My dog is severely afraid of thunderstorms. What else can I try?

You can always try over the counter remedies for anxiety before resorting to drugs. That being said, I have rarely seen these "natural" products work on dogs especially ones that have severe anxieties. Here are some things you can try: 1. Thundershirt: http://www.thundershirt.com/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIzuHJ_Y2j1QIVFo1-Ch00fwx0EAAYASAAEgKaavD_BwE 2. Rescue Remedy for Pets: http://www.bachflower.com/rescue-remedy-pet/ 3. DAP (dog appeasing pheromone): http://dapdiffuser.com/ If those do not help, I would suggest you speak to your vet about a prescription of Trazodone. I think it is the best anti-anxiety medication without many side effects and it doesn't make them too groggy or "out of it". Hope this helps. Best wishes!

First, be careful that Rolo does not lash out and hurt you. It does not mean she doesn't like you. It means she is very stressed. There are two things you can do: 1) Call her vet and get a sedative for her. Long term, this would not be a bad idea. When you know storms are coming, you give this two her before they hit so that she does not get so worked up. 2) try to distract her. If she will let you, take her for a hard walk or a game of fetch until she is tired. A dog who is physically tired has less energy for anxiety. Then try to bring her inside and play classical music to drown out the sounds. Classical music has been shown to calm pets down. Other ways you may be able to refocus her attention include a training session or a longer lasting food treat like a Kong toy stuffed with Peanut Butter (make sure Xylitol is not found in the ingredients). They do make recordings of scary sounds for dogs. Look online. The idea is that you play it as background noise. Every few days you gradually increase the sound. The idea is that it desensitizes the brain to the noise. This may also help long term. A thunder jacket for dogs can also help some pets immensely. I hope this helps to point you in the right direction. Please feel free to post any further questions!

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!

Awww, poor Willow! Sounds like she has noise phobia, a common enough affliction that we see in dogs and cats. This is usually something that is addressed with either medications, or items like the Thundershirt and Adaptil Collar. I like to advise owners to try the latter two options first prior to jumping to a medication, as chemicals should only be used when absolutely necessary. If neither of them seem to be successful in helping Willow, speak to your veterinarian about prescribing something to help with the anxiety. Drugs for this in dogs usually include alprazolam or trazodone.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Olive is adorable! There are anti-anxiety medications you can try which your veterinarian can prescribe such as Trazodone. I find this medication very helpful in these cases. Good luck!

Noise phobia (thunderstorms and fireworks usually) is a pretty common scenario in dogs and cats. However, I have never heard of bleeding from the nose occurring during these types of events unless your pet ran into something during their panicking. If this is the case, I can understand that, but if not I would definitely seek a veterinarian to investigate the bleeding. As for the noise phobia, some more natural ways to try and calm your dog would be with products like the Thunder Shirt and/or certain pheromone products designed to create a calming effect. These are hit or miss in my experience. I usually prescribe a drug to my clients who have pets like this that can be given on an as needed basis. The two drugs I prescribe most often for these scenarios are trazodone or alprazolam. Alprazolam works quicker and I find it more effective, but many veterinarians are not fond of prescribing it because it is a controlled substance. I hope this helps calm your dog down.

This is a difficult question, as the recommendation for which medications or therapies to start for anxiety are very individualized to the patient and the specific things that are triggering their episodes. If you haven't tried some over-the-counter therapies such as a Thundershirt ( https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/product/thundershirt-heather-gray-dog-anxiety-solution ) or a pheromone diffuser ( https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/product/thunderease-calming-diffuser-kit-for-dogs ) those are often good places to start. If these aren't helping you will need to consider consulting with a vet, who can prescribe Prozac or another anxiety medication, along with behavior modification therapy.