Great.
She’s never gotten so scared she’s lost control of her excretory functions.
Yet.
I can see I have a lot to look forward to.
Lissa, even if your dog is afraid of closed spaces, you might want to consider a cage-style crate rather than a plastic style.
My vet prescribed Acepromazine for my puppers. We’ll see how it works.
Well, I had one of those at one point, too, ** porcupine. ** She moaned and whined incessantly when placed inside. Being confined in any way is extremely stressful for her. (She seemed to take it as a punishment, and was ultra-submissive when released.) She will not enter a cage willingly.
Is that “pet talk”? I catch them on the radio once in a while too. Something interesting they said was that you shouldn’t sooth and baby the dog when it acts afraid. It’s like “praising” her for her being afraid. The talk show hosts went on to say that you should act completely normal and unafraid, as if it’s no big deal.
They brought up doing things similar to what Ruby suggests above (maybe she and I heard the same show :D). The “desensitizing” exercises are called “sacking out” when you do it with horses, because to calm a spooky horse many trainers use a plastic grocery bag.
They start out crumpling and playing with it not too near the horse. When the horse gets used to it, they move closer and start doing more with the sack.
When they are done, they are able to rub the horse down with the sack, and wave it all around and the horse doesn’t really care too much.
Have you ever tamed a bird? It’s probably along the same lines, start slowly and with very small nonthreatening moves and slowly VERRRREEEEEEE gradually do more and more.
I hope that helps. My dog is afraid of any loud noises, fireworks, etc. She’s a high strung breed of dog (miniature aussie). I’ve seen a teensy bit of improvement, but not much. I think with some dogs, you just learn to live with it.
Oooh, I looked more closely at other posts and saw some naysayers to this idea so decided to clarify. The show I heard did not suggest ignoring the dog, just not babying and cooing to it as if there WERE something to be afraid of.
Usually mine is okay if she can just sit in her normal place on the couch, she shakes and shivers quite a bit, and Jumps at the fireworks, but I just read like normal, or play with her.
Sometimes a “training” session will help. She loves the treats and praise that come with training. It’s pretty clear that she’s got one ear “open” and tuned to the fireworks, but it does help.
Is Tylenol PM substantially different than regular Tylenol (other than it has a sedative added)? I ask because most sites I’ve seen say Tylenol is bad for dogs. I would definitely ask your vet if you haven’t already.
Lissa,
If your dog likes being under the computer desk, then go there with her when it storms. Put a crate pad under there for her to lie on. If she likes toys or chewies put something like that under there. Make it a nice comforting place for her to be.
As far as medication, it’s really impossible to know whether what the benefit/risk ratio is without knowing the individual dog. That’s something you can ask your vet. I’ve tried using both the melatonin and Rescue Remedy on my dogs and myself, and while it may not help, I doubt it would hurt. Prescription meds are a whole 'nother deal.
As far as “doggie prozac” goes (Clomicalm, BuSpar, Elavil and the like), those only work if they are given every day. It generally takes at least two weeks for the chemical levels in the body to reach a point where they start to have an effect. I wouldn’t want to give my dog a medication every day for something that only happens when it’s storming, especially because it’s not guaranteed to work.
My dog isn’t all that afraid of thunder but he does get nervous and go to his crate. Does he have a crate or other “safe” place to go to?
That might help his feel more secure as well as some of the other suggestions offered.