My dog is terrified of thunder, despite an 11-year history of it not hurting her. Any suggestions for helping her to get over it?

My dog is too. What I have found that helps (but does not totally overcome it) is Rescue Remedy. It really works so that Mackie can tolerate the thunder storms.

No. Nothing you can do aside from comforting her when it happens.
It just really scares her.
I had a cat once for years that was the same way, he’d run under the bed and stay there for hours. Poor guy.
Since thunder is infrequent EVERY time is like the FIRST time. Loud noises frighten us too.

If you know T-storms are coming in advance your vet might be able to prescribe a sedative to have on hand to calm her a little.

We had a St Bernard that was the same way. Nothing ever worked. Just imagine sleeping on the couch and waking up with that on your chest licking your face, in complete panic.

Our dog had the same problem when it came to thunderstorms and the fireworks on the 4th of July. A vet prescribed a sedative. The one time we gave Kimo the pill, it may have made a slight difference in his behavior, but I just felt guilty about drugging the dog.

What seemed to work fairly well was ensuring that the house was closed up tight and turning up the volume on the stereo or television until the noise stopped. Keeping him company may also have played a factor.

I saw a product in a pet store. It was a snug jacket kind of a thing. I made the Temple Grandin connection – she made a contraption to hold herself snugly when she became anxious. She’s a world leader on understanding animal behavior. She is also autistic.

The vet will give you some pet tranquilizers. Had to do this with my border collie. It works.

Best sleep my bc ever had.

I have had success with this product for gun shy dogs, they also make CDs for thunder and fireworks shy dogs.

I have read some good reviews for the thundershirt, but I am not sure if it works.
If it does, it is exactly what you want.

Just repeat the words of my father:

“Afraid of a little noise? Pffft. You ought to be afraid of my foot in your ass. Now quit your crying or I’ll give you something to cry about!”

Thundershirts are amazing (we use a similar compression vest for children with autism/sensory disorders for all day wear). They’re great for shy dogs and dogs ultra sensitive to sounds.

During a storm, we give our one dog a blanket in a corner behind a chair. She wraps herself up in the blanket and doesn’t emerge for hours.

If it’s really that bad @Nullo ask your vet for a sedative. We’ve had rescue dogs that could not be consoled. The meds were necessary. Unfortunately for us, none of the OTCs like Rescue Remedy worked at all.

Do what the guy did with his dog and the skunk.

Let me second the blanket. We sometimes place Mackie’s dog bed in the closet and cover him with a blanket (when storms are at night and we are in the bedroom). Otherwise, we put him under a small blanket in a sage place in the room we are in (under the desk, etc.)

Ear muffs or headphones for dogs, like the kind designed for dogs who ride in airplanes. I used to put my dog in the bathroom with the shower running, but he didn’t like it in there. We also tried closing all the doors and windows and turning the TV up loud.

He has gone deaf now, and doesn’t get frightened anymore.

A friend of mine swears by this product. Her dog used to go crazy every time it thundered, now she puts this on it when she sees the dog predicting a storm and the dog goes to sleep and that is that. I have never used it.

If you follow Cesar Milan’s theory, and to me it makes sense, do not coddle the dog during a storm, this is like encouraging the behavior, like when you come home and your dog goes nuts, you are better off ignoring the behavior instead of playing into it by scolding or noticing.

And Rescue Remedy is the cure so many people use, it must be good. And you can take it yourself if you get overwrought!

I’ve had dogs who were afraid of thunder; I just try to comfort them. One of them used to go into the bathroom till the storm passed, which sometimes caused problems: “I have to go potty and Gretchen won’t get out of the way!!!” I’ve read somewhere that there is something about the pipes that makes a difference,don’t remember exactly, but that dog acted the same when helicopters went over. We lived near military installations, so that was fairly often… it all got better when she got older and her hearing wasn’t so good anymore. I have heard good things about the jacket gizmo but have no personal experience with it.

I have some rescue remedy but never thought of using it on the dog. My pup crawls under the bed. I do hug him real tight. My pup is a rescue and I wonder if he was roped outside.
He definitely has a few issues.

As many have suggested, the type of wrap like a Thundershirt works really well. And the Rescue Remedy is great. As @rooeytoo stated, do not coddle your dog during this time – this is probably what kept her displaying this behaviour for so long.

I hope you find a way; it can usually be treated in a few different ways that have been stated throughout this thread. Great question!

@jazmina88 They make a special alcohol-free version for pets.

@marinelife – I didn’t realize there were different kinds of Rescue Remedy? Folks I know who use it just buy the human version at the health food store? And actually I didn’t realize it had alcohol in it. Does the non alcoholic version work as well?

@rooeytoo Yes, it works on my dog. he goes from trembling with fear and running into the bathroom to lying quietly on the couch not shaking.

@marinelife – thanks you have supplied my first learning experience of the day!

Huh. Independent of my research, the folks have bought the dog a thunder shirt.

And is it working???

Not much thunder right now. :|

hehehe, well keep us posted when it arrives. Or else go rattle some sheets of tin and see what that does. :-)