What made you decide...?

If you give your pets meds to calm them for thunderstorms/stressful situations, what made you decide to do that? The first time we ever had a T-Storm w/ oreo he was fine. Then we had a really bad one and we weren't home. He jumped the baby gates that kept him in the kitchen and when we came home you could totally tell he was stressed out and was looking for us.

Now he is horrible during storms. Today was bad also. He would not stop crying and pacing. We tried to act normal, but it was hard with the lights flickering and we had lightning hit right in front of our apartment (LOUD!!!). We put him in the kitchen and he was trying to escape again, was crying, and had accidents on the floor (with me there w/ him). I try not to sooth him too much, but he is really stressed out. WWYD?

Re: What made you decide...?

I grew up never having stressed out dogs during storms. They would get nervous, but it wasn't bad. They would just follow you or hide. Then I met DH's dog. When I saw how she reacted during a bad storm, I understood why they had a prescription for her. She was unconsolable. She could not be calmed. She would practically try to jump into your skin. Her heart beat so fast. She got a prescription and even then, a quarter of the pill was all she needed to calm down.

Ask your vet about something and remember that you don't need to give a whole pill and that these kinds of storms are not an everyday occurance.

Re: What made you decide...?

Thanks!

yeah, i don't want him to be comatose during storms, but just calmer. He gets so stressed out I actually start worring more about him when I hear of or see a storm coming than I do about us. I really don't even want to leave him alone. To give you an idea, I am going back to work this week. When I saw the weather forcasted t-storms on tues/wed I was worried about him.

I will call the vet tomorrow and see what she thinks. I just feel bad medicating him. I'm still a good mommy right?

Re: What made you decide...?

You are still a good mom! Can you maybe leave a radio on for him/her to give a sense of someone being there?

Re: What made you decide...?

Re: What made you decide...?

i give my dog something only during bad thunderstorms like today,
however anytime it rains he goes nuts and his whole body starts shaking uncontrollably, he also scratches like crazy at the bathroom door if closed, if open he tries to jump in the tub which has a sliding shower door, so i am always afraid he might hurt himself on the hardware or just jumping in, for some reason he feels a little safer in the tub, but he still shakes and will start howling too,
it breaks my heart to see him so unconsolable and he does this for any rain or snow storm, i feel it is worse to let him be so scared than to give him a little medication, the vet said it was okay to give him and i only give him when its a really bad storm

Re: What made you decide...?

Hailey is stormphobic. Living in the midwest for several years, we've tried several things to help her with her issue. First, try the bathtub. If you have an old, cast iron tub, it may help. The issue with most stormphobic dogs is not the noise but the static electricity in the air. The cast iron tub helps with the static electricity. Another option is a DAP diffuser. You can look them up on line. They plug into the electric socket like a glade plug in and they work the same way but whatever is in the liquid, is suppose to help with the storms. I tried this with Hailey and it worked some but not enough and also, we had the same problem you have, our electricity would go off with every storm so then the DAP would stop working. Another option is a storm defender jacket. I've heard great things about this dog coat. Again, you can look it up on line. I never tried that with Hailey. I was going to but then we decided to move back to NY. The storms are a lot less fierce and frequent here so she just deals. But, she's not as bad as your doggy. Hailey pants and shakes and cries but she doesn't pee anywhere. The final option would be to get medication for your dog. We looked into this too but, the problem was, I think you have to give it to him 30 minutes before the storm starts. At least that was the case with what our vet was going to give us. Also, and the same with some of the other rememdies, you have to be home to give it to him.

If you decided to try out the DAP diffuser, I have one you can have. You would just need to buy the refills.

For your doggy. I know how hard it is to see them like this.

Re: What made you decide...?

Has anyone tried the homeopathic remedies like rescue remedy? I was surprised to see it at our local pet store because we had it and I used it for anxiety and pain and it worked. When I went again to the store, they didn't have it, but they had Richard's Organics Pet Calm. I figured I would give it a shot since it was an organic remedy (has chamimile, hops). I figured I could give it to him in his water if I see a storm coming or if it's predicted. Maybe it will at least lessen his anxiety.

Message edited 7/28/2008 5:09:27 PM.