My dog is scared to death of thunder and lightening.

[Auntie Bush]

Can anyone recommend a good anti-anxiety medication?

[MuseRider]

1. I heard of a product

but for the life of me I can't remember the name. Something like a Thunder Jacket? It is a jacket that wraps around them and somehow makes them feel more secure. I have heard that it works but have never seen one. I hope someone knows what I am talking about and has experience with it. I will look around and see if I can find what I read about it. Better than drugs if it does work.

EDIT: I think this might be it. It seems odd to me but like I said I have heard from people that have tried them that they work. http://www.pawposse.com/thunder-jacket-for-dogs/product-218/

[Walk away]

2. I have a client who uses it and swears by it....

as well as a few who tried it, found it ineffective and packed it away. I used to give Henry a half of a Benadryl on stormy days and that has helped him gradually overcome his panic.

I am lucky because I work out of my home so Henry is always with me. I don't coddle him during storms but I put on his leash and harness and make him sit calmly next to me. It has taken a while but now he is relaxed and calm through the thunder. No more pacing, shaking and crying.

My other two dogs couldn't care less about storms but when I have doggie house guests that reacts I do the same leash/down stay at my feet and it gets us through the worst of it.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

7. My brother and his family use it with their Golden Retriever

It works for them.

My cat, on the other hand, reacts with complete blasé calm. The first time I experienced a thunderstorm with him, it was the middle of the night. I woke up and looked over to where he was sleeping on the end of the bed. He lifted his head, glanced around the room, sat passively through the next thunderclap, looked around again, as if to say, "Oh, is that happening again?" and went back to sleep.

[glinda]

5. It works.

[NRaleighLiberal]

3. One of our chocolates Buddy hates them as well. One thing that works a bit - slip on a snug

fitting Tshirt (kind of like the same idea as what Temple Grandin does under stress). Looks silly - but if it works...!

[phylny]

4. Thundershirt and Rescue Remedy.

I've used both with our dog, Jack.

Rescue Remedy works in about 20 minutes. I put four drops on a tiny piece of bread, and give it to him. It calms him, and is made from flower essences.

The Thundershirt works like magic. He hears the thunder, but doesn't feel panicked.

Good luck. I'm glad I got his, especially with July 4 coming

[MiniMe]

6. I just got a thundershirt for my dog, it seems to help with some of the anxiety

Gus starts getting nervous when the barometric pressure changes. The shirt helps him with that anxiety. He gets a 5mg valium pill when a storm is imminent. I just started using the thundershirt, I'm hoping that we can cut back on the valium when there is a storm. Good luck, I wish we could explain it to them.

[TorchTheWitch]

8. my first akita was scared mindless of thunder storms

Nothing else in the world fazed him, but thunder storms freaked him out so bad that he'd stop in the middle of our walk and suddenly sprint back home because he was able to hear the thunder waaaaay off in the distance even though the sun would be still out where we were. He'd get in such a tizzy he'd have the runs sometimes.

We tried a few different meds, but none of them did a thing other than make him lose his appetite. We experimented with the meds for a while but finally gave up on any of them since they didn't help and they always gave him some sort of disagreeable side effect.

Then one day he discovered that the bathtub made a nice little cave just his size (he was so big he juuust fit in that big tubby. Ever since then as soon as he heard a storm coming way off in the distance he would race to the bathroom, dive in the tub and pull the shower curtain closed with his teeth. Once he was in there it was instant relaxation... you could see him physically lose the tension and he'd let out a great big doggie sigh. As long as he was in the tub, he was perfectly fine and would go to sleep in there. There was no way on earth you were going to get him out of there until the storm was long passed though.

I think most dogs when they're scared look for a small cozy place to hide. Before he discovered the bathtub security he'd try to hide in a closet or under the dining room table or behind a bedroom door in the little space between an open door and the wall, etc. He was never satisfied with any of those places though. I guess the tub worked out perfect for him especially with pulling the curtain closed... he felt snug and safe in there since he just fit, so it was the perfect size for him, and there was no chair legs to get tangled in like under the dining room table or junk to trample and trip over like in a closet. So that problem ended up solving itself and it was even him that discovered on his own what made him feel safe when we had a thunder storm.

After he passed away and I got Boo, my next one, I planned on showing him the bathtub as a hiding place when he needed to feel safe during a storm, but he never cared a wit about storms. Neither does Yoshi, the one I have now. Yoshi actually loves the storms because it means a great deluge of rain and that means the yard turns into a glorious mudpie. He'll be running around out there in the storm getting soaked and flopping in the mud with joy while it's ME that's hiding in the closet and whimpering. LOL! I hate thunder.

You can try experimenting with meds. I'm sure your vet can recommend all kinds of different ones that might help. I never had any luck with them at all though, and the side effects just made a bad situation that much worse. Maybe you could try setting up a nice little hidey hole for your dog somewhere in the house that he knows is always available to him if he needs it and just the right size for him. Some dogs like the crates that have the solid sides (like a pet airplane travel container) since the mesh metal crates might feel too open for them to feel secure enough.

I've also heard really good things about the Thunder Shirt, too, so you might want to try one of them.

[Phentex]

9. My big dog tries to get under things...

He hates storms! He whimpers and will squeeze himself into a spot between the couch and fireplace or sometimes I can get on the couch and he'll get as close to it as possible. I have considered the thunder shirt but I think he really wants to be with people.

Meanwhile, the lab sleeps like a baby.

[TorchTheWitch]

12. introduce him to the safety of the bathtub

Seriously. For a big dog it's very reminicent of a den they would dig themselves in the wild. Once Kato discovered the secutity of the bathtub during a storm he then decided it was a nice cool place to nap in the summer where I wasn't always tripping over him. He just matched beige colored carpeting so even though he was huge when you're bombing around the house and not paying attention to where you're going (I have a really bad habit of doing that all the damn time) you'd trip over him.

I think if he's coming to you or other family members when he's scared for physical closeness the Thuder Shirt should work well for him. I think that's how the Thunder Shirt works... it mimics being snuggled in a small space or cuddled or held that they find so conforting. Shame they didn't have the Thunder Shirt for all those years that Kato was horrified by storms and before he discovered the security of the bathtub. I'm not sure it would have been a good idea for him though since he was so hairy. Wearing something like that would have made him much too overheated.

[get the red out]

10. Layla will come get us

At the first hint of thunder Layla will literally come "get" one of us to follow her into the bedroom and cuddle her on the bed, she will go back and forth from me to the bedroom until I understand what she wants (if I haven't heard the thunder yet myself). She is also terrified of fire works, which has me concerned about next week. The vet said to use Benedryl, which I do and will, we have a thunder shirt which reduces her trembling somewhat, but I have yet to find something that actually keeps her totally calm and we have tried all kinds of calm treats and the pheramone scented plug ins and collar dangles to no avail. One of usually just lays on the bed and snuggles with her, this seems to reduce her shaking most. We snuggle with her during non-frightened times so this isn't exclusive to when she's scared.

[Auntie Bush]

11. Thanks everyone for all your suggestions. I haven't

decided yet what to do. I think I'll give the Thunder Shirt a try...only because some of you said it actually works. I had been very skeptical about such a thing. I'll let you know if it helps but, I have a feeling it works differently on different dogs. I took my dog to the vet and she prescribed Alprazoleam which I haven't bought yet...wanted to know what you guys suggested first.

Yesterday I did find helpful to reduce the shaking and drooling AFTER the storm is gone is DISTRACTION. I offered her some special chewy treats and played one of her favorite
activities. However these distractions wouldn't work during the storm...only work at getting her mind off the scary situation after it's over. She'll still be shaking an hour after the storm was over.

Oh, I'll also give the Rescue Remedy a try and work on finding or making a hidy hole.