Dear Terrorized: Fear of loud noises, including thunderstorms, is a common complaint I hear from dog owners. Pets can develop sound sensitivities usually between the ages of two and four. And they tend to get worse with age, sometimes not even showing up until very late.

One Norwegian Elkhound I had didn’t begin his fear of thunder until he was 10-years-old.

Dogs who behave in this way are usually triggered by some external force. They may know that the impending storm is approaching by sensing such things as the increasing wind, darkening sky and the drop in barometric pressure as the weather front approaches. They know its coming and anticipate “impending doom” which makes them nervous to all sounds.

Some behaviorists will tell you to try a desensitization program where you gradually introduce the “fear” noise at a very low volume and then increase the volume and praise when they behave appropriately. This takes a long time to implement and a lot of patience on the part of the owner and there is no guarantee this will ever work. You won’t know until someday your dog isn’t afraid anymore.

Others may suggest trying to divert your dog’s attention to the “impending doom” by playing a fun game with her at the right moments to turn the bad triggers into good triggers, but it sounds like your bitch is way past that stage.  

Remedies

Your veterinarian may suggest you treat the dog with some kind of tranquilizer such as Valium or Acepromazine or go the more natural route with melatonin or one of the herbal mixtures with a calming effect like Rescue Remedy. Sometimes these work, sometimes they don’t. As for locking the dog up, I’d avoid that since she’d probably injure herself trying to escape away from the thunder if you locked her in a crate. Rather take her to a quiet area in the house.

But the best “cure” I have found I learned at a seminar by Pat Hastings, a respected dog show judge, breeder and handler. She swears by this and I have seen it work on one of my friend’s dog who used to jump into the bathtub during a thunderstorm and quiver. Get yourself a bottle of peppermint oil from the health food store.

When the storm is approaching put a drop or two of oil on the bottom of each foot, right on the pad. While no one knows why this works, once the oil is on for a bit, the dog no longer cares about the thunderstorm.

And she’ll smell very nice!  

Lisa’s Pick Of The Litter

The reader who wrote in about her itchy Labrador Retriever reports that she went to another veterinarian to get a second opinion about her dog’s condition. Her “former” vet simply treated the symptoms and didn’t bother to get to the root of the problem. Her “new” vet did bother to go a little further with the diagnostics and ordered a thyroid blood test. The test came back positive for impaired thyroid function.

After more treatment to “heal” her itchiness and bring her symptoms under control and after beginning thyroid hormone medication, her owner reports that for the first time in a long time, her dog is happier, on her way to becoming itch-free and more in balance. I love happy endings!

Lisa Peterson, a breeder and exhibitor of Norwegian Elkhounds, is a Delegate to the American Kennel Club. Reach her at ask@lisa-peterson.com  or Dogma Publishing, P.O. Box 307, Newtown, CT 06470.