The thunderstorm and your Dog

Does your dog bury his head into your side every time it thunders? Does he run under the bed whenever rain starts to fall? Signs of fears and the development of phobias often include a variety of behaviors such as pacing, panting, drooling, hiding, inappetence, lack of response to your voice commands, seeking human companionship, flight (dogs may run, dig excessively, chew or scratch to escape, jump through windows), urination, defecation, express anal gland secretions, or become stiff as if paralyzed by fear (rare).

Some owners are willing to simply put up with symptoms of storm phobias like hiding, trembling, whining, drooling, and pacing. But in more severe cases, however, panicking dogs have been known to chew furniture, tear drapes, break windows, and more during a thunderstorm. In either case, the behavior is a sign of a terrified, unhappy dog.

Often these behaviors start out inconspicuously, but over time, with repeated exposure and unintentional reinforcement, they can become more dramatic.

Thunderstorm and dog phobias are one of the most common behavioral problems dog owners face, but their cause is not entirely clear. Behaviorists are not yet sure what part of the storm frightens dogs most, whether they're reacting to lightning flashes, the sound of thunder, wind blowing around the house, or the sound of rain on the roof. Some dogs even start to pace and whine half an hour or more before a storm. They may be reacting to a sudden drop in air pressure or the electrical charge of the air.

A recent study has found that certain breeds have an above average risk of developing noise phobias. These include some of the working and sporting breeds such as Collies, German Shepherds, Beagles, and Basset Hounds. This survey was quite small, however, and more research needs to be done in this area. The study also found that dogs who had separation anxiety were more likely to also have noise and thunderstorm phobias.

The study suggests that this tendency may be explained in terms of the dogs' genetics. For example, herding dogs have been bred to react quickly to stimuli, such as a calf wandering away from the herd, but not to be aggressive. It could be that herding dogs have a strong reaction to the startling noises and flashes of a storm, but they repress any aggressive response to it, causing anxiety.

The phobia(thunderstorm and dog) may be traced to a particular bad experience of a noise, but often, no triggering event can be ascertained. In almost all instances, the fear of noises and storms escalates, worsening with each exposure. Soon the pet may become fearful of similar sounds or events associated with the noise. For example, a pet afraid of thunder may also become afraid of rain, or a dog afraid of gunshots may show fear at the mere sight of a hunting rifle.

The owner's attitude can influence the severity of the fear. For instance, if owners themselves are nervous during storms, these phobias in their pets may occur more often or become more severe. Similarly, if the owner attempts to comfort the animal, the animal interprets it as confirming there really is something to be afraid of. The petting or comforting is really positive reinforcement of an undesirable behavior.

Your best bet for helping your dog overcome his thunderstorm fears is to talk to your veterinarian. He or she can help you develop a program to gradually retrain your scared dog by gradually, gently helping him adjust to thunderstorms through behavior modification.

If gentle, patient retraining doesn't help your pooch, there are some prescriptions that can. Your veterinarian can prescribe one of several anti-anxiety or antidepressant medications to help your dog remain calm during thunderstorms.

You should also make sure your dog has a warm, safe "den" to retreat to when the weather gets too scary. You can try padding a crate with blankets or clearing a space underneath your bed or in an open closet. Just make sure that it's somewhere your pup can get out of whenever he wants. A panicked dog can do a lot of damage to his crate and himself if he's confined.

Most important, though, is that you treat your dog gently and kindly when he is afraid. Don't cuddle and reassure him, because that will reward his scared-dog behavior, but definitely don't punish him for it either. Instead, just be calm and provide him with a safe, familiar place where he can feel secure and ride out the thunderstorm.