Why is your dog afraid of storms?
I am just curious because the only one afraid in my house is Wiley, my puppy mill rescue so I always thought it was because of the conditions that she may have lived in (such as a metal shed or no protection from storms). Is it personality? Years ago I had an irish Setter rescue and she was afraid of storms but probably because she had been shot at. I'm sure there are plenty of dogs that are afraid but would like to hear if you have any idea why.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Anna Morelli on
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I don't have an answer for you Jane, but the two dogs I've had who were afraid of storms were both rescued at around a year of age. Other rescues have been fine. None of the dogs I bred were afraid of storms. My guess is that there may be a genetic predisposition and that how the dog is raised can play into this. Even without the genetic predisposition, bad associations can be made with loud noises. We know that some pups are more noise sensitive than others. Assessing this is a regular part of puppy temperament testing. My current rescue who is afraid is now 13 yrs.old and has improved over the years, so now she is more anxious than afraid. With puppies, I always give treats when I hear a storm forming or when there is hale or pounding rain and I make it a fun occurrance.
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Permalink Reply by Jennifer Markley on
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I think it does have to do with their life. The only dogs of mine that have ever had an issue are the ones who were rescues in some form- humane society or such. I think they learn to fear the unknown. With that said, I've taught them to tolerate them without being neurotic...gently blend of love and understanding.
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Permalink Reply by Jane on
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Henry gets anxious during storms and I assure you he has been spoiled beyond belief his whole life lol. I have no idea why he freaks out. It doesn't seem like he's really scared (no shaking or hiding), it's more like he just doesn't understand where the noise is coming from so he gets worried and barks/runs around like crazy at every thunder clap. On a normal day he does alert to a lot of small noises, so maybe he is just especially sound sensitive, I don't really know. Other than barking a bit too much (IMO) he has pretty much zero behavioral issues. Luke on the other hand doesn't give a crap about thunder, and he is the one who needed a lot of work on his reactivity.
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It may not be fear, nor sensitivity to sound per se. Some dogs have a lower alert threshold ( Keeshonds for example, who were developed to alert on barges ). In other words they are quicker to alert to anything out of the ordinary from their point of view and barking is the typical reaction. The running around would go with that as alerting would also generate some excitement. IF that's the case, it may help to leave backround noise on, such as the TV when you are not there and correct when you are there, praising with a few treats for calm behavior in response to your promptings.
We have a lot of Miller Moths this year and my husband loves to walk around the perimeter of the house and on the porch banging on the downspouts where they like to collect. It makes a menacing racket, that gets the dogs all going inside the house..... easier to work on the dogs than on my hubby :-D
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Permalink Reply by Jane Christensen on
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Yup...agree with the easier to work on the dogs:)
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Permalink Reply by Beth on
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Jack alert-barks at storms. He's not at all afraid. He just warns that storm not to come any closer to the house.
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Sounds like a male (Corgi that is)...haha!
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Jane, first remember that a lot goes on in a storm. There are often rapid changes in temperature and air pressure. There can be lots of static in the air, especially if there are lots of lightning strikes nearby. All the outside wild critters that the dogs hear normally disappear. There is frequently gusty wind. The light drops rapidly. The wind comes from a different direction from the normal prevailing winds. And so on. I know that one day last year we had a weird weather system that made the winds go backwards from the way they normally do, and it made ME nervous, let alone a dog.
It can be genetic. It can be exposure to other dogs who are fearful. It can be a bad experience. A lightning strike close by is very loud and discharges static that can be felt for a long way. I know that one year we got a series of bad storms that spawned tornadoes (unusual for our area) and strong straight-line winds, and for a couple years after that thunder would make me wake up with my heart pounding. I am not normally afraid of storms. The fact is, thunder storms are very dangerous and dogs instincts tell them to go to a safe place. For a dog who feels very secure on the sofa, that may be enough. But some appreciate a place to hide, under a bed or in a closet or someplace more secure. The instinct is to get low and if the house does not feel low enough to the alarmed dog, their instinct will make them want to flee to someplace safer but the house prevents them from doing so.My now-gone cat Alice was never afraid of storms til that series with tornadoes that I mentioned before. After that, she was so afraid I'd put a pillow fort on the floor for her to hide in til they passed.
We had a Springer when I was a kid who had not been afraid of storms, but one day we were getting ready to go on a last--minute trip (with the resulting rushing around and human anxiety) when a storm rolled in. After that she was always afraid of storms and fireworks. Interestingly, she was a gun dog and loved hunting and the sound of gunshot.
Maddie arrived here slightly nervous about storms. Her breeder said she had one bitch who was terrified of storms and hid in the closet, and that every dog who'd lived in the house while she had that bitch was a little nervous about storms. However, she's been with us for 3 years and now she does not even raise her head off the couch, unless lightning strikes close by (and that makes even me jump).
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HI Beth,
I am thinking with Wiley it may be the exposure to other dogs since my other female that I rescued and rehomed was also very frightened or maybe the combo of bad experiences and others being afraid.
None of mine are scared and we get plenty of storms around here.
Wow...the Springer still liked to hunt? That surprises me but maybe it was something else about the storm instead of the noise.
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Permalink Reply by AsthmaticHummingbird on
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How do you act towards him when there is a storm? If you coddle him during a storm you are essentially teaching him that he has a reason to be concerned. If you treat the storm as if it's "no big deal", eventually he'll follow your lead and realize that making a fuss isn't worth it.
There is always the possibility that if he had been abused in the past, he may not overcome his fear, but just be sure you aren't accidentally adding to it out of love!
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No, I don't coddle her. She follows me and sits on the floor by where I am or goes into a kennel in a dark area or a closet. Being a puppy mill survivor probably plays a big part in this. Loud voices also scare her.
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That's very possible. A lot of people make the mistake of coddling their dog when they're scared of something like a storm, so I figured it was worth a mention. It sounds like there is little you can do but love her and show her things are okay. Hopefully she'll get over being scared of loud noises at some point, but as some others said, it may just be that she's extra sensitive.
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