Thunderstorm Anxiety

Prevention and Treating Thunderstorm Anxiety

It’s that time of year that we don’t look forward to with our dogs. Those flashes of light and loud crashing of cymbals from above, can be scary and foreign to a lot of our dogs. Imprinting young puppies with tapes of thunderstorms early on, can be very helpful in preventing this fear. Sometimes this fear can be caused by a previous bad experience with thunderstorms such as the lightning strike close to the house. How can we help them during these times of stress?

My thunderstorm a kit includes many different things such as:

Thunder shirtsEssential oil of lavender

Bach’s Rescue Remedy

Homeopet Anxiety TFLN

Loud music 

Turning on all lights in the house

Toys that squeak to distract dogs during storm

Chews such as bully sticks also used to distract

Running a loud box fan.

If you can remain calm and soothing to the dog that is helpful. Going into the bathroom with the dog shutting the window blinds or curtains and turning on all the lights and playing some louder music to distract from the noise. This can also be a good plan if you are going to be gone for the day and you know your dog is fearful of storms and that they have been predicted. If anxiety is severe you might want to check with your vet and consult a professional dog trainer for help.

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