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♥Maybelle♥

Maybelle TOTALY freaks out about thunderstorms, and fireworks.....help plz!!!

Ok, Maybelle is a two yr. old shih-tzu cross, and she totaly freaks out during thunderstorms, and fireworks. Everybody says to try treating her, and do some training, and try to distract her from the noise.....but that doesn't work! She won't take treats, or anything! Also, the last month we have a had a ton of thubderstorms, in fact there was a week and a half where there was one every night! So May would just spend most of the night in the basement with my dad(who was already up and watching tv there)and she would be hiding and crying. And then there was the fireworks. She freaked out even more over them! Now I just recently moved into another bedroom, at the front of the house, so everything is louder and you can see alot more. So I guess that has alot to do with May being afraid. She tries to get back into our old bedroom and hides under the bed.Plz help me with this! I don't want her to be afraid. We're gonna try to get some of those herbal remedies for her, and see if that helps


Asked by ♥Maybelle♥ on Jul 4th 2008 in Fears & Phobias
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Daisy~ CGC ♥

Alright, this is partially normal for doggies.
Daisy doesn't mind thunderstorms at all. But when it comes to fireworks, she is a whole different girl.

The best advice I can give you, which will be better on Maybelle is to let her hide.
Try and enclose her in a dark room that is most sound proof. Put on a radio, and television to distract her. Place her favorite toys, and some treats around her. As well as blankets. If she wants to hide somewhere, that means the place she is trying to hide makes her feel secure. This will ease her worries, and make her less stressed. Which is much better for her. It is hard to cure these fears. Daisy crawled under my bed during al the fireworks. I left some treats around her, and put a blanket against her. Turned the lights off and left the room. After coming back, she had eaten some of the treats. Which tells me she was okay under there.

Best of luck with your baby!


Daisy~ CGC ♥ answered on 7/4/08. Helpful? Yes/Helpful: No 1 Report this answer


Sunny

You need to work on counter conditioning and desensitization before the storm. You can also try melatonin for storm and sound phobias or talk to your vet about an anti-anxiety medication like xanax.

Sunny's got a website that has a link to information about storm and sound phobias.


Sunny answered on 7/5/08. Helpful? Yes/Helpful: No 0 Report this answer


Bunny (new pics)

My dog is terrified of storms too. She doesn't cry anymore but runs from room to room looking frantic. We find that she just likes to be under someone (literally). She will burrow as close as she can get. During this time, I am especially sure to rub her and calm her, making sure she knows it is ok and that someone is here with her. I also make sure that the blinds/curtains/shades in the room where we are are closed. And if all else fails with her, she will go under the bed or get in her kennel.


Bunny (new pics) answered on 7/6/08. Helpful? Yes/Helpful: No 0 Report this answer


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