My dog is terrified of thunder. How can I help her?

you can't. just hold her and make her feel better. doggies are for cuddling. =3

Do not hold her to make her feel better. In human language this is comforting but to a dog it's saying "He must like what I'm doing because he is giving me attention for it!"

Now, for one, your dog should be an inside dog. Leaving him out in a storm is cruel. It can make him sick and it is very distressing.

Here are some things that will help:

1. Get dryer sheets and wipe them on your dog during a storm. Dogs can sense static electricity, the sheets help neutralize it so it doesn't bother her so much.

2. There are special outfits you can buy to put on your dog. They are unique coats that help with the static electricity and the barometric pressure changes that occur during storms. Dogs can sense these too and they are very uncomfortable as far as we can see.

3. Buy special sound boxes. White noise boxes and "Storm boxes" accompanied with positive reinforcement will make the sounds of a storm less scary for her.

4. Hire a behaviorist. You can find one at the Association Of Pet Dog Trainers Website. Don't get a trainer, get a behaviorist. If you are having additional problems a trainer would help too.

5. Change foods. Pet food can legally contain Leather Shoes, euthanized cats and dogs, roadkill, tumor infected meats, etc. Do some thorough research into what your pet is eating, the artificial junk can have a great effect on behavior. Some really, REALLY good books on this topic are "Foods Pets DIE for", "Dog Food Secrets", and "Scared Poopless: The Straight Scoop on Dog Care".

6. Change how you vaccinate your furry family member. Here's why(YouTube videos by the Author of "Scared Poopless" she has won two awards for this book!):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5s4s33Spdfw&feature...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-pQHQw-5XCw

7. Go find a holistic vet. Ask this Holistic Vet if medicine would help your dog. You can find a holistic vet by Googling Holistic Veterinary Association.

It's actually common for dogs to be afraid of thunder... Yes, sometimes prescriptions are given, but just like people they don't always work. What you can do, is try to crate train your dog. Dogs tend to take comfort in small enclosed areas. Which is why some of them will hide under beds or tables or even in bathtubs. I know some people do not believe in crate training and feel that a "cage" is cruel, and honestly it will take your dog some time to get used to it, but even if you leave the door open, it won't take away the fear, but it will provide him a place in which he can feel secure until the storm passes.

It is hard to get a dog to calm down from thunder storms. My dog is scared of it too. The best thing to do is not to give her any attention when she is scared. It sounds really mean and is hard to do but when a dog is scared and you comfort it, the dog thinks you are praising it for the behavior. The dog is then more likely to be more scared if it is getting rewarded for it. Make sure you always let her in the house during any storm. You should keep a dog inside anyways but especially during bad weather (including the hot and cold).

She should be an inside dog to begin with. But I've seen people who have this problem. You can get a video tape or cassette or something that has thunder constantly booming and play it at a low level that the dog can tolerate. Do this for a few days. They kick it up a notch and see how that works. You should slowly but sure get her to listen to the thunder at a high level and she should be afraid. I've seen this done on Its me or the dog, except the dog was afraid of other dogs barking. It worked. Look it up as well.

you can go to your local vet and request a cream thats gravy flavored I think, i dont remember how it tasted, that the dog will lick and it has some calming drugs in it. It works well with my female akita that gets scared if you rip a loud fart around her. its great for thunder storms and the fourth. she has actually burrowed through one of our walls trying to get to "safety" and when she started taking this she never really did it again. you may try about half a benadryl. put it in like a piece of meat and feed it to it. it makes my dogs go to sleep for a few hours and shes about 65-70 lbs the male is probably 80. those are both inexpensive and safe ways to calm a dog.

You go to the vet and get her some anxiety med, like valium. It works. My bird dog is terrified and even gets hot and sweaty with thunder.

I just recently rescued a sheltie that is noise phobic also, and here's a veterinarian site that can help you decide how to handle it. Worked well for me;

http://www.veterinaryworld.org/Vol.1%20No11%20Full... %20Dog.pdf

cut and paste this

you cant, most dogs are afraid of thunder, just try to soothe her during this time, have her do something that she likes to do during this time to distract her.