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Originally Posted by Marhcarter  My last dog actually liked storms and fireworks and thought normal behavior in a storm was to go outside and look up (because that is what Jeff and I do), so when I got Huey, I was determined that he would like storms, too. Dh & I LOVE LOVE LOVE big hairy thunderstorms withs lots of lightening, so from the day we got the Hughster, every time it stormed outside, out we went. We walked around in the lightning and wind and told Huey how much fun it was and how pretty it was, so he had never had an issue with storms. This appears to have carried over to car washes, too, because he has ridden through several with absolutely no change in demeanor whatsoever, like he doesn't even hear it, except he stands up in his carrier to watch the water hit the car.
I don't know if this info will help with an adult dog, but I strongly feel that the dog senses what you feel, and if human is scared of storms, dog will be doubly so. I highly recommend desensitation as a tiny puppy, but I think it will only work if human also loves (or at least is not nervous during) storms. Them something mundane as a car wash? Hey, no problem!  |
you know I did the same thing with fireworks, each year we have a big display over the lake we live on that we watch from our boat, it is crazy loud. Since our dogs have always gone on the boat with us I always took them to the fireworks and none ever seemed upset by them. It also seems to work with storms, I have never had a dog with issues. I just read an article by a pet behaviorist that said while it is natural for humans to comfort a dog that is scared of something that is not a natural response a dog would be expecting. They went on to say that cuddling and kissing on our part, might just reinforce the reaction of fear. Without realizing this I have always just felt it was best when faced with stuff like storms and fireworks to go about my business like normal and sometimes even stand under the porch or by the window with the dog watching the rain or thunder. However this is only based on my experiences, so I can not say this would work for every dog.