# Why does a 9 year old dog suddenly become scared of thunder and what can I do about it?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-a-9-year-old-dog-suddenly-become-scared-of-thunder-and-what-can-i-do-about-it/631350>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [August 13, 2012, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-a-9-year-old-dog-suddenly-become-scared-of-thunder-and-what-can-i-do-about-it/631350 "2012-08-13T05:19:53Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![SpacemanSpiff\_II](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e19adc/32.png) [@SpacemanSpiff\_II](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpacemanSpiff_II)\
**Post date:** [October 14, 2021, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-a-9-year-old-dog-suddenly-become-scared-of-thunder-and-what-can-i-do-about-it/631350/21 "2021-10-14T15:41:26Z")

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Question: is this trait unique to domesticated dogs vs wild canine species?

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**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\
**Post date:** [October 14, 2021, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-a-9-year-old-dog-suddenly-become-scared-of-thunder-and-what-can-i-do-about-it/631350/22 "2021-10-14T16:03:15Z")

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Try building him a nest/hidey hole, cut up a box, put his blanket or toys in, drape something thick, like a comforter, to soften the noise over the box. Put the box close to you. Then just coo reassurance them, keep telling them they’re ok.

I’ve seen this work before. Good Luck!

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**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\
**Post date:** [October 14, 2021, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-a-9-year-old-dog-suddenly-become-scared-of-thunder-and-what-can-i-do-about-it/631350/23 "2021-10-14T16:05:09Z")

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We’ve thought off and on about this little beauty:

> **[Introducing The First-Ever, Smart Anti-Anxiety Dog Crate](https://zendogcrate.com/pages/what-is-zencrate-smart-dog-crate)**
>
> The ZenCrate automatically detects when an animal goes inside the enclosure and immediately begins playing calming music selected based on research studies.

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**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\
**Post date:** [October 14, 2021, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-a-9-year-old-dog-suddenly-become-scared-of-thunder-and-what-can-i-do-about-it/631350/24 "2021-10-14T16:15:54Z")

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> [@Shaines](#):
>
> Blake… This is absolutely false. There is no scientific evidence to prove your statement. you’re thinking of a behavior, like demand barking for something. This is not the same thing.

You’re correcting someone who hasn’t logged into the board in over five years, which is a high likelihood when resurrecting long-quiescent discussions.

So, although it’s worthwhile to counter misinformation, I’m just saying “don’t expect a conversation with that poster.” (Since you addressed them directly.)

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