Is your dog afraid of thunder and lightening?
By icyorchid
@icyorchid (2564)
United States
April 5, 2008 1:02pm CST
Mine is. I know he has always been afraid since he was a puppy. I do think as he has gotten older, he has become more afraid though. He is 14 years old (another pic of him is on my profile).
Early this morning we had a terrible storm that lasted for 3 hours. at 3 am our dog woke us up trying to get behind our sofa! He was trying to hide from the noise of the thunder I guess.
My hubby and I managed to coach him out from behind the sofa and my hubby found a way to block it so he couldn't do that again. We don't want him to get shocked with the electrical wiring for the lamp, stereo, etc.
Now everytime it would thunder or lightening or both, he would go to the side of our bed like he wanted to climb in with us. Poor thing was terribly afraid. We stayed up for 2 and a half hours with him while the storm was going.
My hubby got up to go to the bathroom and he followed him. Then he came back to the bed and I petted him and tried to make him understand that nothing would hurt him.
After getting him to lay down, a LOUD thunder sounded off made hubby, me and our dog jump! It was funny we were trying to check on our dog, and he was at the foot of the bed with weepy eyes looking at us.
We have an adorable dog......we have had him since he was 6 weeks old, and he is afraid of the hair dryer and vacumm noise, but storms.........he is like a child....terrified of them.
6 people like this
24 responses
@stephcjh (38473)
• United States
5 Apr 08
My dog has always been scared of thunder and lighteneing. He will go hide in the bathroom or get up in our bed when it starts happening. He wants us to hold him also when it thunders. My dog is scared of our toster too. He hates it when the bread pops up out of it.
1 person likes this
@icyorchid (2564)
• United States
6 Apr 08
I told my sister that if he had been a child he would have been in bed with us. We try not to let him get on the bed, and I wanted to let him last night, but hubby wouldn't go for it. 
1 person likes this
@cbfield (3)
• Canada
6 Apr 08
Our dog tries to get under our bed during a storm. It was fine when she was a puppy but now that she is an older, larger dog (rottweiler/collie cross) it sounds like she is tearing up the carpet. We have to lift the bed in the morning for her to get out. Wind scares her and any sudden noises have her jerking.
@wisedragon (2325)
• Philippines
5 Apr 08
We rarely get thunderstorms but I remember our dogs in the past were very much afraid of fireworks. Fireworks is how we celebrate the New Year here so whenever that time came our dogs would go crazy. They were so terrified they wouldn't even have their dinner. One of them even chewed up the license plate of our car! Poor doggies, they just don't know what's going on.
1 person likes this
@icyorchid (2564)
• United States
6 Apr 08
that is so true....our's isn't afraid of fireworks and I find that funny. lol1 person likes this
@spiritwolf52 (2300)
•
5 Apr 08
Our husky doesn't even like the wind much less thunderstorms. He does have a safe place to go to when he gets nervous. Every dog likes to have his den where he can feel safe and secure. We don't pet him or try to calm him down as this only tells him that he should act that way as he will get rewarded. We turn the tv up quite loud and just act as normal. He's fine as long as we don't leave him alone.
@icyorchid (2564)
• United States
5 Apr 08
Hmmmmm I love huskies!!
Well, we couldn't leave him alone last night, he looked terrified. We had to let him know although we were in bed, we were there to protect him. He feel back to sleep at the foot of the bed, and was sleeping when we woke, and is sleeping now. lol
1 person likes this
@heidibur (310)
• United States
5 Apr 08
thank god someone hear feels my pain. We have a basset hound. Annabelle, she is about 10 or 11 years old, we got her when she was 5 or 6 nobody really knows, but anyway....
We had a fire place and every time the wood would pop she would jump up behind me on the couch and just shake and then we moved to Texas, and the thunder storms here are crazy so every time the thunder rolls in, I have to get out of bed with my pillows and go to the couch so she wont be afraid. (never works) our other dog, Jack jumps up on the couch so I have no room, and all I can do for Annabelle is stick my arm out when she comes around the coffee table. I never sleep during thunder storms.
and we have alot of them.
I'm still tired.
and it's just starting.
thier pictures are on my site if you want to see them.
1 person likes this
@icyorchid (2564)
• United States
5 Apr 08
Poor thing I can just picture you doing that.
I still feel tired, hubby is taking a nap. lol
I will go to sleep early tonight, that's for sure1 person likes this
@wickedangel (1636)
• Dominican Republic
5 Apr 08
When we had our first puppy he didn't mind loud noises, we took him to a street party and he was happy with the fireworks and bangers that went off but he hated thunderstorms. He got worse as he got older and then he started to hate fireworks too. All he used to do is run for his blanket and sit in the corner until it had finished. The other one wasn't bothered much but took her cue from the older dog so after a while the two of them would run to their blanket and curl up. The look in their eyes said it all. We were so cruel to allow those horrible bangs and flashes of light.....
1 person likes this
@icyorchid (2564)
• United States
5 Apr 08
That is how he looked at 3 this morning...the look got a little worse when the louder on happened. 1 person likes this
@luckycharm00812 (621)
• United States
5 Apr 08
My childhood dog was absolutely terrified of thunderstorms. The thunder bothered him the most. He had a bad experience while he was a puppy.
We were gone for a few hours, I don't remember where we went, but when we came home to bring the dog in. He was stuck in his dog house. Lightening had struck the tree next to him, and a huge branch had fallen, blocking his way out. I can't imagine how scared he was.
From then on, he had to be inside with people. Even then, sometimes it wasn't good enough. We did have sedatives for him to help him sleep through it, but it wasn't often he recieved them.
@icyorchid (2564)
• United States
5 Apr 08
WOW I can just imagine how scared he was then. When we looked out this morning, there is a branch from the tree by us broke off in the drive way, so it was a strong winded storm.
It is 67* now after being 83* yesterday
1 person likes this
@edjump (60)
• United States
7 Apr 08
My wife and I have 5 dogs. The 3 oldest are the most terrified by thunderstorms of any kind, and our 2 youngsters are only scared when the storm becomes extreme. We finally talked to our vet about it and we now give the older ones a mild tranquilizer when the storms really start getting to them. They are still afraid, but it does help them to sleep through the worst of the storm.
@micfac7 (158)
• United States
1 May 08
I learned a really neat thing while catching a snippet of the Martha Stewart show one night recently. She had a veterinarian on there who was talking about ways you can treat your dog for certain ailments with remedies within the home vs taking them to the vet. He ALSO talked about the reason dogs were afraid of T-storms. He said that when a storm is coming, their fur gets electrically charged which makes them freak out. He said most people who tried the following made it all better. (sometimes this isn't entirely the problem and it really is the noise). If you know a storm is predicted in your area, rub your dog's fur with a dryer sheet real good all over. This should eliminate the static and your dog won't be as uncomfortable.
I am not sure if you can still find this info. on Martha's site, but I am sure it's there somewhere. Good luck!!
@Marg12 (329)
• United States
6 Apr 08
My older dog is really scared of thunderstorms and she knows when they are coming before I do. She starts to cry and carry on. My younger dog, I think has learned from the older dog that she should be afraid too. Now they both shake and also try to get under anything that they can find. And for some strange reason, they want to go outside. I can't figure that one out. I don't let them go out, cause normally when we are having a big storm, it is pouring rain, not to mention the lightening. I feel so badly for them when we do have a storm that I just sit there with them to try to keep them calm. I also think that the dogs don't get scared until they get older for some reason.
@littleowl (7157)
•
7 Apr 08
hi icy my dogs are the same, they are brother and sister chips and pickles chips gets afraid and does bark when we have thunder then he calms down but panicks and lies close to me panting-pickles though makes a song and dance of it,same with fireworks,hoover both dont like that or the postman,me leaving them when i go out-they are like childrenbut that is my fault as i treat them like children but they are lovely obedient (though chips can be naughty)-the reason though they hate storms (any dog) fireworks etc is because they have such acute hearing nd those noises are like bombs going off to them-littleowl
but they are lovely obedient (though chips can be naughty)-the reason though they hate storms (any dog) fireworks etc is because they have such acute hearing nd those noises are like bombs going off to them-littleowl1 person likes this
@gabrielle47 (1219)
• Philippines
5 Apr 08
I think your dog is not easy or uncomfortable with loud noises and so thunder frightens him. You may investigate or analyze why your dog is uncomfortable with loud noises. Maybe he had a bad experience when he was a puppy?
Our dog is very kind and gentle mannered as well. But whaqt he is afraid of is very funny... Water. yes, he is so afraid of taking a bath! Just a sprinkle from your hand will make him crying so loud and running away. So it was hard for us to bathe him.
1 person likes this
@icyorchid (2564)
• United States
5 Apr 08
Yep our's is afraid of water also.
We have had him since he was 6 weeks old, and nothing happened to make him afraid, he has just always been afraid.
I guess animals are like that.
1 person likes this
@jairgirl (2877)
• United States
7 Apr 08
i grow up having dogs and cats in the family. most of our dogs are always afraid of thunders and even fire works, they like to hide in times like this.
our dog now behaves the worst, i said this coz he is almost afraid of every sound, haha!
we cant play video games and or watch movies at home (dvd) he dont like the sound of action and scary movies so he will jump to me or my husband and he will never leave your side till it is over.'i find it amusing as well coz he is afraid of the the sound of the dish washer, i find it sad that he behaves in such a way coz i dont like the feeling that he is afraid of something.
we just treat him with love if he behaves this way and hopefully he will get better.
takecare!
@walijo2008 (4644)
• United States
7 Apr 08
Yes, I think pets are just like that. One of our dogs hates thunder and lightning, everytime it storms she just barks and barks, she stays outside. We get onto her for barking but as long as its storming she won't stop. Sometimes it will be in the middle of the night, we'll be sound asleep then here she goes with the barking. I don't know what it is. but she's the only one that does it, we have 5 dogs. With your dog, thats probably just the way he is, I believe that dogs have different personalities. Our dogs are hunting dogs, so my husband trained them when they were little to not to be scared of a gunshot, as for the one that barks when it storms, I think it makes her nervous for some reason. Thanks
@micfac7 (158)
• United States
6 Apr 08
I heard something VERY interesting the other day. Martha Stewart had a vet on her show (maybe the info. will be on her site, I haven't had time to look)...but he had an explanation about this and also a possible solution. He said the main reason dogs are afraid of thunder and lightning is not because of the noise (but sometimes that IS the case), but because since storms are electrical, dogs' coats get static electricity prior to the storms which is uncomfortable and freaky for them. He said that if you know a storm is predicted, then a couple hours prior rub the dog down with a dryer sheet. He said this helps alleviate that behavior in MOST dogs....because there will be no static in their coats. TRY IT! I am anxious to see if it really does help!!
@ryzach (1544)
• United States
6 Apr 08
Our current dog is not afraid of thunder, lightning or any other loud noises like sirens. Our previous dog was very afraid of thunder so much she would wedge her way under the bed and hide until the storm stopped. We had a very difficult time trying to get her out from under the bed. She was a big dog and very outgoing so this did not fit her personality at all. It surprises me that our current dog is not like this as she is a little nervous sometimes.
@CherylsPearls (1269)
• United States
6 Apr 08
The only dog that I've ever had that was completely terrified of thunder was my Mini-Schnauzer, Gunther. I got him when he was 9; he was a rescue. I got his partner, Daphne at the same time. Daphne could care less about thunder...she snored right through it. Not Gunther. Not only would he have to be right next to me, he had to be on my lap. He also whimpered and whined the entire time. I tried my best to get him to know that it wouldn't hurt him, but I never succeeded. He did the funniest thing one time. I had a desk then that had a space between my desktop and the shelf that held my monitor. After trying to ignore him for a while, he lay across my feet. He stopped whining. I thought he was ok. Then all of a sudden, he popped his head up through that space in my desk and looked at me like, "help!" lol I couldn't help but laugh at the look on his face. I just gave in and held him until the thunder went away. Poor old man! lol
@shynie (556)
• Philippines
6 Apr 08
Oh I guess we have the same situation with regards to our pets. My pet just hate thunder or even just heavy rain and any sound or noise. Any loud noise just freaks her up. Actually, we find my dog very funny because she's not just any ordinary dog. She's so coward and afraid of just anything. Even the screaking sound of doors freaks her up! But she's a darling. I just love her.
@ShiversGirl (18)
• Romania
6 Apr 08
Hello! I am from Roumania. I have 4 dogs. One german shepard and three central asian shepard. The german shepard is afraid of thunders, fireworks, lightning, but the asian ones don't. They are so calm :))I don't know why. Does anyone?
