It's me or the dog.....

[Johnny Rockets]

One of us is going to die....her from panic or me from lack of sleep. So I have my dog, she is my buddy and is 12 years old and in relatively good health. Over the last 3-4 years she has become deathly afraid of thunderstorms. She is in the 60lb range and can no longer get on the bed becasue fo her age but she will put her front paws on there and basically has a panic attack as the storm approaches. So the only thing I can do to keep her from ruining everyone elses sleep is to take her downstairs and occupy her until the storm passes.

Since we seem to be having a storm every other nite, this has taken a toll on me. I run on 2-3 hours of sleep every other nite it seems. The one time I tried to lock her out of the room by herself she peed on the floor and my dog never does that. I can't bring myself to lock her in the garage by herself but I have to do something. I have read online about all of the natural remedies like flower spray, harp music, etc. which I seriously doubt is going to work on my dog because she really is close to having a heart attack during a storm. The other option I guess is to drug the dog with a presciption from my vet which I really don't want to do unless that is the only option. Anyone had any experience with something that worked?

[boo7382]

The drug thing might be your best bet.

A guy I used to dogsit for had an older Golden Retriever that freaked the fug out every time there was a storm. He got her doggy xanax and that calms her down. ONly thing is you gotta really watch them around stairs and stuff.

He said that was the only thing that would work to calm her down.

[Guest]

[C47]

My German Shepherd mix is afraid of storms to. Shakes violently even after the storm has passed. The other night I found her sleeping in the bathtub. I've tried pretty much everything I can think of, now I just give up and lay on the floor beside her dogbed since she doesn't want to get up on the bed when she's scared. As for something that's worked I haven't found anything as of yet, if the storm isn't too bad I usually can cover her with a sheet and she calms down enough that my wife and I can sleep but otherwise it's been a long two weeks or so ...

[Darth Biscuit]

Get the drugs, get a kennel, drug her up and put her in the kennel... that way you sleep and she doesn't get hurt.

[Kevin Greene]

Jack Daniels in the kibble.

Pleasent dreams.

[C47]

Jack Daniels in the kibble.

Pleasent dreams.

:lol: I told my wife I was going to do that next time...ended with a punch in the arm...

[Panthro]

So when are you getting the puppy xanax?

[Mvp2014]

my border collie just gets pissed off and runs around the house barking when there is lightning. You could say he is herding the storm

[Johnny Rockets]

Jack Daniels in the kibble.

Pleasent dreams.

I didn't go that far yet, but I admittedly took out a bottle of Nyquil at 3am and started reading the back label to see if it said anything about dogs. I figured it was a better option then the rubber mallet I had in my other hand.

I knew I was losing my mind when I was trying to guilt the dog into calming down by pointing out how well the stupid cat was behaving. At one point I swear my dog was arguing back at me, then I realized there wasn't even a cat.

I have a bottle of people Xanax that is not in use....wonder if that would work? Better yet, if I get doggie Xanax can "people" take that and if so do they make doggie adderal?

Thanks for the tips...looks like I need to call the vet and go the med route.

[C47]

I knew I was losing my mind when I was trying to guilt the dog into calming down by pointing out how well the stupid cat was behaving. At one point I swear my dog was arguing back at me, then I realized there wasn't even a cat.

:lol: I have actually done this....well other then the not actually having a cat part....

[boo7382]

I didn't go that far yet, but I admittedly took out a bottle of Nyquil at 3am and started reading the back label to see if it said anything about dogs. I figured it was a better option then the rubber mallet I had in my other hand.

I knew I was losing my mind when I was trying to guilt the dog into calming down by pointing out how well the stupid cat was behaving. At one point I swear my dog was arguing back at me, then I realized there wasn't even a cat.

I have a bottle of people Xanax that is not in use....wonder if that would work? Better yet, if I get doggie Xanax can "people" take that and if so do they make doggie adderal?

Thanks for the tips...looks like I need to call the vet and go the med route.

Not sure about xanax, but my uncle with ALS, when he takes his pills, its hard for him to grip things, so he ends up dropping his pills a lot and he can't bend down to get them.

Needless to say, their Springer Spaniel has had her fair share of pain killers. Last Christmas, we had like 30 family members in town. She was straight sprawled out in the middle of the kitchen floor passed out :lol:

[Johnny Rockets]

:lol: I have actually done this....well other then the not actually having a cat part....

Well I do have a cat, but she wasn't in the room. I forgot that as the storm approached I tied a metal rod to her and sent her outside to go play. I know it may sound mean but she has long hair and it gets matted at times so lightning strikes are the only thing that will untangle it. I read it on the internet so it has to be true.

[Johnny Rockets]

Needless to say, their Springer Spaniel has had her fair share of pain killers. Last Christmas, we had like 30 family members in town. She was straight sprawled out in the middle of the kitchen floor passed out :lol:

Sounds like your Springer Spaniel and my Aunt Edna have a lot in common at family Christmas gatherings.