I've tried: Exercising the hell out of the dog Comforting the dog Thundershirt Calms Forte (herbal sleep/relaxation pill) Benadryl Nothing works. She just paces, pants, shivers and drools. And it seems to always happen at 3:30 AM.
Have you even tried the thundershirt? The infomercial says it works, and I believe them. I summon Billy Mays to send us a sign from above.
^^ Is the thundershirt really a scam though, seriously? My dog doesn't handle storms too well either, and I've given small consideration to this. Maybe the placebo effect doesnt work on dogs.
Just doesn't work for this dog. I've read that it works in most cases, though. San Diego seems like an excessively expensive cure.
This may be crazy I know...but have you tried asking a vet? A good buddy of mine has a storm-psycho Australian Shepard. This dog during a storm once chewed off the window covers on a french patio door, climbed onto the kitchen counter and destroyed the blinds above the sink, then defecated all over the floor before somehow managing to open the dishwasher, tear out all the dishes, and curl up in the basin. Anyhow, his wife also happens to be a vet, and she prescribed some drugs to calm his ass down. When they give the drugs to the dog in time, it seems to work pretty well. Zonks him out.
I think that's my next step. Acepromazine? This dog has started chewing her own tail bloody during storms. Of course, the wound doesn't heal because she wags it so hard, so it flecks blood all over the walls in a nice crime scene motif.
Damn. The aforementioned buddy of mine tells me that everytime they cannot get home in time during a freak storm, that goofball dog of his is a bloody mess. As you can imagine, chewing off patio door molding, blinds, and stomping all over masses of broken dishes makes for one beat-to-hell dog. So yeah...talk to your vet and monitor the weather before you head out to work.
That's one of the biggest hang-ups of owning a dog imo...is most do not handle storms well. Once that first grumble of thunder is heard or lightning flashes, it all begins and it's not over till several minutes after the storm passes usually. I dealt with more than one sleepless night when I had my two Ridgebacks. And, I usually had pee on the carpet to clean up afterwards. They try to hide in odd places but ultimately just pace around panting and slobbering everywhere. And, you can't just shut the door because they park at the door clawing at it all night. I used to try to barricade my bedroom door and they would get through the barricade. lol I also had to be careful when I left the house if storms were in the forecast and I wouldn't be home. One of my dogs (Zoe the cancer dog) was notorious for somehow locking herself in the cramped utility room by closing the door after she went in. And, she would suffer in a tight spot until I got home and let her out. So, certain doors had to be closed always. I would gladly experience all those sleepless nights again if I could have my two dogs back. I miss them something awful.
