Quiet house, anxious dog
Hi Darcie, Just curious – you say your house is quiet inside… what is it you’ve used/are using to dampen the sound from thunderstorms? Ziggy is totally freaked and we’ve been using “Bach’s Feel Five” (natural herbal tincture) to get her through them. It helps enormously, but I’d love to see if I can help her in other ways as well.
BTW, the V Kool info is very cool (really no punning intended) and we’re going to try it at our house this summer. This is a terrific site and I’m learning a lot. Will also be looking into the skunk stuff . Thank you!
Our house is an underground dome house. You can see it at www.thedomehome.com , I designed it when I was twelve years old and sitting in a tornado shelter. We love living here.
For more calming help, go to SitStay.com and search for the word ‘calming’. Everything we have works. Try some things, find out what works best for your dog. See the Pet Naturals calming treats and Anxiety Wrap. I am partial to those.
Massage and lots of exercise really do help dogs relax. You might also use your clicker to put “chill” or “relax” on a word que. It’s worth a try.
Another thing to help dogs with their phobias: mix phobia with something really good. Thunderstorm coming, play a wild and fun game outside while the storm rolls in. Give great treats or her favorite food if she’ll take it. Then get back into the house where you should be and continue the game inside.
I’m not convinced that dogs can completely get over their phobias any more than people can. It sure is worth trying to help them. Thanks for not using drugs on her. It’s so not fair to not be able to move your body when fear has your mind in a whirl.
