My dog is scared of thunder. How to calm her without a Thundershirt?

Hi and thank you for using PetCoach! You can always try the ThunderShirt which can be purchased at your local Pet Supplies Store or Amazon. It has mixed reviews, but may be worth a try! Calming chewables with L-Theanine in them can help as well. There are lots of different kinds available, but I recommend these (linked below). https://www.amazon.com/VetriScience-Laboratories-Composure-Medium-Large/dp/B001WOOC9S/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1505057605&sr=8-1&keywords=Vetri+Science+Calming+Chew Having Tux in an area of the house where he cannot hear or see the storm can help as well (comfortable basement area ). I hope this helps and best wishes to you and Tux!

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!

Poor King! If he is fearful about being handled and bites you when you try to put on the Thundershirt, this probably isn't a good option for him right now - trying to get it on him is likely causing a lot of stress, and is also dangerous for you due to the risk of being bitten. Instead, you might want to try a DAP pheromone diffuser, or a natural calming supplement like Zylkene or Composure for situations that tend to make him anxious - these can be helpful for some fearful dogs. If these things don't help much, you could talk to your veterinarian about whether prescription medication might be a good option for him, or make an appointment with a veterinary behaviorist for a more complete evaluation and treatment plan to help address the problem. You can search for a board-certified veterinary behaviorist in your area here: www.dacvb.org

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

I'm sorry to hear of your concerns with Rosie. It's terrible to have your pet be so scared. I would recommend asking your veterinarian about using an anti-anxiety medication and/or sedative prior to thunderstorms to help reduce Rosie's anxiety. Medications such as trazodone and Sileo can be quite beneficial in these cases. It may also be worth working with an experienced animal behaviorist to work on counter conditioning Rosie's response to thunderstorms. This can be an involved process, but the benefits can be great in that you may be able to reduce Rosie's anxiety over time by helping to have a more positive association with storms.

Hi there. Thundershirts can be helpful for some dogs, while others don't like them or don't really respond to them one way or the other. So you can try this - it may or may not help. Other over-the-counter options that might be helpful would include an Adaptil pheromone collar, along with a natural calming supplement like Zylkene or Composure.

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.