Scary and limpid animal

I don't think it is a mystery. Your pet dog is probably as natural as any others. There are some environmental sounds that cause a dog to become fearful instinctively, especially during a thunderstorm. This fear results from the appearance and sound of lightning and thunder, and it didn't matter where your dog lives, whether it is in an urban area in the city or out in a rural area like a farm. Dogs react in a physical way to lightning and thunder. On hearing thunder, they may run frantically around the house in search of a place to hide. They may be trying to escape in order to find an area where there are no frightening sights and sounds. It can be dangerous if they get berserk and run out into traffic, or run off and get lost. One way to try and alleviate a dog's fear is to be home with it during such times of thunderstorm. When a dog starts to get anxious because of the weather, try and distract it in some way by playing with it, switching on the TV or radio to drown out the thunder, or maybe even closing the curtains, blinds and drapes so the dog doesn't see the lightning flashes. The idea is to distract the dog to redirect its focus on some other activities instead. Constant distraction may work for your dog. Try it the next time you have a thunderstorm around your place.

As far as I know, it is perfectly normal for animals to be afriad of such things.

One of my dogs is afraid of fireworks. She is afraid of any noise. She is younger and I have her since she was a puppy. My older dog doesn't care. She can stay and watch fireworks. Ii is hard to understand animal behavior. My cat is afraid of noise same way that my dog is. Often they are sitting together in far room...

It's not uncommon in dogs of every type actually. I think it's the not knowing what it is exactly that upsets them. I've seen huge dogs run for under the bed during a storm!

Hi sukumar794, Dogs and cats have very acute hearing, much finer than human ears. So when they hear something like thunder, they probably hear something with much more dimension and depth to it than we might hear as humans. Something much more scary and lifelike to them - which is why they run and hide! I'll also bet your dog is scared or aggressive when you turn on the vacuum cleaner, too, because it sounds way different to a dog or a cat than it does to us. It probably sounds much like a breathing, hissing animal to a cat or a dog. My family's cat used to puff up and hiss whenever she heard the vacuum cleaner, in exactly the same way as she did if there was a snake in the garden - which tells you what it sounded like to her!

dogs are afraidof the noise as they do not understand what is making it. they need to be comforted and spared 'that fear as much as possible. I think the noise also hurts their ears.

Pets are more like humans than we give them credit for. Additionally some breeds of dogs are more skittish, aggressive, etc... than other dogs.... I had a beagle (hunting dog) that would not even flinch... we even took him to a fireworks show and it didn't bother him at all.... I don't think it is something that is 'wrong' with your dog, just the way he/she is. Thanks Zelo

I have a Pomeranian also. We have had him for ten years now. He is so scared of thunder and lightning also. He will lay right by us and shakes all over from it. He is also scared of the oven door and the toaster. He hates it when someone uses a hammer to hammer something also. I think it is just the unexpected noise is what scares them. They are unsure of it.

Hi sukumar794, It is not only your dog, any dog of any breed will beheave like that only because all the dogs don't like water. You can watch, they hesitate to take bath, they hesitate to step out when it is raining, they always avoid walking in water(unless there is no other way) and this is the general habit of the dogs. I am sure that you know that the person who suffer from hydro phobia( mad dog bite) will have the first symptom of showing fear for water - it is a natural instinct of a dog. So, nothing wrong with your dog. Good Luck.

My dogs do not like lightening and thunder either. They do not like to even be out in the rain. Give them a storm and they come running in and will not go back out until the skies are clear.

Poms are so beautiful! I'm sorry she's so scared but I have a dog that's also that way. The last time we had a thunderstorm he got under the covers and clung to me all night, shaking. Poor baby.

My cat is the same way. He mr. macho about everything else, but when thunder starts he is under the bed within seconds. He seems to have very sensitive hearing because any loud noise at all sends him out of the room immediately. I mean like the sound of the oven door opening, tin foil being used, whatever. He has never been hurt or in any danger but seems to be really frightened by sounds. We can't figure it out at all. He also won't come into the living room if the TV is on because the moving pictures scare him. Other than that he is king of the house, We have had him since he was about 6 weeks old so I don't know what might have gone on in the house he lived in prior to that, but we have had him for 5 years and he is pampered and protected always.

It's no mystery, it's because she's an animal with greater hearing and sense of smell than we could imagine. She's also a breed that has upright ears and it's often those breeds that have a fear of noise. The Pom my boss owned was the most confident dog I've ever known and wasn't frightened of anything and he said it was because he never babied her. He treated her the same way he treated a German Shepherd. Yours may not have been exposed to a lot of noise since she was born, so any sudden loud noise could alarm her but how people have reacted could have fed her fears. It's our instinct to 'comfort' a frightened puppy but they don't understand and see it as a reward for whatever they are doing when we pick them up or pay attention to them. As Pomeranians stay puppyish they tend to get picked up a lot at times they shouldn't be, and so the fear seems to become stronger. You can buy CD's that have storms or fireworks on, and you play them at low levels till the dog gets accustomed to the noises then gradually increase the noise. I used a fireworks one with my German Shepherd and now she ignores them unless they are very close. It might be worth trying with her.

Aw, bless! I don't know the answer to this, but it's a shame for her that she's scared. Some people are just scared of thunder and lightning, and I suppose the same just applies to some dogs and cats. Thunder can be a loud, sudden noise and noises can be frightening, especially if you don't know what they are - and you can't really explain what it is to a dog like you can to a human. From what others have said, pomeranians sound like they're quite sensitive dogs anyway, so any big noise or sudden flash is bound to alarm her. When we were little my parents used to put a big blanket over the window to stop the flashes disturbing us when we were trying to sleep. It used to make us feel more secure as well, having these big blankets protecting us from the noisy thunder!! (I don't mind thunder now. As long as I'm not out in it!) But I wonder if something like this would work for your dog?