My dog is afraid of thunder and fireworks. What can I do? I really hate storms and the fourth of July because of my dogs’ reactions.
Things That Go Boom in
Dear Things,
Many of us have dogs that hate thunder storms and that hate
fireworks. Some of these dogs can be helped to get over it; others don't seem to
be able to let go of their concerns. There are many websites with suggestions,
and there are many people who have tried every single suggestion without any
success.
The only time I had a thunder concerned dog, it was my Buster.
He was a very stable dog, who suddenly for no apparent reason decided he didn't
like thunder when he was two years old. After a couple of thunder storms, I
tried a calming homeopathic remedy, and it didn't work. I called the person who
recommended it, and he said that I had to give it before the dog could hear the
thunder, not when I heard the thunder. After a couple of misses (we live in
My own
cure for it, a cure that has worked with several students of mine over the
years, is to change our minds and expect our dogs to go calmly through the
experience of the storm or the fireworks. We cannot anticipate the events with
any dread or negative thinking. We have to see, in our mind, the dog being calm
and relaxed in the midst of the storm. You can read more about this in an
article I wrote for the Clicker Journal, "Picture the Behavior", at
http://www.dearjubilee.com/PictureTheBehavior.pdf
on pages 4 and 5 about a dog named
Vanity. This worked for many people, including the woman who proofread the
article: she used it on her Wheaten Terrier the very next day.
Another thing that works for some dogs is to put them in a
Tellington T-Touch Wrap made with Ace bandages -- it uses mild
pressure to comfort the dog's mind and body during periods of stress,
travel, loud noises, hyperactivity, or injury -- see
http://www.crvetcenter.com/bodywrap.htm. Directions to do this are at
http://www.geocities.com/foxterrier_rescue/wrap.html ; Read more about
these wraps at
http://www.barbarajanelle.com/ttact/TA18-THE_TELLINGTON_TTOUCH_BODY_WRAP.htm
http://www.heartseasettouch.com/article8wrap.htm
http://enlightenedhorsemanship.net/2009/04/25/tellington-ttouch-and-sensory-integration-by-kathy-cascade/
Whatever you use, what you do in the moment is critical: you must NOT
anticipate or worry about what is going to happen. When it happens, you need to
stay light and calm so the dog cannot feed off of your worried energy but will
be comforted by you calm energy. For a good book on working with a dog that has
concerns about things, read Patricka McConnell's The Cautious Canine.
This little, $6.95 book is available at
http://www.patriciamcconnell.com/product/cautious-canine-dog-training-book
and I have been told by many people that
it helped them deal with their dogs' concerns very effectively. Note how she
calls these dogs "cautious," not fearful. McConnell is a canine behaviorist and
a professor at the
Hope this helps,
Jubilee