720 Austin Ave., #107
Erie, CO 80516
303-828-0373
www.erieanimalhospital.com
erieanimalhospital@mail.com
Thunderstorm and Loud Noise Phobias
Is your pet afraid of thunderstorms, fireworks or other loud noises? If your pet trembles, or begins to pace and whine or pant heavily, as
the barometer drops or with the first boom of fireworks or thunder, they may have a phobia of noises. Helping the pet with their phobia
will require a multi-modal approach, not just trying one thing, but doing a multitude of things all at one time!
Begin working on their phobia many weeks before the thunderstorms are predicted or before the fireworks are scheduled.
1. Manage your environment by setting up a quiet, safe place for the dog to go to.
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It can be a crate or simply a quiet, safe room that is set up to block outside stimuli from reaching your pet (i.e.
flashes of light).
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Put a dog bed or rug in the room.
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Set up a fan for white noise or play soothing music. For example, Through the Dog’s Ear cds have been
developed specifically to calm your dog.
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Plug in a adaptil diffuser and keep it running (and full) throughout the thunderstorm season. Be sure it has run at
least 72 hours before a fireworks display.
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You can also use a thunder shirt. They are available commercially or use a t-shirt that is snug around the base of
the dog’s acupressure point at the base of the neck. Be sure the dog can still move comfortably in the shirt. For
small breeds, a baby onesie can work as a thunder shirt too!
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If your dog is away from home and is exposed to a thunderstorm or fireworks, try to set up the environment as
close to the home environment as you can and have the dog wear an adaptil collar.
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Remember that thunder storms change the barometer and the light changes as well. Many pets are sensitive to
these changes too.
2. Use behavior modification to directly change unwanted behavior by means of bio feedback or conditioning in
animals. We use a number of resources to de-condition or de-sensitize your pet to thunder or other loud noises.
Begin using the behavior modification many weeks before the thunderstorm season or fireworks display.
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Teach the dog to settle or relax in a specific place in his or her room. Use a crate, dog bed or rug as
an added cue. Use food stuffed toys or treats to teach the dog to relax physically and emotionally on
cue.
Play games with the dog. The game can be fetch if he loves to fetch or find it! Teaching him or her to
find a treat in the room.
You need to stay calm. If you become nervous or anxious, your pet will pick up on your anxiety and
become worse.
Avoid punishing the pet or getting angry. This is counter-productive and will cause the dog’s stress
level to rise.
Use an upbeat tone of voice, with words like “good dog!” If we say “It’s ok” we change our body
language and the dog reads the body cues as “Oh! I knew something was wrong!”
Every day (even if only for a few minutes, take the dog to his room and play a game with him. The
more conditioned the dog becomes, the easier thunderstorm season will be for him.
Counter conditioning can sometimes help. Use a CD such as Through a dog’s ear. It plays noises
softly and gradually the noise level increases. As the noises start, play games with your dog, and use
your upbeat voice. Watch for the pet’s tolerance level. If it becomes too much for your dog, cease
the cd right away. If your dog can tolerate the increase in noise, it will then begin to fade away. Begin
at a lower volume level and slowly over time, increase that as well. This does not work for all dogs.
During the event:
1. At the first sign of the inciting stimuli, take the dog to his safe place and cue him to relax.
2. Stay calm. Sucking on peppermint candy can sometimes help you feel calm and disguise any stress you
might be feeling from the dog.
3. Practice your positive voice, game playing and trick training as the storm progresses.
4. Use massage techniques on your pet:
 Massage the outside of the ears – start halfway down and stroke towards the tips on the outside part
of the ear.
 Massage between the eyes in a circular motion in a counter clockwise direction – do not massage in
a clockwise direction as that has an excitable effect!
5. Use all the “tools” available(thundershirt, adaptil infused room, white noise or soothing music).
If your dog is extremely anxious, discuss medical treatments available with your veterinarian to use with this behavior
modification!