Among Friends

[onlyshopsonline]

geezerette, I'm sorry to hear about your dog passing in December.  Our golden mix, Dudley, passed in October.  He was deathly afraid of thunderstorms and he agonized over them for 15 summers.

We would put a memory foam pad in the bathtub, and he would hide in there.  He also got a small dose of Xanax.  But, nothing totally put him at ease until the storms passed.

He's gone now and, with each storm we have gotten, there is a bit of relief for me, that he is no longer afraid.  And then, there is the pain in my heart that he is no longer here.

[TaxyLady]

Well, he didn't do so bad with the last round of storms. He still hid behind my chair.  No amount of coaxing would bring him out.  He recovered quickly once they passed and was his old self again.  I talked to him all through the storm.  Maybe that helped.  I hate to resort to drugs.

[luvsbulldogs]

Hi TaxyLady........our daughters dog is terrified of loud noises especially thunder.  She has tried everything to no avail even the Thunder Shirt.  What works best for him is to go into the basement.  He sees rain now and associates it with thunder and heads straight for the basement door.  Luckly our daughter has a somewhat finished basement with a sofa, TV and stereo.  When she is there she will put on either the TV or some music and he calms right down.    He does the same thing with fireworks.  It really breaks your heart to see them this way.  I hope you find something that works.

[DiAnne]

I have a 75 pound mutt - part Chow/part Lab - who is also terrified.  He gets under my bed but he actually does not fit so he lifts the bed and me!  As he has gotten older he has stopped running around house but he still shakes. 

[FlowershopGirl]

My friends who are also animal rescuers and animal lovers have all had the same suggestions given here and sometimes some work and sometimes not. Its just a "try this" situation and hopefully one or two work.

I know that Benadryl is a very safe and effective allergy relief for dogs but it also works very safely and effectively for dogs when they have sound fears.  It goes by weight so if the dog is larger, you may need to give a bit larger dose but usually 1-2 pills seems to relax the dog if the dog isn't totally freaked out and climbing walls. 

My brother has a friend who lives where there is a good amount of thunder and he uses the Benadryl very successfully.

[cowboy sam]

Thank you.. for saying it was ok to give dogs allergy med for sounds.

I have a dog that shakes when he hears thunder,he has a thunder shirt for  also but with the 4th of July coming soon and fire crackers,etc going off , i'm getting concerend how to help him..so now

I will give him part of a allergy pill then.

[colliemom4]

Several of our pets have not liked loud noises. I haven't tried these, but they sell some sort of little jacket thing you wrap around them that is supposed to comfort them. I've seen these at Bed, Bath and Beyond. If you searched online for comfort jackets for pets, you could probably find one at other places too. I see them mentioned above...I believe they are called thunder shirts.

It is fine to give pets Benadryl. I was instructed by my vet to do so for one of my dogs. 

[Foggy morning]

We have a new to us 7 year old golden retriever that we've had for a couple of months.  She is frightened by garbage trucks or any noisy vehicle.  But sometimes she would become frightened for reasons unknown to us.  In the middle of the night she would need to be held after she crawled next to me in bed.  Anyway, the vet suggested we could take her to their behavior therapy department but as we left her office they tied a bandana around her that a pheromone had been applied to.  They said it helps some dogs, others not.  She is like a different dog.  She has not had any more night terrors.  She still doesn't like garbage trucks but once they're gone she's fine.  It's great to see her much more happy and calm.  I wonder if other vets may have samples of this to try?  The brand is Adaptil and I see it's available on Amazon.  Maybe run it by your vet.  Good luck!

[Abrowneyegirl]

My friend has a dog that is terrified of storms.  She keeps a 'quiet closet'  in a lower level bedroom closet.  She has a dog bed, water dish and lavender set up in this closet during storm season.  Her dog now goes there during stroms.

[cowboy sam]

Thank you for mentioning adaptil on Amazon..i will check it out as i can't stand to see my dog suffer from thunder and fire crackers .