Dog Storm Anxiety Medication
Your veterinarian can also.
Dog storm anxiety medication. Prescription anti anxiety medications for dogs are sometimes needed with more severe storm phobias or for dogs who do not respond to over the counter treatments. No matter which medication your veterinarian chooses you will also need to put behavior modification protocols in place in order to help your dog work through their anxiety. Gradually increase the volume over the course of several months stopping if your dog shows any signs of anxiety. Moderate to severe anxiety often responds best to a prescription anti anxiety medication and behavior modification training.
Dogs diagnosed with storm phobia can react with anxiety or fear to wind rain thunder lightning and other associated stimuli including barometric pressure changes the smell of rain static electricity and even time of day. There are some things you can do to prevent your dog from reacting adversely to the triggers of thunderstorms or at least minimize the reaction. But like someone having a nightmare in which he or she cannot run from danger the frightened dog can t move to escape. During a thunderstorm the dog can still see and hear everything.
I have a fool proof thunderstorm detector more accurate than the local weather doppler system. By some estimates at least 40 percent of dogs experience noise anxiety. Play a cd of thunder recordings at low enough levels that don t frighten your dog while giving them treats or playing a game. Dog thunderstorm anxiety is a disorder characterized by a persistent and exaggerated fear of storms or the stimuli that are associated with storms.
According to mychelle blake msw cdbc studies have found that breed age sex and acquisition of the dog can increase the likelihood of a dog experiencing storm anxiety explaining female dogs and neutered males are more likely to be thunder phobic as well was dogs that were rehomed. Preventing and treating thunderstorm phobia. It sedates the dog but is not an anti anxiety medication.