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The clouds outside are grey and the sky is heavy. Where is your dog right now? Is he under the table hiding or acting as if nothing were out of the ordinary? Looking back on an old article at ScienceDaily had me thinking - how much do we know about storm phobia in dogs?
According to the article: (Dec. 17, 2005) — "Having a sympathetic owner did not lower the stress reaction of dogs that become anxious or fearful during noisy thunderstorms but living in a multi-dog household did, a Penn State study has found."
So what, go out and get another dog? Hardly a responsible action to take. However, there is truth in this statement. Thunderstorm-anxious dogs not only suffer classic signs of fear, including pacing whining and hiding, during a storm but also experience a large spike in the production of cortisol, a hormone also produced by humans during stress. Attempting to coddle the dog; over-praising, "it's OK", is actually letting the dog know his fear is valid, but a calm and assertive owner can take the place of a missing litter- or housemate.
Canine behavior specialists are not sure if dogs react more to lightning, thunder, blowing wind or rain pounding on the roof. Some dogs suffer from storm phobia as much as an hour before a storm hits. They could be reacting to an electrical charge in the air, or possibly to a sudden drop in barometric pressure. Whatever the reason, dogs can always sense when a storm is blowing in.
There is hope! De-sensitizing techniques may aid in curbing some of your dogs anxious behavior.
- Expose your dog to a soft tape recording of a thunderstorm [during storm-free days]. Over a period of time, increase the volume of the thunderstorm recording. If he reacts calmly, reward his positive behavior.
- Never confine a dog that has a storm phobia to a closed crate. He can damage the crate and inflict severe injury upon himself. Leave the door of his crate open so he can come and go as he sees fit.
- Be sure your dog has a crate in which he feels safe and secure. This will ease the anxiety level for some dogs. Remember, dogs are den animals and the den equals safety!
- NEVER get angry with your dog during these anxious periods. Sometimes they chew or do bad things, but negative corrections can make the anxiety worse.
- Try an anxiety wrap such as the Thundershirt. As a retired veterinary technician, I have found this option tends to work best for dogs that are more frightened of the pressure the storm produces rather than noise. If you aren't really in the market to buy a Thundershirt, a pet T-shirt fitted one size too small can help.
Note: Although these techniques may be helpful, each dog is different. Your veterinarian or proffesional dog trainer can help when these options fail.
Have additional questions about storm phobias? Comments welcome.
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