OT - Freakin' out dog -Advise?

[Deanna]

Thanks everybody for the advise. He does sleep on "his" blanket at the end of our bed, so he is inside. I'll try the conditioning you suggest Nanci. It does seem like it could be related to the barometric pressure, as he's started waking up in the night just before a big downpour. This seems to be bothering him more now that he's older, so maybe he's gotten more sensitive to these changes. When he was young he'd just groan a little and go back to sleep.

Now if the Wineter would just end this might not be such an issue!

[CorsairMac]

You could also just give him some Benedryl, it does help to calm the dogs down. I have an adopted dog that I don't know his puppyhood but he is Terrified of thunderstorms - to the point he just sits on the couch next to me and trembles. He has his own place and he will crawl under the bed if I'm in the bed but he wants to be right up against me during rain. I tried the recording bit - he figured out the difference between a recording and the real thing - probably due to the rain hitting the swamp cooler in real life vs just coming from the speakers.
Having another dog around seemed to help him - she stays close to him almost like a comforter.

[nuthatch]

We resort to Benadryl in the spring, too. Only one of our terriers is terrified - he was very near an actual lightening strike as a pup. The other one is smarter but oblivious to loud noises. She just looks at him as if to say "What????" when he's shivering.

[makbike]

If you want a medication that will help your buddy through the storms call your vet and ask about obtaining a prescription for Acepromazine. You have to give the medication 1 -2 hours prior to the events that cause the fear but it does work.

Hope this helps.

[MomOnBike]

Yeah, the Thunder Monsters were making life miserable in our house today, too. Monty has this aggression/fear thing going so every time the Thunder Monsters growled, he barked right back at them. And then, of course, I growled at the dog for barking, then the Thunder Monsters made themselves heard.... All. Day. Long. My head is pounding.

I think I'll ask the vet for drugs. Maybe the dog will get some too.

[MelC]

Looks like you have gotten some good advice here. To facilitate the desensitization process you might want to think about using some of the natural products available to take the edge off. The less your dog practices the undesirable behaviour the easier it will be to train out of him. There is one called Rescue Remedy which is pretty readily available and will help calm your dog and another product called a DAP diffuser (or something like that) which emits some sort of calming scent? I haven't used either having a couple of stoic spaniels myself but I have heard good things about it. Depending on the size of the dog they have something called a calming wrap (kind of like a baby bunting blanket) which is also supposed to help - while I'm sure they make them in large sizes, I just can't imagine trussing up a lab in one of those myself

Mel

[Deanna]

I had forgotten about Rescue Remedy. I think I even have some around.

I have gotten lots of good suggestions, I'll have to start with not petting him to try to calm him (it didn't occur to me that it would encourage his behavior). I do have some doggie downers, but I only like to use them in extreme cases as they seem to affect his coordination. We're fortunate in that he's not a barker--he paces, pants and shakes but nothing that will disturb the neighbors.

[madisongrrl]

If you want a medication that will help your buddy through the storms call your vet and ask about obtaining a prescription for Acepromazine. You have to give the medication 1 -2 hours prior to the events that cause the fear but it does work.

Hope this helps.

I would also like to shed a little light on the use of Acepromazine. I'm not a vet, but I have learned quite a bit about Ace recently from my fellow members of the IAABC (some of which are board certified veterinary behaviorists.) Ace is an anti-psychotic drug, not an anti-anxiety drug. This drug relaxes and sedates a dog's muscles, but not his mind! Dogs can still feel feel fearful and anxious while taking this drug...they just can't move very well. So it is not the best choice to use with dogs who are having anxiety or fear based problems.

My dog recently had a surgery and I had a lengthly discussion with my vet to make sure she wouldn't use ace on my dog as pre-operative sedation. She said she wouldn't use it because of the reasons I listed above and also she thought it drops the heart rate too much during surgery.

[madisongrrl]

I tried the recording bit - he figured out the difference between a recording and the real thing - probably due to the rain hitting the swamp cooler in real life vs just coming from the speakers.

This could be, but as Nanci pointed out, dogs know a storm is coming before we do because of the change in barometric pressure. So then they behaviorially backchain to the drop in pressure and that is when they start acting anxious. Those recordings are really to be used as part of a desentization and counterconditioning plan, but won't necessarily be effective on their own.

What I would recommend is to buy a barometer so you know when the pressure starts to drop. Bring out some really great treats and start working with your dog. This is a starting point. Depending on how bad the phobia is, some people might need to talk to their vets about using drugs. But drugs need to be used in conjuntion with a behavior modification program (dezentization and counterconditioning) because they alone won't "cure" your dog (but some people are quite content with just using drugs for the dogs entire life....and that is ok too) The DAP, rescue remedy and anxiety wraps all also excellent tools to use in this situation.