Thunderstorm scare

Lily scared
Originally uploaded by LilyGoo

As some of you might remember, my family adopted a one-and-a-half year old "puppy" from the SPCA a few months back. Back then, she was a hyper but surprisingly sweet angel - no barking, no biting, no aggressive behavior - it was like a miracle. Today, she's a bit more - ahem- comfortable in her surroundings, and we've found that she really does have a voice (but fortunately only uses it when she's trying to protect us). For all of the 45-pounds boxer/lab that she is, Lily seems to think she's a 120-pound St. Bernhard, and when she's tackling the dogs next door or wrestling with my 6-foot brother, her false sense of reality can be pretty entertaining. She's rough, she's tough and she can run for hours.

But she can't handle thunder. Or water. And unfortunately for her, we've pretty much had Noah's Ark these past few days. We don't know what it is, but as crazy and as strong as she is, she absolutely freaks when she hears even the slightest thunder rumble or even when we bring the hose out for bath time. If a storm starts brewing, Lily automatically starts shaking like a leaf right on cue, and burrows her body as close to you as she can. I laugh at this picture (which was totally not staged - she's a natural paw-crosser) because she looks like she's praying to get through the storm. All kidding aside though, it's one of the hard parts about having a rescued dog - wondering what happened to them to make them so scared in such a situation.

Has anyone else had a pet with a problem like this? If so, what can we do to help ease her fear?

--- Molly Hirschbeck

Comments

[Lisa]

I am a licensed veterinary technician and have talked to several clients concerning this problem and have had to deal with two of my own dogs.
My advice to you is: 1. turn on a radio or TV slightly louder than usual to help block out the sound of the thunder. 2. I give my dogs benadryl at the first sound of thunder. This is safe way to help your dogs "sleep". The dose for benadryl is 1mg per 1 pound of body weight. (example: a 50 pound dog would get 50 mg of bendadryl). As always check with your regular DVM to see if they have any other alternative meds.

[Lisa Tierney]

I am a licensed veterinary technician and have talked to several clients concerning this problem and have had to deal with two of my own dogs.
My advice to you is: 1. turn on a radio or TV slightly louder than usual to help block out the sound of the thunder. 2. I give my dogs benadryl at the first sound of thunder. This is safe way to help your dogs "sleep". The dose for benadryl is 1mg per 1 pound of body weight. (example: a 50 pound dog would get 50 mg of bendadryl). As always check with your regular DVM to see if they have any other alternative meds.

[chris]

People are really having trouble spelling Molly's last name. And why so formal?

Molly, my gf's dog does the same exact thing during thunderstorms and fireworks. My friend's dog hides under a bed during storms. I don't know much about dogs, but my thinking is that their ears are so sensitive that loud noises just hurt their ears so they run for cover. It would be the equivalent of us having to endure nails scratching on a chalkboard for half an hour. You'd tweak too. Can anyone back my hypothesis up on this one? Are dogs' ears more sensitive to loud noises?

[Wisconsin Badger]

Tim: You sure are one cold-hearted son of a gun. Ms. Hershbek obviously was simply providing us with a touching tale of a perplexed pup and the vagaries of a WNY summer.

For your information, my girlfriend's border collie (named Numbers) acts like the world is coming to an end during thunderstorms, and the only past abuse she has endured is brutal, relentless love.

Mr. Kevin, congratulations on standing up to the thuggish antics of Tim on the Twentysomething in Buffalo blog on the site of the Buffalo News.

[Kevin]

Crud, I *did* misspell her name... Twice! My apologies for that.

Given that I have not met the author personally, I use the term "Ms. Hirschbeck" out of politeness and civility. Concepts that seem to escape too many comment posters.

A Google search for "dog thunderphobia" and "dog noise anxiety" list a number of sites that offer advice on methods to calm a dog as well as potential means of training the dog to be less fearful during a storm.

[Tim]

Sorry Kevin, you're right. Clearly, you are a talented scribe (probably for the NY Times judging by your use of "Ms. Hirshbeck".

You might want to get your copy editor on the blower, though, because it appears that her name is spelled "Hirschbeck".

When was the last time you rappelled onto a big, sweaty dude at Club Marcella?

[Kevin]

Ms. Hirshbeck: From personal experience and anecdotal input, it seems many dogs who were never abused have a native fear of thunder or loud noises in general. Lily's reactions to thunder aren't necessarily due to some trauma prior to you adopting her. Unfortunately I don't have any suggestions on how to train Lily so that she would no longer fear thunder. A final suggestion: since she fears thunder so much it would probably be a poor choice to bring Lily with you to a fireworks display. You probably already know that, but just wanted to be explicit.

Tim: Wow, I'm wondering if we're reading the same text. I didn't get the impression at all that Ms. Hirshbeck was implying that she endured personal hardship in adopting Lily. I thought she was just mentioning an aspect of the dog's behavior and wondering if any reader had suggestions on altering the dog's behavior. The next time you decide to skew an article as a pretense to vent your anger, you might want to ensure that you are using certain phrases properly. A person sliding down a rope from a helicopter is RAPPELLING, not PROPELLING.

[Kevin]

Ms. Hirshbeck: From personal experience and anecdotal input, it seems many dogs who were never abused have a native fear of thunder or loud noises in general. Lily's reactions to thunder aren't necessarily due to some trauma prior to you adopting her. Unfortunately I don't have any suggestions on how to train Lily so that she would no longer fear thunder. A final suggestion: since she fears thunder so much it would probably be a poor choice to bring Lily with you to a fireworks display. You probably already know that, but just wanted to be explicit.

Tim: Wow, I'm wondering if we're reading the same text. I didn't get the impression at all that Ms. Hirshbeck was implying that she endured personal hardship in adopting Lily. I thought she was just mentioning an aspect of the dog's behavior and wondering if any reader had suggestions on altering the dog's behavior. The next time you decide to skew an article as a pretense to vent your anger, you might want to ensure that you are using certain phrases properly. A person sliding down a rope from a helicopter is RAPPELLING, not PROPELLING.

[Tim]

Congratulations on the "rescue" dog. I swear, the people who adopt these mutts act like they propelled out of a helicopter into the jungles of Burma to grab Fido and transport him to safety. Here's a "Semper Fi" for the next time you make the arduous trek to the SPCA, corporal.