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What To Do When Stormy Weather Turns Fido Into A Scaredy Dog
Stormy skies may make you and me feel like curling up by the fire. But for many dogs, it’s time to panic. Your pooch may hide under the bed at the hint of thunder, or shake, whine, or drool. In serious cases, panicked dogs chew up the furniture causing stress for both of you. So you have to be prepared to help your frightened pet deal with Mother Nature.
Although your first instinct is probably to pet and cuddle, this can make the problem worse. Rewarding your pet with attention reinforces the behavior. Instead, be calm and provide a familiar place for it to ride out the storm. Sometimes it’s possible to muffle the stormy noises by playing classical music.
With the help of your veterinarian, you can also develop a plan to gradually retrain your dog through behavior modification. This involves playing a low-volume tape of thunder and providing positive reinforcement only if there are no anxiety symptoms. Over time, you increase the stimulus. This technique is important to do with professional help so you don’t accidentally make things worse.
If the gentle approach doesn’t work, a last resort is medication. Your veterinarian can prescribe an anti-anxiety drug to help your dog stay calm.
Storm phobias are a common behavioral problem. But behaviorists are not sure what panics dogs most. It may be lightning flashes or the sounds of wind and crashing thunder. Or it may be changes in static electricity and barometric pressure, which we don’t fully understand yet. An interesting study of dogs with thunderstorm phobia shows it may, in fact, be genetic. Dogs most prone to anxiety are herding breeds such as Border Collies and Shetland Sheepdogs and working breeds such as Golden and Labrador Retrievers, and one explanation is they are bred to react quickly to stimuli. In contrast, dogs such as Terriers that are bred for confidence are less fearful of storms.
Thunderstorm phobia can be tricky to cure. Work with your veterinarian on a solution so you’re prepared to calm your scaredy dog.
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