Atlas, a 190lb St. Bernard is afraid of fireworks and
thunderstorms.Living in Denver,
he experiences his share of noisy weather.Each time he encounters a storm, this massive dog is reduced
to a cowering, quivering, slobbering, crying, pacing mess.Atlas is now older and his owner has
followed my program and made great progress.Atlas is now able to tolerate the storm much better,
although he will probably never be comfortable.
The most important thing to know about dogs who are afraid
is that we can actually reinforce fearful behavior if we pet them and try to
comfort them when they are in this state of mind.Do not coddle fearful dogs or try to soothe them, to a dog
this is telling them that you approve of the fearful behavior.Instead, ignore fearful behavior and go
about business as if everything is normal.Your dog looks to you for cues and if you are calm he is
more likely to remain calm.
Evaluate how stressed your dog is by offering a high-value
food reward.A dog who is too
worked up will refuse to take food.If your dog will take food you have a mild case and full rehabilitation
is likely.Ask your dog to perform
obedience commands for treats.If
you can successfully engage your dog in obedience or in play you are taking his
mind off of it and creating positive associations.
Set an example by remaining calm.Keep talking to a minimum and talk in a calm voice.Movements should be kept slow and
fluid.Sit down or lie down,
walking around can look like pacing.
Try to encourage your dog to lie down in belly rub
position.This is full submission
and it deserves a rub.Do not
force your dog to lie down if he or she is not comfortable.
Never reprimand dogs for fearful behavior and do not allow
yourself to become frustrated.Remember, it isn’t their fault and losing your cool will set you way
back.
In severe cases, where pets may become destructive or hurt
themselves trying to escape, their vet may prescribe medication to help keep
them calm during a storm.Commonly, valium is prescribed to help ease severe anxiety in dogs.
Other things you can do that may help include turning on
fans, TVs and radios to increase white noise and drown out outside noises.If you have a room that is quieter you
can set it up so it is dark and cozy.If your dog has a kennel he or she may feel safer in there in a quiet,
dark room.
This is not by any means a program to rehabilitate a
noise-sensitive dog.It is simply
meant to give you some tips on how you can ride out the storm with your dog
until you can manage to rehabilitate them.If you have a dog who is terrified of thunderstorms,
especially if he won’t take treats, you should consider working with a qualified
professional dog trainer or canine behaviorist on the issue to begin to
desensitize him to the loud noise.Unfortunately, in these hard cases it usually isn’t a quick fix and it
can take a lot of work.
