Oh No! Thunder!

That’s Mac’s reaction to thunder. I think he knows a storm is coming before the clouds really roll in. He use to be really stressed during a storm but we’ve been working on staying calm. It’s paying off too. He isn’t nearly so stressed now. You can get your dog to stay calm too.

Just telling your dog that it’s only thunder, or a storm, or that they’re safe inside doesn’t work. You’ll be wasting your breath and giving your dog a reason to be upset. Comforting your dog during a storm actually reinforces their fear and their behavior gets worse. Mac use to want to crawl inside my skin to escape. Problem is that he’s 90pounds. Just a bit too big for that.

What you should do if your dog is anxious during thunderstorms is ignore them. Not completely though. Ignore them when they’re acting up. Then, when they’re even somewhat calm, praise them like crazy. Every time they act nervous, ignore them. And then praise them when they are calm. It will take some time but it gets better with each storm. You can even try playing with them while they’re calm. Mac has gotten to the point of just pacing a bit during a bad storm and calmly lies right by me the rest of the time.

If your dog is just too stressed in the beginning, you can get a calming collar. It has herbs in it to help encourage calmness. You can also get lavender oil and mix it with water in a spray bottle. Then spray the air in the room where the dog is. It will help them be calm enough so you can start training. There is a D.A.P. spray that works well too. I’ve also seen body wraps in the pet stores that help calm dogs in stressful situations like storms or fireworks.

With a bit of work, you can get your dog to be calm during a storm or fireworks. If it works for Mac, it can work for your dog too.

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