I live in Southern California. We don’t have thunder. We have earthquakes. In fact, we just had one 5 minutes ago. It was a 5.9. I’m still shaking. My point is, while I can tell you all about how to handle earthquakes (freeze and pray), thunderstorm phobia is really not my area of expertise.
Fortunately for all of you, as we stand on the cusp of thunder season (so I hear), I have the pleasure of having guest blogger and trainer extraordinaire Eric Goebelbecker from Dog Spelled Forward, one of my favorite dog blogs, to talk about this issue.
Eric and his family live in New Jersey, where they have plenty of thunderstorms. I “met” Eric through the Brody Awards earlier this year, then later in person at BlogPaws in Columbus. I’m so pleased to have him here today and I hope you all enjoy having a trainer perspective on a very common problem!
About two years ago, after she was already a mature dog, Caffeine started displaying thunderstorm phobia. It came out of nowhere — and is one of the most frustrating problems I have ever had to deal with in my own dogs. She was terrified, and nothing I could do would really help.
She would pace the ground floor of our home panting and salivating heavily and then she would whine not just when thunder sounded, but with each lightning flash and when wind buffeted against the house.
Thunderstorm phobia is the most frequently diagnosed sound phobia in dogs. It often accompanies fears of wind and rain (like my dog) and can also present with a fear of other sounds like airplanes, fireworks, and backfiring cars. Phobic dogs typically pace, whine, shake, salivate and seek attention from their humans.
In 2005 two researchers published the results of a study performed on thunderstorm phobic dogs in their homes. They measured a biological response to the storm sounds:
“the dogs exhibited classic signs of fear (i.e., pacing, whining, hiding), their cortisol levels increased 207%, and these levels did not return to baseline within 40 min.”
Cortisol is a hormone that the adrenal gland releases in response to stress. Thunderstorm phobia is a real and measurable fear response.
There is no real clear cause for this phobia. Most of the literature states that it often starts before the age of one but as I stated earlier, I first saw it in Caffeine was she was an adult (and we brought her home as a very young puppy, so I know her history.)
In a seminar I attended last year, Dr. Nicholas Dodman, Director of the Animal Behavior Department of Clinical Sciences Tufts’ Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, said that 40% of the dogs that suffer from thunderstorm phobia also suffer from separation anxiety, and that herding and large breed dogs are more susceptible to it.
So what can we do to help our dogs?
First, a note about something you may have heard not to do. You may have heard that you should not comfort your dog because it will make the behavior worse. This is wrong. You cannot reinforce a fearful (or any other emotional) response. If someone comforts you when you are sad or afraid, does it make you more apt to feel that way? As a matter of fact, in the study I cited above the researchers measured how the dogs responded to being comforted:
“There were no effects of the owners’ behavior or the quality of the dog-owner relationship on the dogs’ HPA or behavioral reactivity.”
“Owners’ mood (e.g. depression, anger) affected their behavioral response towards their dogs.”
Which means how we feel is part of the landscape. If we feel nervous or tense, we will act differently toward our dogs. So my advice is this: if comforting your dog makes you feel better, go ahead!
Before I go on to practical measures we can take, there’s one last tidbit from the study worth quoting:
“However, the presence of other dogs in the household was linked to less pronounced reactivity and more rapid recovery of the dog’s HPA response.”
I’m not suggesting you get another dog to fix a problem in another (as matter of fact, don’t!), but I find that pretty interesting.
The most basic measure you can take is to reduce your dog’s exposure to the sights and sounds from the storm. This may seem obvious because, well, it is. Try to create a safe place, maybe in a basement if you have one, and take steps to reduce the lightning and thunder exposure. Extra-heavy drapes and maybe even some sound-deadening insulation or wall treatments and heavy carpets should help.
Spend some happy time in there before storms occur and then take your dog there when they do. The reduced noise and sight, along with the positive association you build in advance, will help.
I have had some success with Caffeine using a product called the Thundershirt. It’s a jacket that provides constant but gentle pressure around the dog’s abdomen, much like being hugged. I was very skeptical of this concept (a similar product, called the “anxiety wrap” has been around for a while) but then when I read Dr. Temple Grandin talking about pressure being soothing and heard Dr. Dodman mention it too, I decided to give it a shot.
I can’t say that the jacket completely eliminated Caffeine’s anxiety, but it has definitely resulted in less pacing, no more salivation, and she will often just lie down during a storm.
Another option is behavior modification using counter-conditioning and desensitization. This is done by playing recordings of storm noise and pairing the experience with treats. By very gradually increasing the volume and the frequency of the sounds, the fear often decreases.
Conceptually this is a pretty simple process, but it can be very difficult to do correctly (many people try to move the next level of intensity too quickly) and some dogs don’t generalize the sound of recordings to a “real” storm.
One study combined this therapy with medication and documented some positive results. As the first study I cited shows us, this is a very real problem — and in some cases medication may be a way to help your dog better cope with storms. I understand that many people are reluctant to discuss medication for behavior issues, but this is a problem that can have a big impact on quality of life.
If your dog is having a very tough time with storms, it’s worth a visit to your vet to discuss your options. Especially if you live in an area that has a busy thunderstorm season!
Personally I am very skeptical of many of the “natural” and “holistic” anxiety treatments out there and I am not alone. As far as I am concerned, save the money you would spend on them and visit your veterinarian first.
Thunderstorm phobia is very difficult problem, but there are some simple and some not-so-simple steps you can take to diminish the problem. Do you have a thunderstorm phobic dog? Have you tried something that worked? How about things that have not? Tell me about it in the comments.
Herbal Calming Collars (full disclosure, I make them) are one of the natural ways many owners get help with thunderphobia. They use aromatherapy to relax the dog and or cat. I do think some of their success is due to the fact that they also relax the person and that in turn helps the pet. They don’t work in all situations (nothing really does), but they can help the pet relax enough that you can work on the behavior modification — Calming Collars help the dog be more receptive to training. Plus they are cute on a dog and cat!
I love mine. So does Koa!
Our rotti/mastiff cross, Baby, was terrified of thunderstorms, which sucked for her because we lived in Tornado Alley, and she spent the last years of her life in Southern Ontario, where amazing electrical storms are frequent. There wasn’t much we could do about it, we’d just sit with her and keep her close. Once she got older, she started sleeping through them and not worrying about it anymore.
I haven’t seen any problems with Chewy related to noise. Trucks, kids laughing, airplanes flying by, motorcycles revving, and thunder/windstorms don’t even register as something to pay attention to for her. We actually had a thunderstorm last night, and Chewy sat with her head poking out of the back door, enjoying the show.
The new puppy, Q, slept through the entire thing. We’ve been trying to expose her to sounds that most dogs would be afraid of in this early stage of her life, so she won’t be afraid of them. She finds the sound of being in a car comforting, she falls asleep during car rides, and planes don’t bother her. A lot of people own motorcycles on our block, so that’s a sound she hears almost every day. And the vacuum/steamcleaner no longer bother her.
Great info, thanks!
Any advice for new puppy owners so that our puppies don’t grow up to be dogs with noise-phobia? Besides the obvious, early and on-going socialization and exposure to new noises/textures/people.
What medications have been recommended for noise-phobia? I have read that many vets prescribe acepromazine but it actually heightens awareness and isn’t a wise choice. ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-GsmrFYHKk )
I think that sort of thing can be really hard to predict. Just in general exposing your pet to a wide variety of situations and stimulations would be the most effective choice, I would imagine.
Piper definitely hates thunder. It isn’t so bad that she needs meds but I wouldn’t mind trying a thunderjacket. Since she’s had seizures with no diagnosis, I usually don’t like to intervene with meds.
I appreciate this…my golden retriever is absolutely *terrified* of thunderstorms…pacing, panting, so far up my tail end I can’t hardly retrieve him….
My cats don’t like thunder, however… I know the reason. I personally am terrified of thunder, and they react more to me than the actual thunder. So… I need to use some of these suggestions to get myself over my phobia!! 🙂
We recently were given a large sample of a product called ‘composure’ to use in our veterinary hospital. It’s classified as a ‘natural’ therapy – comes in treats that seem to be very tasty and (according to the company that makes them) safe. I have been VERY pleased with the results. My mother’s dog has absolutely horrible storm phobia – to the point where she would uncontrollably pace and pant even if it was just wind or some sprinkles. By no means do the new treats stop that, but she does much less pacing and even has fallen asleep in situations that would have previously made her crazy. Multiple other techs and clients have given us great feedback. I really hate using Ace but it’s been set as a precedent in our hospital (all the other vets have used it for years) and owners perceive it to help 🙁 I’m now trying to convince them to at least give the composure a try.
Do you think Composure is something that would help with kennel stress when boarding? If so, I’d love to try it with our Lab.
Composure? Will have to look that one up.
My pups dont seem to mind the thunder, They have been known to be 3 sleeping dogs, but if the doorbell rings ( even if its on TV in a commercial ) its mayhem LOL.
You alwaya have great advice Dr V . Thanks again for sharing 🙂
Our Pie developed thunderstorm phobia and was prescribed Ace but we only used it once. She shook so hard I thought she was going to have a heart attack! We just sat with her after that.
I rescued my Lab when he was about 3 years old, and he started showing symptoms of thunder phobia after we’d had him for a year. I don’t know if he had it before, but he didn’t show it during the first year he lived with us. As long as he can get to his “safe place” (in the bedroom between the bed and the wall), he will lie down and hide there until the storm is over. We used to put him in the basement when we were away from home, and he tried to chew through the door during a thunderstorm to get to his safe place. Now he has the run of the house while we’re gone. I do use a calming collar on him when they are predicting storms. It doesn’t make him sleep through storms, but I do feel like it helps him relax a little more. And it makes me relax a little more too! I would recommend the calming collar to anyone considering it. It’s one of those things that can’t hurt and might just help! It smells good and looks nice too!
Like Caffeine, Prudence showed no sign of thunder phobia as a puppy. It wasn’t until recently that I’ve been noticing her reacting a bit more to storms, especially thunder storms. What I would like to know is if thunder phobia progresses. Right now Prudence will shake a little bit and she tenses up, but that’s about it. As a majority of the recent thunder storms have happened late into the night she has sometimes gotten out of bed, walked around my room a bit but then has jumped back into bed where she shakes until the storm passes. Will her phobia get worse as time progresses or should I start trying to work with her to quell her fear now?
Thanks Eric and thanks Dr. V! Storm season has been especially bad for dogs here this year. I am already directing clients here for help! Poor pups.
Melatonin, which can be purchased over the counter in the U.S. has been shown to help dogs with sound phobias. There is a link to studies on this page along with more resources for this problem. Don’t forget the dreaded 4th of July fireworks are fast approaching!
http://www.fearfuldogs.com/stormphobias.html
Melatonin! I had no idea!
Our border collie dislikes some loud noises, like fireworks, gunshots (gun club some blocks away) and, by extension, thunder. She’ll bark at the noise unless it’s masked with TV or radio. If we know a thunder storm is predicted overnight, we’ll leave the TV on low volume for her. Explosions on surround sound don’t bother her at all. 🙂
I found that I can keep Tashi somewhat distracted with small pieces of special treats and keep his mind on things I’m asking him to do for a reward. Of course he will be jarred when there’s crashing thunder but the level of anxiety he presents is not anywhere near what it was. The frightened running around the house trying to find a place to hide, tail slinking along the floor behind him was just pitiful and is no longer a common reaction. It still happens, just not often. He also sits right next to me on the sofa and I tuck him in close with my hand and forearm (slouch sitting as I am prone to do) He did fall asleep a couple of times now, which is fantastic:) Some change is better than no change!
Eric,
Thanks for this. I’d have to wonder, as you live somewhat near me and my dog’s t-phobia began at the same time, if your dog didn’t react to the series of ‘microbursts’ that went through our area then (they’re like little reverse tornados). We were on the front line of that, with tress ripped out of the ground across the street and our side OK. Jess was 7 at the time.
Half a tree came down in our yard about 10 ft from the house. then the city showed up, wood chippers and all at 3AM. Jess quickly became an expert backward chainer. As soon as the air pressure began to drop, long before I knew of any approaching storm, I had a shaking dog under my legs! She’d alternate between pacing and hiding under my legs.
Jess never got really bad, fortunately. A little comforting and distraction and leaving the AC on for noise reduction got her over it by the end of the following summer. She would check in at the beginning of a storm and then go about her normal business. Now she doesn’t even check in. 🙂
Another thing we did try was to run a fabric softener dyer sheet over her to reduce her sensitivity to static charge in the air. I’m not sure whether it was the dryer sheets or the attention that produced results, but it seemed to help.
I’ve also used melatonin with great success for a dog who was fearful of thunderstorms and fireworks. It worked best when given in anticipation of them occurring. She acted like her normal self. Once she was older and couldn’t hear anymore storms and fireworks weren’t an issue. I have heard of it not working for some dogs, but I think that can be said about almost anything.
There is some info about using melatonin in the Illinois State Veterinary proceedings- http://www.isvma.org/events/Convention/2009_convention/2009.proceedings.pdf -on pages 83 and 330. There was also a something in JAVMA about 10 years ago.
I found that I can keep Tashi somewhat distracted with small pieces of special treats and keep his mind on things I’m asking him to do for a reward. Of course he will be jarred when there’s crashing thunder but the level of anxiety he presents is not anywhere near what it was. The frightened running around the house trying to find a place to hide, tail slinking along the floor behind him was just pitiful and is no longer a common reaction. It still happens, just not often. He also sits right next to me on the sofa and I tuck him in close with my hand and forearm (slouch sitting as I am prone to do) He did fall asleep a couple of times now, which is fantastic:) Some change is better than no change!
I work with an animal rescue site and “Rescue Remedy” was suggested by the group. I have a puppy mill, caged for 4 yrs, who is terrified of thunderstorms. I wondered if these shirts/jackets really worked. The Rescue Remedy certainly doesn’t eliminate the entire problem, but she will go lay down, stop the pacing and whining. I just spray it on a bit of canned food and she eats it. It works within an hour.