My dog is terrified of thunderstorms and fireworks, how do i break her of this?

first of all don't comfort her when this happens...i know i know. But all that does is reinforce the behavior. during a storm take her to where she can hear it the best, preferably on a leash so you have control of her. have her in a sit position. every time it thunders get her attention with a very tempting treat...like liver bits or something she really really likes. give her the treat when she hears the lighting and eventually she will connect the sound to something positive.

*this worked for our dog...she hated!!!! storm.* it takes time, and patenice. the best would be to "control" the noises...such as a CD with thunder and storm sounds. that way you can practice with her everyday until she gets over it.

just remember not to comfort her..its like telling her that her behavior is correct, and saying "Yes, that is how i want you to act." dogs get their cues from us...so most of the time, the behavior "problems" they have are our fault, and we don't even know it!

as for fireworks....since they usually don't happen but one or two times a year, id find a fireworks CD as well. do a search on line. and practice with it the same way.

good luck!

edited note:

WOW there are a lot of people ignorant (not using the word as an insult) of how dogs think. dogs are NOT PEOPLE. and YES you CAN make your dog comfortable around loud noises. you just have to be responsible enough to realize you are the pack leader, and your dog looks to YOU for guidance in these situations. they are not children..in the sense that a soft word or kind touch will help them. *its a nice HUMAN thought* but it only makes it worse for the dog.

you people should really learn how to understand how DOGS think and learn, instead of expecting them to understand human language.

Most very tiny dogs and puppies are terrified of loud noise, and thunderstorms. You'd do the pup a favor by leaving it at home when you go out on the 4th of July to see the fireworks. When there is a thunderstorm keep the pup with you and comfort it.

You won't break her of it. I had a seven year old Dal. and he was very aggressive, but around the fourth, and all the fire works were going off, he would start trembling and looking at me all confused. What I use to do is play some music that was calm, and comfort him letting him know it will be OK. Sorry to hear that about your dog, I know what you going through. Good Luck, and Happy Fourth.

I don't know a good way to do this. I am planning on turning on the air and leaving the radio on or the TV on during the 4th. The "normal" noise seems to help my dog.

My dog too. I got Ace Promazine from the vet, it sedates her so she won't be so scared, she sleeps right through it. You give it about an hour prior. There are other medications you can get from your vet too, like Valium. If you don't really want to "drug" your dog you can try Melatonin, Kava Kava, Valerian root, even Benadryl can be helpful (Benedryl is 1mg per pound, so if you have a 25 pound dog give it one 25mg tablet twice daily)etc. And when your dog gets upset at these times it is truly best to ignore the behavior... if you pet her and stuff it's like letting her know it's okay to be scared. Try playing music, give her one of your dirty shirts... and act like nothings wrong.

When there is a storm just keep the dog close to you they will feel safer also keep the tv on or radio on at a high volume so they wont hear the firecrackers. When they do go off ( firecrackers) and he does not do any thing praise him let him know that everything is ok and nothings going to happen. Play with him as well keep his mind off whats going on outside

you can't break her of it. it's natural. just let her go into a dark quiet room, maybe somewhere where she can hide under a bed (if it's high enough) or some other corner that's comfy and not near windows. imagine being a dog and suddenly these bright lights and explosions being to happen. you'd be confused and very scared. try to see from your dogs point of view and if possible stay nearby to comfort her. you don't have to smother her in kisses, but occasionally pat her (or him) and reassure them. i normally will put on a radio (not too loud) or TV and talk to my dog... anything to slightly distract and reassure her.

also don't let her out alone by herself because she might get scared and run off. and if she is the type that howls and barks, just be there to comfort her as i said above.

Ask your Vet for a tranquilizer for your dog. Put her in a room with the windows closed and air conditioning or fans on of course. Also have some other sound there to mask the sounds.

Hide her in a closet and talk to your vet because they can give you some valum for the dog so she is not so scared. That is really something you can't break a dog from, just help it out so the dog is not as uncomfortable.

Subject her to loud noises often. Watch action movies loudly with her around or something like that. Eventually she'll learn the noises can't hurt her and she'll stop.