panic attack

[dianephoebe]

My dog has a panic attack when we have storms breaths havey pants and shacks

[ne55]

hi
my shitzu had the same problem, he would jump on the bed and being shaking nonstop
and wake us up by trying to stand on our heads this was really strange he seemed to want to get as high off the ground as possible. anyway we did the same mistake and comforted the dog aswell, and yes it made him worse.
anyway whenever there was a storm forget sleeping he made sure of that!
anyway the solution was to put him in a crate(plastic transport crates) with a pillow etc when a storm was on its way!  this way he couldnt hurt himself either. we used this two times and ignored hes scratching to get out which was hard!  he settled pretty much and went to sleep within about a 1/2 hour, but it worked he doesnt react to the storms just a little bit of shaking that is all no jumping on bed or us.
we still have the crate as back  up just in case but thankfully havent had to use it again.
oh and leaving a light on with tv or radio helps too.
oh in regards to hurting himself he would scratch the wall as if trying to dig himself out and kept going regardless of pain so crating him to keep him safe was our only option.
thankfully it worked!

cheers :)Ne55

[Mcilvain]

I have a six year old Jack Russle who goes nuts when there is a storm. She shakes, she pants like she can't stop, she drools, she paces. The worst part is when she finds a corner, any corner and digs like she is going to China!! It is funny, but when you see her sniffing the air you know something is coming. Is there anything else to do, we try ignoring her but it doesn't matter. She paces around the couch. We counted one time, she went around15 times!!

[Jaybay]

Yes!  Tigereye is 100% right on!  You want to try the behavior modification first before going to medications.   Although, sometimes the meds are the only thing that will work if the trauma is extremely deep rooted.  As an FYI, otherwise healthy dogs can take benadryl at 1mg per pound of body weight.  Make sure it does not include anything else like decongestant - diphenhydramine only.

Giving affection to a worried, scared or otherwise upset dog merely reinforces the idea that there really IS something to be scared about.  It's just the opposite of how humans think and react to stressful situations.  If you stay calm and ignore the storm, that in turn helps your dog learn to calm himself.  Once you understand how your dog's mind works, it makes helping them so much easier - and effective.  :-)

[Tigereye1]

What is your reaction to the dog when a storm comes? Do you go over and pet/comfort them, say its ok, cuddle, and do all the things your heart tells you to do? Although it may seem helpful to humans, by giving attention and praise to their reaction in storms, people don't realize they are enforcing that reaction.

I myself had the same problem with my dog when she was a youngster, she would go crazy, and when I would try and tell her it was ok, she just got worse. It was only when I learned this part of dog psychology that things changed.

I just put her on a leash to keep her still, allowed her to be comfortable on the couch or her bed next to me, and Ignored her. That was the hardest part, but it does work. I would also take her for an extra long hike before storms when I knew they were coming and that helped get some energy out before it became nervous energy. Gradually her calm moments got longer and longer, and I would praise her only when she was calm, and not that often.

These days she sleeps right through the storms, except for the occasional extra loud clap.

Every dog is different, and has different reasons for being afraid, and so different solutions to the problem, but this worked for me, and a few other people I know. Hope this helps. :)

[Happy2girls]

My dog is the same way, it's very hard to watch.  If I can get to him before he gets nervous I give him a Benadryl capsule in some cream cheese, it makes him drowsy.  He also likes to go where it is dark and there are no windows usually in our powder room, sometimes my husband will drag a big TV box up from the basement for him to go into.