not but I don't think she'll buy it.

I'm heading to Petsmart to see if they have Thundershirts

 

[janette]

Our Bichon asks for his Thundershirt when it is storming. He even asked for it from our dog sitter when we were on vacation; she called me and knew something was wrong but not what. She mentioned it was storming and I knew; I now know to leave that in the instructions. He still wakes us up at anytime of night if it storms but we have some hope of getting back to sleep.

It isn't a cure all for him, it helps tremendously and I know since he insists on it that it must soothe but he still still pants and paces. Without it he is more of a basket case.

If it is really bad I've put on his Thundershirt, put him in his crate and put a blanket over it so he is in complete darkness. So far we've been able to manage with tranquilizers.

 

[sweetcreams]

BIL just got a Thundershirt for his scaredy-dog and it really worked for her. She didn't bat an eyelash when a storm came through the other night, when she would usually be crawling on his lap.

 

[Breezy_Carol]

One of our shelties was afraid of storms and fireworks. We put him in a crate (airline crate/kennel) and he was much calmer and secure.

 

[Lanshark]

I put the thundershirt on her that I got this afternoon and she was still very anxious when the afternoon thunderstorms rolled through. I hate to buy a crate for her. The foster home that had her had the biggest crate I've ever seen and had her in after her heartworm treatments. We've only had her a month and she has had a lot of transitions along with finishing the heartworm treatment. She is really doing amazingly well I've just never dealt with a dog that had been afraid of storms. None of my other dogs ever cared. We'll keep working with her. Hopefully the Thundershirt will lessen her anxiety.

 

[mamacatnv]

I put the thundershirt on her that I got this afternoon and she was still very anxious when the afternoon thunderstorms rolled through. I hate to buy a crate for her. The foster home that had her had the biggest crate I've ever seen and had her in after her heartworm treatments. We've only had her a month and she has had a lot of transitions along with finishing the heartworm treatment. She is really doing amazingly well I've just never dealt with a dog that had been afraid of storms. None of my other dogs ever cared. We'll keep working with her. Hopefully the Thundershirt will lessen her anxiety.

Poor baby our Pyr is pretty timid and still skittish. We have had him a little less than 2 months. I'd call her vet and see about some anxiety meds to help in the transitions of new home, routine and afternoon storms. A friend of mine who will probably pop in here, Horseshowmom, known to me as the dog whisperer was saying in a post about anxious dogs the other day that "Rescue Remedy" anti anxiety drops also seem to help. http://www.keepdoggiesafe.com/rescue-remedy-natural-stress-relief.html

 

[Colleen27]

We have a recent rescue that came to us under similar circumstances - she recently had a litter, was suffering from an infection, and fending for herself on the streets. It looks like she was confined for a great deal of her life because she has callouses where the fur won't grow that our vet said usually indicate too much time in too small a crate. And to say she has some anxiety issues is putting it very mildly. During storms, the only thing I can do to calm her is come downstairs, put the TV on, and fall asleep on the couch where she can sleep next to me. Otherwise she paces, barks, and whines so that no one can get any sleep. But she is getting better - we've just had her a month and she's calmed down a lot so I don't think I'll have to do that forever, just until she's feeling more secure in her new home.

 

[Lanshark]

Poor baby our Pyr is pretty timid and still skittish. We have had him a little less than 2 months. I'd call her vet and see about some anxiety meds to help in the transitions of new home, routine and afternoon storms. A friend of mine who will probably pop in here, Horseshowmom, known to me as the dog whisperer was saying in a post about anxious dogs the other day that "Rescue Remedy" anti anxiety drops also seem to help. http://www.keepdoggiesafe.com/rescue-remedy-natural-stress-relief.html

These drops look interesting. Since she has had so much medicine going through her system the past few months (heartworm treatment, prednizone, antibiotics) along with having some of her mammary glands removed and getting spayed I'm going to try to hold off as long as possible to see if she calms.

I can't imagine what her life was like before being found in Lousiana. She was then given to a shelter in Alabama and ended up in Atlanta. Poor thing doesn't know which way is up. She really is amazingly calm....except during storms

 

[Lanshark]

We have a recent rescue that came to us under similar circumstances - she recently had a litter, was suffering from an infection, and fending for herself on the streets. It looks like she was confined for a great deal of her life because she has callouses where the fur won't grow that our vet said usually indicate too much time in too small a crate. And to say she has some anxiety issues is putting it very mildly. During storms, the only thing I can do to calm her is come downstairs, put the TV on, and fall asleep on the couch where she can sleep next to me. Otherwise she paces, barks, and whines so that no one can get any sleep. But she is getting better - we've just had her a month and she's calmed down a lot so I don't think I'll have to do that forever, just until she's feeling more secure in her new home.

Some people stink don't they? They said that Lexi had just had puppies but they weren't found with her. Good luck with your doggie too.

 

[monty]

Our Golden Retriever was so easy going with everything in her world, except thunderstorms.
Over the years we tried every way of comforting and reassuring her with no success. She was always far worse in the middle of the night as if she was more upset that we were ignoring the 'impending danger' and trying to sleep.

We spent over $70 on a special dvd of sounds that was meant to desensitize your dog which was an absolute waste of money. My other dog which doesn't like vacuum cleaners didn't bat an eyelid at the vacuum sounds either!
In the end the vet prescribed some valium (for the dog, not us). We used it sparingly and only when we needed to sleep, but it worked.

 

[monty]

By the way, it is doubtful that your dog's personality has anything to do with being a rescue dog.
We had two dogs living together side by side. Both Golden Retrievers.
Both came from breeders, 7 years apart.
The oldest one was the most layback dog you could meet, except she went nuts during thunderstorms.
The younger one is so timid and scared of everything, except thunderstorms.

Same home, same backgrounds, completely different personalities.


I am so glad your dog has found a loving, caring home. Bless you.