My dog is scared of thunderstorms and has a bloody nose. What to do?

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.

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!

Without knowing his age isn't hard to give you an idea of what could be going on. It could be anything from cancer to an infection to something stuck in his nose. Here is some accurate information to check out: https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/nose-bleeds-or-epistaxis-in-dogs -- most relevant details "Place an ice pack on the bridge of the nose (on top of the muzzle). In short-faced breeds, be sure your pet can breathe around the ice pack. The cold will constrict small blood vessels, which will slow the bleeding. If these steps do not stop the bleeding or the pet is having difficulty breathing, see your veterinarian or emergency clinic at once. Remember that a pet with a bloody nose will likely swallow a great deal of blood. This may lead to a black stool (melena) or vomit that contains blood clots (hematemesis). After an episode of epistaxis, these findings are common and do not necessarily indicate bleeding in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract." I hope that helps!

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.

I am concerned about Shalim. Sneezing blood definitely is not normal. I would have him evaluated by a veterinarian as soon as possible and in the meantime just keep him calm. Blood from the nose can be caused by many things including inhaling foreign material such as dried portion of plants/foxtails (if you have those in your area), tumors or infections in the nasal cavity, low blood platelets (a type of blood cell that is necessary for clotting), and high blood pressure.

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!

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.