My puppy is terrified of thunder and lightning. what can i do?

Question

thank you everyone

Answer 1

I agree with Millipee - don't comfort it.  There are going to be times when there's a storm and you aren't there and then it would be even more frightened.  I know it's distressing but you really just need to leave the dog to deal with it and hopefully realise that, though it's very noisy, they didn't come to any harm.  My dog hates storms too, but has now gone from barking and charging around like a loon to going to the windows and trying to out-growl the thunder.  He's slowly getting better.  Good luck!

Answer 2

Next time thunder and lightning comes on get a radio and some cuddly toys and sit with your dog and it should be ok.

Answer 3

I'm not sure if this will work but next time there is a storm, stay with your dog and pet it and hug it and make sure it start to over react. Award him/her with treats and once it sees that you're okay with storms, eventually it will be too. Good luck

Answer 4

dogs pick up on your energy if you act scared they will too, dont pick him up and start hugging him(even though its what you want to do) it makes him think if i act scared i will get attention it is best to give him a treat as soon as the thunder claps - he will think thunder is great cause he gets treats and play with him when it storms - he will hear the storm and think a great time is on the way

Answer 5

Mine does that too and is full grown, we just play it off and don't give in to him by babying him.  This makes it worse.  We try to keep his interest elsewhere so that he doesn't think about it.

Answer 6

i agree with mandie if you treat him afterwords he'll think that storms are great and cant wait till the next one  

Answer 7

actually you cant do anything but you can still let him less scared by distracting him, comforting him etc. hope it helps

Answer 8

I used a process called progressive desensitization. It works and is recommended by all the experts. You need to know what you are doing though, so try one of the audio CDs that has all the necessary instructions as well as the noises. I got one online at cafepress.com

Answer 9

Distract him during the storm by playing, talking and acting like there is nothing going on.  Try taking this time as an opportunity to teach him a trick or command using a treat reward.  Or bring out a new toy to play with him.  If you are calm and uninterested in the storm, he will learn to be also.

Answer 10

just kill the dog to get rid of the annoying stupid dog

Answer 11

There's not a lot you can do, the vet can give you sedatives to help calm him, but personally I don't like to drug my dog.

My Lab is the same way, she is terrified of any loud noise.

The best thing to do as recommended by my vet, is to let your puppy go to it's safe place, my Lab goes under the bed.

The instinctive thing to do is to try and comfort your pup, but this is the worst thing you can do. It just reinforces the fear, makes it think there really is something to worry about.

Amy will go under the bed and then when the noise has gone and she feels safe, she will come running down stairs, tail wagging as if nothing ever happened.

You could try turning the TV up or playing music, playing ball with your pup, but none of these distractions help mine, she just wants to go under the bed.

As long as you don't reinforce the fear, then your puppy may grow out of it.