Tips on calming down a terrified dog?

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Charmaine18

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We are having a mega-storm here. Forked lightning every few seconds, ear-splitting thunder, it's really very exciting. And Leah is TERRIFIED. She's lying at my feet just trembling, I feel so sorry for her.
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I'm not making a fuss of her, I'm just acting completely normal so she doesn't think there's something to be scared about, but is there anything else I can do? I've got the TV on quite loud, but it's not drowning out the thunder. Should I close the curtains to try and stop the lightning from scaring her?

My poor wimpy baby.
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I do worry about her when she gets this panicky - she's had fits before and I'm really scared she'll have one today.
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I heard an interview with a dog behaviouralist just before fireworks night which recommended being especially jolly and upbeat during fireworks / thunder. You're exactly right not to make a fuss, but also play games, be happy, distract her with fun things. If she likes training for treats it's a great distraction, and you pick especially nice treats. Bits of cheese for sitting and staying distracts mine beautifully from anything scary!
 
Hopefully the thunder is over since long but I anyway wanted to reply.

Closed curtains could help, the others have given good advice and as they've mentioned, it is really good that you don't show her that you feel sorry for her but try your best to not even think about it. After all, it is well-known that dogs can pick up on signals that we don't think we are showing.


Now this might sound completely nuts but is her fur static? One of my spitzes became scared of thunder when she was over 5 years old, I had bathed her a while earlier and not used conditioner after the shampoo, so her fur was more static than it usually was and all she wanted, was to earth herself. Sadly it took a while before we made the connection between her static fur and her sudden fear of thunder and although once I had figured it out, I always used both shampoo and conditioner when bathing her, it was to late and she was scared of thunder for the rest of her life (spitz = stubborn) but she was less scared when her fur wasn't static.
Actually if she was outdoors, she was never scared of the thunder because then she felt she had earthed herself. That was sort of how we figured it out, because all she wanted was to go out in the garden and as soon as her paws reached the grass and soil, she became calm.

Later I found a book mentioning that many dogs scared of thunder had static fur, in the book it said that sometimes those dogs can feel calmer in the bathroom because the water pipes can make the dog feel it has earthed itself? Never worked on my girl but in the city she was much calmer if we went down in the cellar.
 
Too late for this time, but I used to give my old GSD Rescue Remedy before bonfire night or if thunder was forecast. Just a couple of squirts on her tongue and it did make a difference. Otherwise can only agree with the advice already given, that is really interesting about the static FLH.
 
I'm feeling slightly frustrated, I know it was written by a male veterinarian (I think his first name was Nicholas or similar but maybe that is completely wrong) and I know the size of the book I'm looking for and as I recall it has what looks like a longhaired GSD on the front cover but can I find it? No! Maybe I've left it out in the summer home...
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I will probably find it 6 months from now, when I've stopped remembering that I'm looking for it. *sigh*
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It sounds mean but sometimes they're better off being shut somewhere quiet dark and secure as they do feed off their humans concern even if you're trying not to show it. I used to make Jake a cosy bed up in the spare room, black out the windows with a blanket and just leave him in there until it was quiet. Whenever there was a storm or fireworks he headed straight for that room so he obviously felt safer there. There is no way of comforting them so it makes you less tense too.
 
Thanks for all your tips! She didn't have a fit or anything and she calmed down eventually when the storm was over. I do try to play games with her and do training and stuff when she's nervous, but she doesn't normally pay attention to me (or even the treats!) because she's too busy being alert. I will definitely try what everyone suggested next time though!
 
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