How to calm my dog barking at thunder during storms without a crate?

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This is commonly known as noise phobia. Actually one of my own dogs suffers from this so I will also tell you based on my experience. These types of behaviors can be modified with the help of dog behaviorists who specialize in these types of conditions. These specialists are hard to find as there are not many in the country. In my case, the thunder shirt helped my dog to the point that she acts pretty much normal with it on. There are medications like Trazodone that can help reduce anxiety. This is something that you can obtain from your veterinarian and is likely going to help reduce the anxiety caused by the thunder. Good luck and have a great day!

Hi there. I would recommend giving Brady a special treat whenever you put him in his crate, such as a Kong toy stuffed with peanut butter. This will help to keep him busy so he doesn't bark, and will also teach him to associate good things with being in his crate. You should only leave him in the crate for short periods right now, and let him out before he finishes his treat so that he doesn't have a chance to get anxious or upset. As he gets more comfortable with the crate, you can gradually increase the amount of time he spends there. You could certainly try a Thundershirt if you want to - it seems to be helpful for some anxious dogs. Other things that might be helpful would include an Adaptil pheromone collar, or a natural calming supplement such as Zylkene or Composure.

That sounds like a great idea for helping Bella calm down! Another thing you can do is play a soothing/calm talk show or music channel as the noise can help drown out some of the loud noise from the thunder to help Bella relax.

You can buy a thunder shirt or something similar that is snug fitting to provide comfort. Leaving a white noise machine on or music can help keep her calm and drown out other noises so she will. It bear or react to them. You may need to talk to your vet about a daily medicine such as fluoxetine instead of as needed trazadone to help

Hi there and thank you for using Pet Coach to address your concern. I would recommend using a treat by NaturVet called Quiet Moments calming treats with Melatonin. You can find these online or at your local pet store. I have had great success with using this product in cases such as Charlie's. The Melatonin in the product helps calm dogs and can cause mild sedation in some cases. I would also recommend a white noise machine that plays rain or something so that he cannot hear the wind. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be happy to help you further.

Hi there and thanks for posting on PetCoach! Some dogs respond to the thundershirt better than others, but in general, it does work very well at easing tension and anxiety in most dogs who wear the wrap. If Riley's anxiety is very pronounced during fireworks, you may want to talk to his veterinarian about anti-anxiety medications that can be prescribed. Calming chewables that have L-Theanine in them can also help as well at easing tension. I have linked an example of the calming chewables below. I hope this helps!

Hi and thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Sorry to hear about Archie. There is a fairly new drug out for noise/sound phobias but it is actually a medicine that we have used for years to sedation and anesthetize dogs and cats. The drug company has now packaged it in an oral gel form and very small doses of the drug are very effective at curbing the fear that dogs experience. The drug in the United States is called Sileo (dexmedetomidine oromucosal gel). I would advise asking your veterinarian and find out if this preparation of the drug is available in the UK. The other thing you can do is behavior modification, or in this case hyposensitization to loud noises that cause him anxiety. Find recordings of thunder and loud noises but play it very softly at first when starting the medication if you can get it. You can then incrementally raise the volume of the recording to start lessening his response to the noises that bother him. I hope this helps and I hope this drug is available in this form in the UK. Good luck with Archie.