# When a dog is afraid of thunder, why don't they get reassured by their owners who aren't? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 13, 2019, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-dog-is-afraid-of-thunder-why-dont-they-get-reassured-by-their-owners-who-arent/840189 "2019-09-13T20:55:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2019, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-dog-is-afraid-of-thunder-why-dont-they-get-reassured-by-their-owners-who-arent/840189/21 "2019-09-14T16:24:03Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > They can’t type. They can with Facilitated Communication. Here’s the [thread where I asked about this.](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=689271) Blackjack has passed away since then, but my new best friend Duke may be interested in trying it out. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2019, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-dog-is-afraid-of-thunder-why-dont-they-get-reassured-by-their-owners-who-arent/840189/22 "2019-09-14T16:54:00Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > [The alpha dog theory is a myth.](https://www.whole-dog-journal.com/behavior/debunking-the-alpha-dog-theory/) That is his opinion. ---
**Author:** ![Emiliana](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f0a364/32.png) [@Emiliana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Emiliana)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2019, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-dog-is-afraid-of-thunder-why-dont-they-get-reassured-by-their-owners-who-arent/840189/23 "2019-09-14T16:59:00Z")
I have two mutts from the same litter. One is completely terrified of thunder and the other completely oblivious. ---
**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:** [September 14, 2019, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-dog-is-afraid-of-thunder-why-dont-they-get-reassured-by-their-owners-who-arent/840189/24 "2019-09-14T17:11:27Z")
> [@](#): > > Quoth **TriPolar** : > > It is. But for some reasons dogs still aren’t allowed to join the Dope. A common misconception. While we have in fact turned down a number of registrations from dogs, it’s because of their age, not species. The Dope has a minimum age requirement of 13. Any dogs over that age are permitted and welcomed to join. There’s been some talk in the moderator back channels of modifying that rule to account for “dog years”, but that discussion always sort of fizzles when we can’t come to a consensus on which “dog year” formula to use, and so the rule stays in place through inertia. We should maybe try to revisit the topic and see if we can hammer something out this time-- I think that the last time it came up was before **TubaDiva** became the boss. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2019, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-dog-is-afraid-of-thunder-why-dont-they-get-reassured-by-their-owners-who-arent/840189/25 "2019-09-14T18:49:36Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > A common misconception. While we have in fact turned down a number of registrations from dogs, it’s because of their age, not species. The Dope has a minimum age requirement of 13. Any dogs over that age are permitted and welcomed to join. > > There’s been some talk in the moderator back channels of modifying that rule to account for “dog years”, but that discussion always sort of fizzles when we can’t come to a consensus on which “dog year” formula to use, and so the rule stays in place through inertia. We should maybe try to revisit the topic and see if we can hammer something out this time-- I think that the last time it came up was before **TubaDiva** became the boss. How old is TubaDiva? :dubious: My cat can turn the wifi off on a laptop. I’m sure she would like to join and start a thread on why Frontline does work as well as it used to. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2019, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-dog-is-afraid-of-thunder-why-dont-they-get-reassured-by-their-owners-who-arent/840189/26 "2019-09-14T19:03:23Z")
> [@filmore](#): > > A human may comprehend that they can talk themselves down, but a dog probably doesn’t have that ability. They can eat their way down. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2019, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-dog-is-afraid-of-thunder-why-dont-they-get-reassured-by-their-owners-who-arent/840189/27 "2019-09-14T19:08:09Z")
(Didn’t read the whole thread) For the same reason they sniff the food/treat every time you offer it to them even after DECADES of knowing you. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2019, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-dog-is-afraid-of-thunder-why-dont-they-get-reassured-by-their-owners-who-arent/840189/28 "2019-09-14T19:45:52Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > (Didn’t read the whole thread) > > For the same reason they sniff the food/treat every time you offer it to them even after DECADES of knowing you. Well, sometimes I put a damn pill in the stuff. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2019, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-dog-is-afraid-of-thunder-why-dont-they-get-reassured-by-their-owners-who-arent/840189/29 "2019-09-14T20:08:44Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Well, sometimes I put a damn pill in the stuff. Hehe. I rest my case. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Corry\_El](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecae2f/32.png) [@Corry\_El](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Corry_El)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2019, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-dog-is-afraid-of-thunder-why-dont-they-get-reassured-by-their-owners-who-arent/840189/30 "2019-09-14T20:17:37Z")
> [@Caldazar](#): > > Not an animal behaviorist, just a dog owner and lover. > > First, dominance hierarchies among animals are not necessarily as clear-cut as that, to say nothing of the complexities of the kind of inter-species social relationship being considered here. A dog may look to its owner for guidance on behavior under certain circumstances, but such guidance-seeking behavior is highly contextual. > > In the case of a dog that is afraid of thunder, the dog feels scared and is not looking for guidance on how to feel or how to act;… I think that sums it up from my also amateur dog observer/lover POV. Dogs in general relative to most other even domestic animals, and some individual dogs in particular, heavily rely on humans to ‘tell’ them what to do. But only for certain things. And speaking of us being their ‘pack leaders’ is only a figure of speech at best. Our most recent own dog had a fighting background (she was used at least to breed fighters), so if she’d treated us as other dogs she would have ripped our heads off. 🙂 She did not treat us as any kind of dog, but as people, and her instinct was to study people carefully and try to do what she believed they wanted her to. I don’t see though that it would have been relevant if she was scared of thunder (she didn’t seem to be, not much anyway). Our daughter’s dog we sometimes dog sit is in the same appearance category, ‘pit bull’ (neither a pure bred). But she as individual pays much less attention to what people want, is much more interested in socializing with (not trying to kill) other dogs, and happens to be more cowed by loud storms. I don’t think the three things are related necessarily. My impression of dog behavior is just that it varies more by individual than a lot of discussions take into account. But (at least dog-) consciously wanting to please people and being involuntarily afraid of things don’t seem closely related aspects of behavior. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2019, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-dog-is-afraid-of-thunder-why-dont-they-get-reassured-by-their-owners-who-arent/840189/31 "2019-09-14T20:47:26Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > It is. But for some reasons dogs still aren’t allowed to join the Dope. OTOH, [on the Internet no one knows you’re a dog.](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/f8/Internet_dog.jpg) (Of course that is pre-captcha. Just show a squirrel running around the screen and see how long it takes a dog to type in the scrambled letters.) ---
**Author:** ![filmore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7993a0/32.png) [@filmore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmore)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2019, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-dog-is-afraid-of-thunder-why-dont-they-get-reassured-by-their-owners-who-arent/840189/32 "2019-09-14T21:49:39Z")
If you had owned a dog, you would have noticed that they have lots of innate behaviors that were never taught to them. For example, most owners don’t spend all day looking out the window and yelling at anyone who walks by, but dogs do this with incredible interest and focus. They will also do other things like spend hours chewing on toys and chase after squirrels. As far as I know, dog owners typically don’t do those things either. Dogs are also excellent companions. One thing they also know how to do on their own is looooooove their owners with all their heart. If you’ve never owned a dog, maybe consider getting one if it would fit with your lifestyle. One great way is to go to a petstore when they host a foster group doing dog adoptions. They happen pretty much every weekend. The foster group will have lots of volunteers that can tell you everything you need to know about the dogs. Some groups have different focus areas (small dogs, certain breeds, etc.), so look around for the group which has dogs you think might work best. ---
**Author:** ![Blue\_Blistering\_Barnacle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blue_blistering_barnacle/32/3386_2.png) [@Blue\_Blistering\_Barnacle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blue_Blistering_Barnacle)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2019, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-dog-is-afraid-of-thunder-why-dont-they-get-reassured-by-their-owners-who-arent/840189/33 "2019-09-14T22:18:46Z")
Years ago I read a book written by some holistic-type vet (long before I’d ever heard of such a thing). He posited that fear of thunder was related to temporally associated paw pain caused by random static discharges through the paws, and posited that cowering in the bathtub relieved this symptom through grounding the dog. I don’t recall that he offered much to prove the case. I don’t have any experiences with my dog that seem to support or refute this explanation. To the extent that thunder shirts may work and that I wouldn’t figure they would significantly relieve this proposed static effect, I guess they would serve to refute this proposition. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2019, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-dog-is-afraid-of-thunder-why-dont-they-get-reassured-by-their-owners-who-arent/840189/34 "2019-09-14T23:53:50Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > A common misconception. While we have in fact turned down a number of registrations from dogs, it’s because of their age, not species. The Dope has a minimum age requirement of 13. Any dogs over that age are permitted and welcomed to join. > > There’s been some talk in the moderator back channels of modifying that rule to account for “dog years”, but that discussion always sort of fizzles when we can’t come to a consensus on which “dog year” formula to use, and so the rule stays in place through inertia. We should maybe try to revisit the topic and see if we can hammer something out this time-- I think that the last time it came up was before **TubaDiva** became the boss. Thank you mods so much to have let me join the boards. And in dog years, I’m the canine Methuselah anyway… ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2019, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-dog-is-afraid-of-thunder-why-dont-they-get-reassured-by-their-owners-who-arent/840189/35 "2019-09-15T00:34:00Z")
> [@kevlaw](#): > > I knew that Collies were intelligent, but this is amazing! They actually had a Border Collie design it. Beardies aren’t that technically proficient. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2019, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-dog-is-afraid-of-thunder-why-dont-they-get-reassured-by-their-owners-who-arent/840189/36 "2019-09-15T01:52:04Z")
Strangely enough, I had a dog that hated thunder and fireworks, and would jump and bark like mad with one exception — if they happened at night, when she was in her crate\*. Almost like, “I’m in my hole, I’m safe here.” Maybe some how a den, or a cave like environment helps? \*For some reason, she just never outgrew it. In fact, she’d paw at my mother when it was “bed time”. We used to leave it open for her, but unfortunately, the cats started going in there. It had her little bed, and a blanket over it, so I guess she felt protected. Go figure. ---
**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:** [September 15, 2019, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-dog-is-afraid-of-thunder-why-dont-they-get-reassured-by-their-owners-who-arent/840189/37 "2019-09-15T02:43:59Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > Thank you mods so much to have let me join the boards. And in dog years, I’m the canine Methuselah anyway… Tell us your thoughts on fear in the canine. Welcome to the Dope. ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2019, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-dog-is-afraid-of-thunder-why-dont-they-get-reassured-by-their-owners-who-arent/840189/38 "2019-09-15T04:09:45Z")
I only ever had one dog that was afraid of thunder, and she was a rescue dog whose earlier owners often left her outside when they left for the day, so my feeling is that she’d been out in thunderstorms. All kinds of weather, really. The rest of my dogs I acquired when they were puppies. T-storms didn’t bother them unless, as the OP said, they bothered us. Like, I lived in Oklahoma, and when tornado-like weather appears (which usually it doesn’t, in Colorado), I get a little freaked and head for the basement. When I get freaked, so do my canine pets. My cats who appeared in my yard after getting along on their own for awhile were also afraid of thunder. One of them would head to the basement at the first sign. The longer he lived with his, the braver he got. By the end of his life he didn’t seem nearly as freaked out by it. The cats I got as kittens (current cats for example) pay (or paid) little attention to thunder. Although if outside, they would come in. However, none of them like fireworks much. With the current dog, it builds as the fireworks increase over That Month. But he just gets a bit clingier, and he’s still willing to go on walks (oh did I say willing? He will always go for a walk. Let’s say, eager). So IME dogs do pick up on their owners’ feelings about things. Their calmness, or lack thereof. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2019, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-dog-is-afraid-of-thunder-why-dont-they-get-reassured-by-their-owners-who-arent/840189/39 "2019-09-15T05:31:57Z")
I think extreme thunder fear in dogs is more akin to PTSD in humans than some more rational thing. It’s a combination of strong emotion and a massive adrenaline rush. That amount of adrenaline short circuits a lot of the normal thought processes. You can’t think your way out of it during the event. And you can’t talk a dog through it before the event re-occurs, so none of the same interventions will work. For dogs who are just normally wary of it, I’ve always assumed it was due to the fact that their hearing is so much more acute. If thunder occasionally hurts my ears, it must be excruciating to them. None of my dogs had the extreme, shaking, terror reaction, but I did have a german shepherd who always hid under the kitchen table until it was over. This was especially odd because storms were like a huge treat to my brother and I growing up. We would open up the garage door and sit on lawn chairs watching the trees bend in the wind and the light show if there was one. It wasn’t until junior high, when I was watching as a tree got hit by lightening just outside my kitchen window that I started being afraid and hiding under there with her. The current CeltDog, a poodle/terrier mix, always runs straight to me or Celtling when thunder booms. But it’s more with an air of protecting us from it than of fearing for himself. Heart of a lion, that little mutt. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2019, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-dog-is-afraid-of-thunder-why-dont-they-get-reassured-by-their-owners-who-arent/840189/40 "2019-09-15T15:42:44Z")
Some professionals who know dogs well advise not lavishing a lot of attention and comfort on them during supposedly stressful situations, as it supposedly reinforces negative/panicky behavior. This may work for certain dogs. On the other hand, when we got our puppy Bubba and his older sister picked up him by the neck and shook him vigorously as a lesson in who was boss (causing him to shriek in distress) Mrs. J. held and comforted him for quite awhile. Bubba grew up to be a calm and easygoing dog, not ‘‘spoiled’’ by being comforted. > [@Bill\_Door](#): > > When a human being panics, and you don’t; the panicking person doesn’t calm down; the panicking person assumes you don’t understand the situation. It’s the same with dogs. My favorite story in this regard is Dave Barry’s anecdote about being outdoors with his dog during an impending thunderstorm and reassuring the dog that there was nothing to be alarmed about - just before a huge lightning strike and blast of thunder nearby hurled him to the ground. When he looked over, there was his dog, eyeing him with tongue lolling. (“See, you moron?”). 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-dog-is-afraid-of-thunder-why-dont-they-get-reassured-by-their-owners-who-arent/840189.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-dog-is-afraid-of-thunder-why-dont-they-get-reassured-by-their-owners-who-arent/840189.md?page=3)