Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: My dog is terrified during storms!

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Posted by Chad Souder (Member # 343) on 05-30-2008, 06:30 PM:

I have what has become a big problem with my little dog. My Beagle/mix is about 7 1/2 years old. I don't know what he is mixed with, but due to recent events, I would guess he is about 1/3 Great Vagina.

In the last year-and-a-half or so, he has become very frightened during thunder storms. He never used to be this way, but it is become more severe it would seem. The stages are:

Distant thunder - constant shivering and hiding under the bed
Close thunder - constant shivering on the bed with rapid panting
Close, loud thunder with visible lightning flashes - constant, severe shivering with rapid panting less than an inch from me accompanied by hot dog drool dripping on my face/leg/wherever.

He doesn't bug my wife, he always comes to me (she had made the executive decision years ago to let him sleep in the bed with us because it made her less lonely with my late night theatre hours). Up until last night, it was just an inconvenience, making it difficult to sleep. If we try to shut him in the bathroom or kennel, he chews frantically at whatever he can, risking damage to property and his teeth. So we went through this, storm after storm, sleeping little and getting more and more annoyed. Last night, however, it reached new heights. The dog refused to go out to potty due to the rain (it wasn't even thundering at the time), so he held it all night and when he couldn't any more, wet all over the floor at about 6:45 this morning. Late night theatre hours already cited, I didn't enjoy getting up so early to clean up a pet mess, as my wife had to leave for work.

So I'm looking to see if anyone has any experience with anything like this or things my wife and I could try. He was a dog we rescued from the Humane Society and I think he was probably beaten as a puppy. He also gets real scared of fire-crackers and gun shots. We have another dog, a two year old male Black Lab/Chow mix, who doesn't get scared of anything. I don't like vets any more than I like doctors, so I thought I would try here first. Any ideas?

Posted by Tony Bandiera Jr (Member # 2365) on 05-30-2008, 08:29 PM:

HI Chad.. I had a dog who went thru the same thing, a poodle who didn't get scared by storms until one day a close-by lightning strike shocked (electrically) the dog thru it's paws (and me thru my bare feet.)

It's entirely possible that your dog may have been in an area where the induced charge for a lightning bolt gave a bit of a shock to its paws.

BTW the technical name for the current traveling thru the ground around a lightning bolt (or even downed power lines) is referred to as "Step Potential". Google it for a lot of explanations and tales of mishaps caused by it.

Posted by Joshua Waaland (Member # 287) on 05-30-2008, 09:11 PM:

My mom has a German Shepherd that is the same way. She has jumped through screens in the window to get out during a storm which doesn't make much sense when you think about it. Why would you go outside when that is where the strom is? She is petrified of storms and thunder.

Posted by Chris Slycord (Member # 4239) on 05-30-2008, 09:30 PM:

Our old dog wasn't scared of storms per say, though he did hold it big-time during storms/rainy times. The reason? He was deathly afraid of water and/or being wet. It was bad enough that if my dad would get out the cup they'd use to clean him with (he was small enough that you'd wash him in the bathroom sink) he'd slink down and have an immensely sad look. And all throughout he'd try to get out of the sink then when he was done he had gotten scared enough that he'd immediately run outside and shit.

In fact, once my dad was watering some plants while TJ sat behind the sliding glass door staring at him so dad decided to shoot the water right at the door and TJ leapt probably 10 feet (impressive due to his size) and afterwards looked pretty mad.

Posted by Scott McGuire (Member # 4508) on 05-30-2008, 09:38 PM:

My dog does the same thing, he is a maltise/cocker spaniel mix. The vet gave us some pills that we give to him when there is a threat of a thunder storm. These seem to calm him down and do the trick May be something to check into. One prescription usualy last over a year and they aren't very expensive.A good last resort if nothing else works.

Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 05-30-2008, 11:37 PM:

Dogs can become afraid of storms for a lot of reasons.

Their ears are more sensitive than humans. Sounds we don't think are anymore than bothersome can HURT some dogs' ears.

Many dogs are also more sensitive to barometric pressure than humans. That's the reason why some scientists believe animals flee from tornado areas even before the storm hits.

Consider, maybe, that your dog's sensitive ears and its ability to sense a falling barometer may trigger your dog's instinct to flee when a storm comes. But, since it is a domesticated dog, it "knows" that the only place to flee to is under the bed.

It is possible for a dog to become afraid of storms even though it wasn't when it was a puppy. There are lots of reasons but one popular belief is that the dog was home alone when a storm hit. Its humans weren't there to protect it from the "big noise" and it learned to be afraid.

They say it is possible to de-condition a dog from being afraid just the way it is possible to condition/de-condition it from anything else.

Some dog experts recommend playing some thunderstorm sound effects on the stereo, starting at a low level and gradually getting louder until the stereo can be played at top volume without the dog becoming afraid. They say you should play with the dog, feed it doggie treats and pet/praise it until it becomes comfortable with the noise at a certain level. When the dog isn't afraid of the sound at a low level, turn the volume up a notch or two. Repeat the feed/play/praise routine until you have reconditioned the dog to not be afraid of storms.

If you have a real storm in the mean time, just continue as if you are only having one of your "play sessions" with the stereo turned on. Try not to act any different than you would at any other time.

They say this works if you have the patience.

As I'm writing this, I have an interesting thought:
We're all movie technicians! Wouldn't it be cool if you could take the dog to the theater (after hours, of course) and play a movie of a thunderstorm? I bet people could make money conditioning dogs not to be afraid of storms that way! [Big Grin]

Posted by Paul Mayer (Member # 355) on 05-31-2008, 12:21 PM:

And I'm sure the floor staff would love the overtime pay they'd be earning while "tidying up" the theater after each such training session. [Big Grin]

Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 05-31-2008, 01:17 PM:

I was thinking about Scott's comments too.

"Doggie Downers" aren't a bad idea if nothing else works.

You could even combine them with the conditioning therapy, maybe.
Give the dog a pill then do the conditioning thing until it gets used to the idea. Then slowly withdraw the drug and repeat the training until you have your dog conditioned the way you want.

Posted by Chad Souder (Member # 343) on 05-31-2008, 02:07 PM:

quote: Randy Stankey
Some dog experts recommend playing some thunderstorm sound effects on the stereo, starting at a low level and gradually getting louder until the stereo can be played at top volume without the dog becoming afraid.

I had considered this, but didn't even know if such a CD was available. I could start with Thunderstruck from my AC/DC live CD I guess. I didn't know if it was a dumb idea or not, so thanks for the tip, I think I'll try it. I wonder if the dog is smart enough to notice the thunder noise is there, but out the window the sky looks bright or clear. Probably not.

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 05-31-2008, 05:16 PM:

Just play the movie Twister on Blu-ray and unplug the center channel to get rid of the lame dialog.

Hell, I do this for the rare football game I watch which is broadcast in 5.1 to get rid of the announcers, feels like I'm at the game.

Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 05-31-2008, 07:18 PM:

Chad,

I don't think the idea is to realistically simulate a thunderstorm. I think it's more about training the dog not to react negatively when the "big noise" comes again.

I think when it comes to behavior modification, verisimilitude is sufficient.

When a real thunderstorm comes you still do the same routine of treat/play/praise.

If you want a CD to play with thunder on it, try "Riders on the Storm" by the Doors. [Big Grin]

Then you can work your way up to playing "Twister" on Blu-Ray. [Big Grin]

Posted by Chris Slycord (Member # 4239) on 05-31-2008, 07:47 PM:

Exactly. Playing with the dog or at least doing something where it no longer thinks of the thing as scary or doesn't even recognize the thing at all.

For instance, that same old dog of ours one day got startled when he walked across some metal grating when my mom and dad had taken him for a walk. When we'd take him out, dad would see the grating coming up, point it out to the dog who would make sure to walk around it; apparently dad was amused by this (but obviously wasn't doing it to be harmful).

But my mom realized that when she'd take the dog out and just walk over the grate like nothing was wrong the dog wouldn't notice (first time it happened TJ was more startled that he walked across his dreaded grate without noticing). Didn't take long for him to have no reaction to the thing.

Nothing like that worked with his fear of water/wetness though.

Posted by Chad Souder (Member # 343) on 06-06-2008, 03:38 PM:

UPDATE:

I downloaded Suburban Thunder through i-tunes. The CD was available to order, but I didn't want to wait. Some guy basically recorded a thunderstorm for an hour. It sounds pretty good - his claim is that they used it in Pirates of the Carribbean 3.

So far, my beagle doesn't seem to mind when I play it on my stereo, although I haven't turned the volume up very far. I hope giving him treats and playing with him while it booms does the trick.

Posted by Donna Sylvester (Member # 726) on 06-06-2008, 06:25 PM:

My Golden Retriever used to freak out during storms all the time, and would scratch the wall under the bed or if she was outside and I wasn't home, she would take off by digging a hole under the fence. It took me two days to find her once. My vet said to give her 1/2 to 1 Dramamine. Used 1/2 for years without another traumatic episode. Ask your vet about that.

Posted by David Stambaugh (Member # 1102) on 06-06-2008, 06:52 PM:

quote: Joe Redifer
Just play the movie Twister on Blu-ray and unplug the center channel to get rid of the lame dialog.

Hell, I do this for the rare football game I watch which is broadcast in 5.1 to get rid of the announcers, feels like I'm at the game.

Filed under "Why the hell didn't I ever think of that."

Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 06-06-2008, 09:28 PM:

quote: Joe Redifer
Hell, I do this for the rare football game I watch which is broadcast in 5.1 to get rid of the announcers, feels like I'm at the game.

Hell, I watch the games just for the commercials. Football sucks!