Dogs and Thunder

[MrsDaiBreadTwo]

My dog is absolutely terrified of thunder and lightening. He has to be curled in my arms or wrapped around my feet. He is a quivering wreck. In addition to the quivering he pants and drools. When there is a storm I cannot leave him as he becomes so distressed. All of my plans for the last few days have had to be forgotten as we are suffering from major storms and he panics if he thinks I am leaving the house. Does anyone have any suggestions? He is normally a fearless thing.

With gun shy dogs they can be conditioned to get used to the bangs by starting with the lowest level the dog will tolerate (say a slamming door) and once that is accepted without fear gradually building up the volume and proximity until the dog sits happily next to the handler with gunfire booming.

Are there any recordings of thunder/fireworks on the market that you could use? Starting at a very low volume and gradually over weeks or months building in volume until you have a bomb proof dog?

You can buy CDs to de-sensitize dogs that have all sorts of scary sounds like thunder, fireworks and gunshots. You are supposed to start playing them very quietly and gradually build up. There are lots on eBay. I have no idea which ones are the best.

Try a DAP collar/diffuser, it makes a huge difference to a large majority of dogs.

Thank-you so much. The storms have now passed (mid-west of America) ...until next time. I will try all of your suggestions.