Anxiety Attacks
My 1 year old corgi react fantically when she hears thunderstorm sounds. She shivered and shaked, happening right now. This came as a shock to us because we have never seen her like this before.
Gillian was adopted from SPCA when she was 9 months old. The reason she was abandoned there was because the previous male owner had some illness and not able to take care of her. She has then developed anxiety by displacing fears when she hear loud noises, when an umbrella is open, and initially gets nervous when she walk pass a guy on the road.
Right at this moment, i quickly find dog calming music from the internet and play for her while holding her in my arms. She shivered for like 3 mins continuously, then became slightly better because the thunderstorm halt for awhile and then shivered again when the sounds came back.
Please share if you have the same experience with your corgi and what can i do to help her over come this? Appreciate and grateful for advice.
Replies to This Discussion
-
Permalink Reply by Denis J. on
-
Wally doesn't shiver but barks explosively at noise he doesn't like, or even something out of place in the neighborhood. This morning he had to walk about 10 feet away from a big blue garbage bag that wasn't there yesterday. And when we start the blender at home he jumps out of bed to come barking. But I ask my wife to start the blender and I'm prepared to meet him in the hallway to get his attention with treats. If he doesn't bark and gets his eyes on me I reward him, a few good petting strokes, calm voice... that works for him.
But severe anxiety we've not dealt with. Although I have to say that when he first seen a horse at about 6 months of age at the local park, he just freaked out. I never seen him that scared. It was either the size, the sled or the bells but he was just curling and whimping real loud. I pulled him to the side of the trail, came low the ground with him and held him sitting on the ground, petting him with a calming voice.
He hasn't seen a horse for over 1 1/2 years now so I'm sure we'd have to repeat that again.
I'm curious as to how any others have dealt with in such severe reactions.
-
Permalink Reply by creatiflauren on
-
Thanks!
-
Permalink Reply by Beth on
-
Have you tried a thunder shirt? Some dogs are helped by that. You can talk to her quietly and make sure she has a safe place to hide. Try to have something like a radio playing that helps with the sound. And you can try slowly desensitizing her by giving her lots of high-value treats before the storm is fully upon you. I think Patricia McConnell, the behaviorist, did a blog or two about dealing with fear. You might google that.
-
-
Thanks! I will google and learn more.
-
Permalink Reply by Holly on
-
I totally agree with the human not reacting as if there is anything to be afraid about. I really think they take their cues from us. I learned the hard way that being overly sensitive and trying to comfort too much only fed into her fears and seemed to send the message that "Yes, there really is reason to be afraid." Now I just push her, gently, toward to object of fear and face it head on with me beside her telling her calmly her "It's okay." She responds by facing people in hats, head gear, helmets, people with loud machines, etc, with barely glance.
She doesn't even bother to open her eyes when the smoke alarm goes off. She still over-reacts on occasion if someone accidently bumps into her ever so gently, but she stops when I calmly but firmly tell her to stop. It didn't take long for her to grow a set, but I always got down on her level and introduced her directly to the things she feared so she didn't have to deal with her fears alone at first. She was even afraid of a little girl the first time she saw her in a hat but she literally licked her boots happily when she saw me touching the child's hat. She still likes to keep the vacuum at a good distance and she is not a fan of the nail clippers, but she is no longer afraid of every noise she can't identify. Hope you find solutions soon.
-
-
Hi Holly, thanks so much! I understand now.
-
-
Yes, you are right. I stopped doing anything and just hold her while playing the dog music. This time around i will prepare myself better! Thanks!
-
Permalink Reply by Brian D Graham on
-
Hi Oscar was like it as a pup a herbal remedy called rescue remedy helped him plus we desensitized him and spent time with him every time the was a storm or thunder he is fine now plus you can also get a special dog coat that will help as well. cant think of the name but google it.
Regards
Brian
-
Permalink Reply by Kathleen Unsell & CODY on
-
We had a husky mix that was terrified of thunder, fireworks, or any loud booming sounds. She was a rescue as well. Any thunder or fireworks and she would literally freak out and start clawing her way out of the room she was in, or go through the fence. Annie actually hurt herself trying to get away from the noise. We were not home at the time and she tried to get out of the house and clawed the door going to our garage and actually bit a hole in the doorknob. She shredded the door jam and had wood splinters in her face and blood all over when we got home. Once she got out and we found her 3 days later in the shelter. It was awful. This was a dog that was normally calm, sweet, and very well-behaved. She never completely got over it, but we learned to deal with it. On 4th of July we'd have to give her a low-dose tranquilizer because fireworks were legal in our city at the time. If you live in an area that gets frequent powerful thunderstorms you may want to keep a calming supplement or tranquilizer on hand. I've also heard wonderful things about the "thundershirts" that you can buy for your dog. Our corgi, Cody, doesn't like thunder or fireworks either, but he has a much less intense reaction than Annie did. He trembles and will go hid behind the couch, but nothing dramatic. I try to just hold and calm him. We've noticed he doesn't like big booms coming out of the tv speakers either. He'll flatten his ears and go in the other room! Hope your doggie doesn't suffer with this too much. Best wishes. P.S...Annie lived to be 14 1/2 years old!
Rescue Store
Stay Connected
FDA Recall
Canadian Food Inspection Agency Recall
Groups
We support...
Badge
© 2024 Created by Sam Tsang.
Powered by
