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07-18-2012, 05:51 PM | #1 |
YorkieTalk Newbie! Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: Shorewood, WI
Posts: 1
| Bailey is Afraid of Thunder Hello, I'm new to YorkieTalk, but have owned a yorkie for almost 5 years. But since I have gotten Bailey, she has been afraid of thunder storms. Deathly afraid and she'll pant and run around and whine until it is over. If there is anybody out there that has gotten through this problem, I'd like to know how you deal with the issue. FYI- It is currently storming in the storming in the Milwaukee area (which is good since their was a drought before the rain a few days ago...) but it is bad because of how Bailey reacts during storms. Last edited by BabyBailey; 07-18-2012 at 05:53 PM. |
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07-18-2012, 06:37 PM | #2 |
Yorkie mom of 4 Donating YT Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: LaPlata, Md
Posts: 23,247
| I would buy a thunder shirt if it doesn't work you can return it for your money back. One summer I bought Callie one because she would pace,pant and shake when it would storm. Well after that summer I don't have to put it on her for storms anymore she doesn't pace, pant or shake. But I do have to use it when there is fire works. Thundershirt | The Best Dog Anxiety Treatment
__________________ Taylor My babies Joey, Penny ,Ollie & Dixie Callie Mae, you will forever be in my heart! |
07-18-2012, 07:19 PM | #3 |
Action Jackson ♥ Donating Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Maryland
Posts: 17,814
| I wish I had advice. Jackson is very afraid of loud thunderstorms and as he's gotten older, he's seemingly getting more anxiety. Thundershirt did not work for him, so I returned it. We've been working on de-sensitizing - I use a high value reward like string cheese and just give him tiny tiny pieces whenever there is thunder. However very loud booms still send him under the bed. He usually pants very heavily and shakes.
__________________ ~ Brit & Lights! Camera! Jackson! CGC ETD TKP ~ Follow Jackson on Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacksontheterrier |
07-18-2012, 08:16 PM | #4 |
YT 500 Club Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Alabama
Posts: 592
| I recommend trying the Thunder Shirt, too. A friend of mine recently got one for her yorkie. She wore it the other day for the first time and it helped! Other than that I have no advice. Mine is afraid of storms but I am home most days with him. If I'm not, my husband is. We usually end up on the couch with him and our rat terrier. They like to be real close to us during storms.
__________________ Meg, Mom to Raley megraley.scentsy.us |
07-18-2012, 08:34 PM | #5 |
♥ Love My Tibbe! ♥ Donating Member Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: D/FW, Texas
Posts: 22,140
| Have you tried that noise immersion technique of using a thunderstorm CD playing very low in the background as you play with him, throw tennis ball, give high-value treats for a couple of minutes, then turn it off and go about regular activities? Slowly over time as you do the noise immersion, increasing the intensity and length of playtime while the CD plays very low, and then increase the volume. When I say intensity, I mean putting warm, boiled whitemeat chicken pieces or peanut butter in a kong toy you throw across the room and chase him to try to get it first or fun, rough playing, rolling around, or rough tugowar, but having lots of activity as the thunder rolls at a low volume. You can also hold chicken in your hand and run through the house as the dog tries to catch up to your hand and get that meat as the CD plays. Keep the sessions very short so the dog won't have to endure the scary noise very long at all. Increase them in length and volume little by little over time. You might add Thundershirts, thick sweaters with thick turtle necks or Kissee Collars or Service Vests with little weights in it to the dog as they do the desensitization exercises as the compression and support of those garments about the torso can help the dog feel more secure while it can still be active enough to have its mind taken off the noise by diversion activities during the exercise. Throwing treats across the room and having the dog have to run to get them as the CD plays is good, too. Tiring the dog out will really get out a lot of the pent-up tension that the fear of the noise and its attendant vibration causes. Some say getting the dog to bark during thunder also releases a lot of pent-up energy and releases fear in the process. If the thunder CD doesn't work, might try bongo drums or some other such vibrating noise immersion like that as you engage the dog in an orgy of tasty treats and highly intense activity. You want that dog moving and going hard until its tongue is hanging out during the noise immersion therapy. None of this is easy and often doesn't work at first at all. The dog just stands there and shakes. Don't just give up because it doesn't work the first few tries! Keep going. Put that CD on and keep working or wait for the next storm and do the lessons. But if you can just keep working at it - get him moving a bit each lesson, get his brain moving forward into activity and reward rather than closing down, causing cowering in place, but build on that forward thinking and, over time, they will start to get into the highly seductive play and treating combo and start to let go and have some fun. It's usually not easy to get them going and you have to keep working on the baby steps until they step out and respond a bit. Then, when the next storm comes, go right into the same intense treatment exercise, trying to keep the dog so absorbed in having fun and getting treats, it won't have time to cower and shake, waiting for the next peal. In time they come to associate loud, vibrating noises with good, good times and not fear it, and when they don't fear, they can often just sleep right through a loud storm. That is the state of mind you are working for - that of the dog being so unafraid of the noise as to curl up and sleep through it so you won't be worked to death during storms throwing kong toys and running all through the house with treats! You can just curl up with the dog during thunderstorms.
__________________ Jeanie and Tibbe One must do the best one can. You may get some marks for a very imperfect answer: you will certainly get none for leaving the question alone. C. S. Lewis |
07-18-2012, 09:03 PM | #6 |
Donating YT 30K Club Member | My Pixie at age 5 last year became terrified of thunder. I bought the thunder shirt and her vet gave me some calming medicine and they have worked great until tonight. I live by the Wisconsin border and the thunder storms have been non stop for 3 hours now and pixie is glued to me and panting. This is the worst she's ever been. But in most storms the thunder shirt and medicine work in 10 minutes and she just lays down. I don't think we'll get much sleep tonight if this keeps up.
__________________ Cali Pixie Roxie : RIP Nikki; RIP Maya;RIP my sweet Dixie girl 1/17/08 http://callipuppyscastle.bravehost.com/index.html |
07-19-2012, 12:24 AM | #7 |
YT 3000 Club Member Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: NY
Posts: 6,582
| I know it is so stressful to see your dog be so upset and not be able to help him. My previous dog had a terrible fear of loud noises. I used to feel so bad when I was at work or away from home and a storm would go through because he always wanted me to hold him during the noise. When I got Gracie I decided I was not going to give her any reason to react to loud sounds. When a storm would go through I would pretend I did not hear anything. Gracie would look at me when there would be thunder but I would not even look back at her or say anything. I guess she decided that if I was not going to acknowledge the noise that it must not be anything because she has never had any response to loud noises except to look at me and I continue to ignore her and the noise. So far so good. She is two years old now. I did see an episode of the dog whisperer where he rehabed a dog that had been in Iraq. He put him on a tread mill while playing a recording of loud noises. He says keeping the dog occupied and moving forward gives the brain something else to concentrate on and it gets them past the fear. Eventually the dog was cured and able to return to it's family totally chilled out. |
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