# Are wild canines (wolves, coyotes) terrified of thunder? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 28, 2018, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-wild-canines-wolves-coyotes-terrified-of-thunder/811365 "2018-03-28T17:49:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Patch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a183cd/32.png) [@Patch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patch)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2018, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-wild-canines-wolves-coyotes-terrified-of-thunder/811365/1 "2018-03-28T17:49:17Z")
Been wondering about the whole dogs/thunder thing, and got to thinking. If domesticated dogs are going apeshit at the sound of thunder, what the heck are the wild dogs doing? Do we know if they have the same fears/anxieties about the sound? ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2018, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-wild-canines-wolves-coyotes-terrified-of-thunder/811365/2 "2018-03-30T17:15:10Z")
- bump \* ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2018, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-wild-canines-wolves-coyotes-terrified-of-thunder/811365/3 "2018-03-30T17:40:25Z")
I bet they do. Other than thunder, in the wild deep sounds generally come from huge animals with big airways and chests to resonate. Hiding from the odd occasional thunder would be a small price to pay for an automatic evolutionary avoidance mechanism that steers you clear of things bigger than you as soon as you’re in earshot. ---
**Author:** ![dstarfire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dstarfire/32/5762_2.png) [@dstarfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dstarfire)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2018, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-wild-canines-wolves-coyotes-terrified-of-thunder/811365/4 "2018-03-30T22:14:16Z")
No more than you would be by a train or other large vehicle: if you’re not expecting it, it’d startle you, but once you recognize it (as somethign you occasionally encounter, always without mishap) it becomes just another part of the environment. Wild animals mostly fear the unknown, unexpected, and anything they’ve learned to associate with pain/discomfort (e.g. large grumpy herbivores). ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2018, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-wild-canines-wolves-coyotes-terrified-of-thunder/811365/5 "2018-03-30T22:18:33Z")
I know we have some “outside only” dog owners on this board. I’d be currious to know if their dogs get nervous when it’s thundering outside. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2018, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-wild-canines-wolves-coyotes-terrified-of-thunder/811365/6 "2018-03-31T00:07:52Z")
Keep in mind that domesticated dogs are, in many ways, permanent puppies. We made them more agreeable by preventing them from fully growing up. ---
**Author:** ![Lasciel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e79b87/32.png) [@Lasciel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lasciel)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2018, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-wild-canines-wolves-coyotes-terrified-of-thunder/811365/7 "2018-03-31T02:58:34Z")
We lived in Charleston SC when I was little. We had an outside dog - a labrador mix. In Charleston, there pretty much was a thunderstorm every afternoon during the spring and early summer. It just rolled through like clockwork. Dog didn’t care. Then Hugo hit, we had to evacuate. We had to leave the dog behind (I have not yet forgiven my parents for this). When we got back a week later, he was alive but a wreck. For the rest of his life we had to bring him inside during regular thunderstorms. He had what I would describe now as doggie PTSD; the shakes, his eyes would roll back with fear, he’s just whine and cry and huddle up and shiver. It was awful. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2018, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-wild-canines-wolves-coyotes-terrified-of-thunder/811365/8 "2018-03-31T05:09:30Z")
> [@Grrr](#): > > I know we have some “outside only” dog owners on this board. I’d be currious to know if their dogs get nervous when it’s thundering outside. Mr.Wrekkers hunting dogs are penned in an enclosure that has a large dog cabin for his 16 beagles. When the weather gets cloudy and breezy they start their yodel-ing beagle sound. They keep it up until the rain and thunder starts, then they beat it inside their house. They all huddle together in the corner. It’s a big beagle-noodle pile. They generally sleep 1 or 2 to a bed. I imagine wild canines head for the den.