Gun Dog Forum

Are terrorizing my GWP. It's a fairly recent development, maybe in the last 3 months or so.

Okay, that's a bit strong. Maddie the 3yo GWP is afraid of loud noises outside the house. She's not the tiniest bit gun shy, but thunder and big trucks are scaring her. It's not complete terror, but if I am home on garbage day she is trembling so hard her teeth are chattering and she really wants to be in my lap. Last night we had really loud thunder in the middle of the night and before I knew it the dog was up on the bed, laying across my face, and trembling.

I've not been letting her do that, instead I make her get down and then try to distract her.

I don't have a basement or anywhere that would appreciably muffle the noise to stick her.

Any other ideas to help her not be afraid?

deleted - didn't see the dog's age. Sorry.

Maddie is 3 years old now.

Over the years I've had three that turned to drooling Jello blobs when storms blew in. They were like that until the days they died. I crated them until the storms blew over; it kept the drool puddles confined.

My daughter uses a Thundershirt on her scaredy cat JRT during storms. She says it helps.

I've looked at the thundershirts. I'm skeptical... might be worth $40 to try though.

One place recommends anti-anxiety meds, that would be a last resort.

The problem with the meds is that by the time they kick in, the storm is over or the truck has passed. Also, the dog is drugged for hours because of noise that lasts minutes. I might be tempted to try drugs though, on those days when storms are continually rolling through.
Good luck, poor dogs are so pitiful when they're so scared.

Thanks, she's pretty pathetic when she is like that. It's hard not to comfort her, she's demanding it!

If it stays just like it is now, I feel bad for her and it is not an emergency. What I worry about is it getting worse over time and really turns into a problem.

I'm going to try the thundershirt

This escalated last night. We had a heavy rainstorm but no thunder or lightning, Maddie jumped on the bed again and was trembling. Before I could get her off the bed she peed.

This isn't a house breaking issue, she hasn't peed indoors since she was a tiny puppy. I think she had to go and was scared to go outside (she has a dog door).

Just ordered a thundershirt with overnight shipping.

I think I will crate her at night and see how that goes.

Good luck with the Thundershirt.I was a skeptic,until i saw it calm my mothers dog down.I bought one for my female Brit who hates Thunder.She is 100% improved when wearing it.The biggest two problems with the Thundershirt are getting it on the dog,and the fact that storms pop up in the middle of the night and then trying to get it on the dog.LOL

I feel for you. My last britt was that way. She would even get anxious when hunting in a field and others in the field start shooting that she is not involved. Almost gun shy unless she was in on the point and shoot.

Now that we have the thundershirt the weather has been nice!

I had her wear it all night last night, didn't bother her at all.

This month is going to be fun, some neighbor has already started way early with the fireworks which, predictably, Maddie does not care for.

I always kept a cubby hole clear in the closet for a storm spooked setter to get into. I'm sure your crate will provide the same secure place. I also always had to carry a lead for this dog if we were out in the mountains and got caught by a storm as she would shut down every time. Nine years later this dog is completely deaf and can't hear storms or anything else. Problem solved.