Weathering Summer Storm Season With Your Furry Family Members

Here in the Krebs' household, storm season is no fun.

We have had two dogs with thunderstorm anxiety - our first greyhound Condor and now our Maddox. 

We shared our lives with Condor for nearly six years, before losing her to bone cancer in 2009.  Condor knew a thunderstorm was coming over an hour before it began.  I believe she was picking up on either a change in barometric pressure or static electricity.  It could be perfectly sunny out and her anxiety would begin - panting, whining, pacing and trembling.  Through the years, Condor's storm phobia lessened.  She never liked them, but they became much less stressful to her as years passed.

Condor, our first of 7 rescued greyhounds

Maddox has been a very different experience.  When he joined our family in 2009, he didn't seem to have thunderstorm anxiety the first few times we had storms.  But then came New Year's Eve fireworks, and then the 4th of July holiday and summer storms of 2010, and it was a sound phobia snowball rolling downhill.  Pretty soon, he didn't have to hear thunder to become anxious.  Hard rain was enough, and then seeing the trees blow in the wind sufficed.  Then loud vehicles and motorcycles driving by would frighten him.  He trembles so violently that we can feel the floor vibrate in the room he's standing in.  He flushes pink from head to toe as his blood pressure sky rockets, and his heart rate goes through the roof.  It is a very frightening experience for all of us.

Maddox, enjoying a beautiful fall day in our yard

We tried many different natural approaches to helping him with his anxiety, but ultimately found that we had to address it with the help of our veterinarian and anti-anxiety medications.  Hopefully his phobias will lessen as time passes.

Dogs with storm anxiety respond physiologically.  A study showed that a dog's cortisol level - a stress hormone - can increase 200% on average.

If your dog has thunderstorm anxiety or sound phobias, here are some things to try -

• Give them a 'safe place' to hide.  This could be a closet, a bathroom or a room in the basement.  A room without windows is ideal - this helps with sound insulation as well as preventing your dog from seeing lightning.
• Play music or the television more loudly than normal to help drown out storm sounds. Running a fan might help too.
• Give your dog a special chew treat (such as a bully stick or an elk antler) or toy, or play a game that he enjoys, to help distract him.
• Try an anti-anxiety garment such as the Thundershirt or the Anxiety Wrap.  The acupressure provided by these garments can ease a dog's fear during high stress times, including storms, travel and introduction to new people or places.
• Homeopathic remedies work for some dogs.  This may include herbal solutions like Rescue Remedy for Pets by Bach Flower Remedies, nutritional supplements or aromatherapy.  Please speak with your veterinarian before trying any of these, or consider seeing a holistic veterinarian for your pets' care.
• Consider anti-anxiety drug therapy with the assistance of your veterinarian.  This approach is a process, as it has been for us with Maddox.  Learning your pets' triggers, using behavior modification, and having an ongoing dialog with your vet about the efficacy of treatment are keys to success.

If you have pets that experience storm phobia, or other types of anxiety, please let me know what your approach has been and what things have helped!

Summer storms are part of life, but hopefully pet parents and the veterinary community will continue to find effective ways to make it easier for Maddox and others like him to weather them.