Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i have 3 greyhounds, all 5.5 years old, same litter, rescued from the track. they all have very distinct personalities, which i love, except in this one area- thunder. my one boy, xander, doesn't know he's a greyhound, loves cats, kids, alllll people must be greeted -with GREAT enthusiasm - but god help the poor little man, when it even seems like it's about to rain. the panting, the pacing, the shaking, it's awful. he's even taken off out of the back yard a couple of times, apparently thinking he could outrun the scary stuff in the sky. the other two couldn't care less. they don't react in the least. i don't want to drug him, the comfort zone plug in doesn't seem to work on him, i don't want to over-comfort him and reward the chicken behavior, any suggestions? i've even tried making thunder the big "yaaaaaay! loud noise!!!!!" thing, but he just looks at me like i've lost my mind, and that probably just scares him MORE. any success stories?

>>i have 3 greyhounds, all 5.5 years old, same litter, rescued from the track. they all have very distinct personalities, which i love, except in this one area- thunder. my one boy, xander, doesn't know he's a greyhound, loves cats, kids, alllll people must be greeted -with GREAT enthusiasm - but god help the poor little man, when it even seems like it's about to rain. the panting, the pacing, the shaking, it's awful. he's even taken off out of the back yard a couple of times, apparently thinking he could outrun the scary stuff in the sky. the other two couldn't care less. they don't react in the least. i don't want to drug him, the comfort zone plug in doesn't seem to work on him, i don't want to over-comfort him and reward the chicken behavior, any suggestions? i've even tried making thunder the big "yaaaaaay! loud noise!!!!!" thing, but he just looks at me like i've lost my mind, and that probably just scares him MORE. any success stories?

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People have the wrong idea about anti-anxiety medication often used for noise-phobic dogs. Talk to your veteriarian about it and also a veterinary behavior specialist. There is help for this problem.
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Kathy Diamond Davis, author, "Therapy Dogs: Training Your Dog to Reach Others," 2nd edition, and the free Canine Behavior Series articles at http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=SRC&S=1&SourceID=47

yeah, but do we know any ways to address his reaction, to get thru to him that it's not going to hurt him? for a dog with just about any other phobia, i would go the exposure/desensitising route, but how do i recreate thunder? i'm guessing that the anti.anxiety drugs will maybe calm him enough to get him to focus on ME more when he's scared, so that maybe i can get thru to him? is that the right way to look at the drug angle? i'll call the vet and talk to a couple of my trainer friends and see what they think, too. poor little 81 pound brindle chicken.....

>>yeah, but do we know any ways to address his reaction, to get thru to him that it's not going to hurt him? for a dog with just about any other phobia, i would go the exposure/desensitising route, but how do i recreate thunder? i'm guessing that the anti.anxiety drugs will maybe calm him enough to get him to focus on ME more when he's scared, so that maybe i can get thru to him? is that the right way to look at the drug angle? i'll call the vet and talk to a couple of my trainer friends and see what they think, too. poor little 81 pound brindle chicken.....

>>>>>>>>>>>

Some people think a CD or tape of thunder helps with the gradual desensitization process. Another suggestion is to add other scary cues, such as blinking lights, sounds the wind might make outside, whatever you notice seems to bother the dog. I've had thunder-phobic dogs myself, and in every case have been able to keep it down to the point that the dog was nervous but not freaking out. I just matter-of-factly go about my business and let the dog follow me around if he/she wants to. I think there's always an element of trial and error in these situations. Different things work for different dogs and people. Some dogs do better with a good place to hide that is dark and quiet. Some even like a blanket over their head.
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Kathy Diamond Davis, author, "Therapy Dogs: Training Your Dog to Reach Others," 2nd edition, and the free Canine Behavior Series articles at http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=SRC&S=1&SourceID=47

I have had 2 greyhounds scared of storms. One the only way to calm her down was to give her valium. It didn't harm her one bit and she was her sweet self during the storm. I was eventually able to cut the dose down, until she finally didn't need it at all during a storm.

My second one just walks around panting when when a storm starts up. I've been able to keep her more calm one of two ways. Sometimes she would just go into the closet and hide during the storm. I allowed her to do this and she would come out later just fine. Other times, when she wouldn't go into the closet, I would turn on lights so she didn't notice the lightening so much, and turn the radio or TV up loud. Seemed to help her. Now, she doesn't get near as bad and I can give her a good, yummy treat to eat during the storm.

Good luck!

BTW, join us in Hound Chat on Wednesday evenings from 9-10 pm et. You'll find the link to the room on the main dog page.
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Melody/PHFasDog
Email me at PHFasDog

My furkids:
Shadow, Jadzia and Lyta.
Kira waiting at the bridge.

Dogs come into our lives, and too quickly go leaving pawprints on our hearts, and we will never be quite the same again.

>>I have had 2 greyhounds scared of storms. One the only way to calm her down was to give her valium. It didn't harm her one bit and she was her sweet self during the storm. I was eventually able to cut the dose down, until she finally didn't need it at all during a storm.
>>
>>My second one just walks around panting when when a storm starts up. I've been able to keep her more calm one of two ways. Sometimes she would just go into the closet and hide during the storm. I allowed her to do this and she would come out later just fine. Other times, when she wouldn't go into the closet, I would turn on lights so she didn't notice the lightening so much, and turn the radio or TV up loud. Seemed to help her. Now, she doesn't get near as bad and I can give her a good, yummy treat to eat during the storm.
>>
>>Good luck!
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One of the things that upsets my thunder-phobic dog is when the durn lights blink! My power company needs a good talking-to! If the lights blink when there is NOT a storm, that gets her worrying. Now that she's 12 and has lost some of her hearing, she's not sure whether there's a storm or not. If there's not, we all go outside with her and show her. That helps.
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Kathy Diamond Davis, author, "Therapy Dogs: Training Your Dog to Reach Others," 2nd edition, and the free Canine Behavior Series articles at http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=SRC&S=1&SourceID=47

>>I have had 2 greyhounds scared of storms. One the only way to calm her down was to give her valium. It didn't harm her one bit and she was her sweet self during the storm. I was eventually able to cut the dose down, until she finally didn't need it at all during a storm.
>>
>>My second one just walks around panting when when a storm starts up. I've been able to keep her more calm one of two ways. Sometimes she would just go into the closet and hide during the storm. I allowed her to do this and she would come out later just fine. Other times, when she wouldn't go into the closet, I would turn on lights so she didn't notice the lightening so much, and turn the radio or TV up loud. Seemed to help her. Now, she doesn't get near as bad and I can give her a good, yummy treat to eat during the storm.
>>
>>Good luck!
>>
>>BTW, join us in Hound Chat on Wednesday evenings from 9-10 pm et. You'll find the link to the room on the main dog page.
>>-----
>>Melody/PHFasDog
>>Email me at PHFasDog
>>
>>
>>My furkids:
>>Shadow, Jadzia and Lyta.
>>Kira waiting at the bridge.
>>
>>Dogs come into our lives, and too quickly go leaving pawprints on our hearts, and we will never be quite the same again.

Melody,
We had a beauty last night. In fact it was so bad that we lost our power until this morning. The funny thing is, once we lost power, Katie forgot about being afraid of the thunder. I guess she was more concerned about being in the dark although I was well prepared with my propane lanterns. Later in the night, when things calmed down, her buddy Benji and his Mom stopped by and the two of them had a grande ole time.
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PHMisty

I agree. A friend of mine has two labs that are terrified of thunder. She gives them each a valium (Vet recommended of course) and they are fine during the storms now.
Good luck!