Jump to content

Thunder and other noises


PossumGirl
 Share

Recommended Posts

Maggie has always been sensitive to thunder and firecrackers, but in L.A., we had maybe one thunderstorm a year and firecrackers were limited to July 4th and New Year's Eve.

This is not the case here, and Maggie's sound sensitivity has started to get really out of hand.  She's afraid of the fireplace noises, the local kids throw firecrackers outside whenever there's any kind of holiday, fête, carnaval, etc., and of course, we get lots and lots of thunderstorms. 

This past weekend was not only May 1st holidays but also our annual Carnaval.  In three weeks, we're going to have the big village fair which will be DIRECTLY in front of our house this year.

I use an Anxiety Wrap on Maggie, but it is just not enough, although it does help.

I'm thinking of using something like Clomicalm, which is an SSRI, rather than a tranquilizer. I was wondering, though, if any of you had found any remedies which really worked for your sound sensitive pets.  I've tried the Bach Rescue Remedy with no luck whatsoever, and nothing homeopathic that I've tried has worked either.  But I'm open to suggestion.

PG

Link to comment
Share on other sites

personally, i think that you will have limited success with the off the shelf products, some work better than others and better on some dogs than others. it seems that you dogs fear is escalating gradually due to the increased exposure. in the short term, the sure way is a mild sedative from a vet if you know of any real big exposures forthcoming, but this is not the answer long term, positive controlled exposure , getting your dog used to the problem is the best route for the future, this is really dependant on if your dog is having "severe reactions" or is moderately anxious.

it is all to easy to reinforce the fear by immedietly comforting her when she reacts, reinforcing her behavior is correct as you are indirectly, in her mind, agreeing with her.

i have probably not been much help here, but my advice is to seek advice from a nearby behaviorist  for the longer term, if you feel it is a problem that needs that attention.

good luck

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It may not be possible, as I don't know how long the fair will last - but would it be possible to get a friend to look after Maggie for the duration of the worst part of the fireworks etc.?

My mother-in-law had a dog with excactly the same nervous disposition - Cindy was even scared of flys buzzing about the house!! I know they use to feed her little bits of Mars Bars which would keep her mind of fireworks & thunder storms.  Keeping her mind (& stomach) busy & talking gently to her was the only way she would settle.

Good luck - & maybe a trip to your local vet may be the best way to get advice.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

One of mine used to get quite scared of fireworks (each year a massive display not far from where I lived and particularly bad when people started letting them off whilst we were out on a walk).

 

Fortunately I always knew when the village display was so stayed in with him, TV on really loud and spent the time playing with him with his favourite toy(s).  This completely distracted him -> no problems.

 

It is difficult to say if it helped him get better (e.g. fireworks noise in background = playing with favourite toys) and I guess a lot depends of how scared a dog is of such noises.  He used to be at the point where he would always run into kitchen and leave a puddle on the floor.  It seemed to only be fireworks and not thunder.  Never used calming things – but he was probably not affected so badly as to need them.

 

No idea if they work or if they are even a good idea but in the UK you can purchase CDs/Cassette tapes of firework/thunder noises.  The idea is you play it quietly (causing no fear or reaction).  Then once happy at that volume, turn the noise up a bit louder (over days and weeks – not all on one day), so the dog gradually gets used to the noises at increasing volumes and learns that there is nothing bad associated with such things.  Never tried them, no idea about how successful they are nor even if there may be undesirable side effects.

 

Ian

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I work really hard at not reinforcing the fear by letting her deal with it in her own way. Mr. Possum is more of a problem and I have to tell him to stop coddling her!!!  (Behavior therapy is easier with dogs than with husbands!)

That's the principle of the Anxiety Wrap, which is to get them used to that and let them find their own space.  I don't know if the CDs would work or not; I know we have to actually turn down the sound on the TV if we're watching anything that has fireworks (like the opening scenes of LOTR) or, God forbid AIRHORNS!!! Watching the world cup is a bit of a challenge around here!

Giving her food during these periods doesn't work, as she is really not very food motivated at the best of times.  She really won't eat if she's at all stressed; and she doesn't particularly like toys or playing (other than herding things) even when she's happy.  So, distracting her isn't an option.

The pharmacy got me some clomicalm, and I'm going to take her to the vet with it tomorrow and talk to him.  Interestingly enough, the ONLY interraction that I've found with it is the Preventic collar!  So, we'll need to relook at our flea and tick options.  If the Scalibor is okay, then maybe I'll switch to that and stop the K9 Advantix as well...

A friend on my border collie list had sound phobia problems with one of her dogs but not the other.  However, the second dog has now learned to be afraid from the first dog!  Why don't they learn positive behaviours that easily????

Thanks for all the suggestions.

PG

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I found out today that the Mars Bar trick had a little more to it than I realised!!  Mark's mum had them laced with Valium!!  Not surprized the poor dog didn't care what was happening!! [blink]  Might try the same trick on Mark, closer to our moving time!!
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The Mars bars thing is funn!  However, warn you MIL that chocolate is a real no-no for dogs!  It can kill them.

We just got back from our vet (they may be the nices people in the universe!  This is the second time I visited them for a small thing and they wouldn't take any money!)  She agrees that Clomicalm is the perfect option for Maggie, although there is apparently a new product out there that might be better.  She's going to do some research.

When I told her that I'd read on the Novartis site that one shouldn't use the Preventic collar at the sametime, she was really surprised.  It isn't in any of the literature. So, she called Novartis and the help line didn't know about it either!  So, they're supposed to look into it and call her back, then she'll call me back.

In the meantime, it seems that Maggie's reactions are probably getting worse due to age (she's 10-ish).  She's got the beginnings of a cataract, which I thought I had detected, and who knows, if she's also losing a bit of hearing, the sudden noises may be even more difficult for her to understand.  I've got just about enough time for the Clomicalm to kick in before the Ascension street fair!

PG

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...