Big Paws Only Dog Forums
Mountain Dogs => Bernese Mountain Dog Discussions => : zrebny June 10, 2005, 05:59:19 PM
-
Hi all I am hoping someone can help me, I am desperate. I have a Berner that is two and has become so afraid of thunderstorms, which we are having an over abundence of right now. She pants and shakes and is inconsolable. I have tried as vet suggested to find her a safe place, held her and everything else I can think of. She will go out and lay in the rain if it is a plain rain shower but god help us if it it thundering. She also hates fireworks. Any imput you have will be greatly appreciated. It is especially hard at night when she is roaming around the bed as she is a little hard to ignore at 100 pounds!
Jennifer the Mom
Zoe the fur Baby
-
You might want to go back to your vet and ask for medication that will help calm your dogs nerves down. I know plenty of dogs that this happens too. It sounds like you are doing all the right things, but the pills might help you out even more.
awo
-
Maybe you could try some white noise in the house that would drown out the sound of the thunder. Turning up some music, a scrambled tv channel or running a fan might help her. I hate thunder and lightening too so I know how she feels, poor baby :-[ I hope the storms let up and give the little girls some peace and comfort!
-
Hi all I am hoping someone can help me, I am desperate. I have a Berner that is two and has become so afraid of thunderstorms, which we are having an over abundence of right now. She pants and shakes and is inconsolable. I have tried as vet suggested to find her a safe place, held her and everything else I can think of. She will go out and lay in the rain if it is a plain rain shower but god help us if it it thundering. She also hates fireworks. Any imput you have will be greatly appreciated. It is especially hard at night when she is roaming around the bed as she is a little hard to ignore at 100 pounds!
Jennifer the Mom
Zoe the fur Baby
Maybe there is a web site or book out there that deals with anxiety in dogs and ways to condition them to feel better. I would think, perhaps, some sort of positive reinforcement like giving treats every time there is a terrible, scary sound...or something your pup really, really loves! Like a toy or game...or chewing up the paperback book club catalog, like Betti is doing RIGHT now...(Hee! Hee! I have my own shredder!"
I know it can be difficult. It took forever for Betti to overcome her fears enough to care about the treats. I had to be very patient. :)
-
I have found something that really seems to help scared and nervous dogs. It's called "Rescue Remedy", I have found it in natural food stores like Wild Oats or Earthfare, if you have anything like that nearby. It's natural homeopathic and completely safe, not like a tranquilizer at all. It just calms them down. I think it's about $10 for a bottle and the dose is just a few drops in the mouth or in the water bowl, so the bottle lasts a long time. It's for people but it works on animals. It's made by Bach Flower Essences. Hope this helps!
-
I know someone who uses "Rescue Remedy" on their psychotic cat and they say it works wonders. My boy is a bit jumpy too, and I've been considering it for some time. If you can find it, check it out.
Jason
-
Well I want some for me too...I'm scared of thunder!! Fortunatly we don't get many. I had a friend who had to get meds for her dog for that reason. When it would storm her poor baby would curl up under the coffee table and shake and cry. it was sad. But with the meds she was fine.
Vicki
-
Thank you all for the help. I feel sooooo bad for her, she is just petrified. I will look into the natural remedy. Vet said he would give me the heavy duty stuff for 4th of july since she is also afraid of fireworks. Volitile weather has calmed down hopfuly for a while. have tried everything I can think of. Playing the radio, running a fan, holding her, giving her treats, even a mild sedative with very little success. It is so nice to talk to other owners and get new ideas. Thanks again!
-
Hi Jennifer.
First, it must be said, Zoe is adorable...I know she is grown up now from that picture, but I bet she is still beautiful!
I have heard tons about Rescue Remedy...it is worth a shot. Also, and this will sound weird, but try wrapping a t-shirt tight around her body. Put a t-shirt on her and pull it tight and pin it. I don't know what the deal is, but have heard it works perfectly!
It is so disturbing to see our babies so stressed. My Jack has just recently starting showing anxiety with wind. I know, crazy. We had some pretty windy days a couple weeks ago which caused some inside doors to slam and the curtains to blow in the windows....it took me a few hours to figure out what he was upset about (I thought maybe he wasn't feeling well). Ever since, when the windows are open and the curtains blow in....he gets really clingy. I am hoping this phase passes.
One thing to keep in mind (and this is hard) is don't cuddle her or try to soothe her with hugs when she is having anxiety symptoms. That is the first thing we want to do, but you could actually reinforce her anxiety (she likes affection and affection is a positive reinforcer, so when you give her affection when she is anxious, in dog speak, you are 'rewarding' her for her anxiety.
I wish you luck with Zoe. Hopefully you have success with the rescue remedy or the t-shirt!
Jack's Mum~ Lori
-
Oh, one more thought. If Zoe knows tricks and likes to perform them for treats, try getting her to follow commands and reward her for doing them. It could take her mind off the storm, that is if she is not too preoccupied by it.
Lori
-
Hi all,
Sent for rescue remedy will let you know how it works. Thank you all for your suggestions. Got perscription from vet for fourth of july but don't want to knock her out every thunderstorm so I hope this works. Thanks again.
Zoe's mom
-
I was talking to some other malamute owners and they all suggest the rescue remedy instead of prescription meds. Right now we don't have a problem, but will soon find out tonight.
-
my sister's english pointer gets crazy with storms and fireworks also-she has found that peppermint oil on the pads of her front feet helps calm her somewhat. i have heard that lavendar also is good for your problem-we also read in the greyhound for dummies book that a dryer sheet rubbed on their body helps so now her pointer smells like bounce! there is also something i think called comfort zone that petsmart sells-you plug it in like one of those scented air fresheners but it takes time to work-sorry i got in this too late to help you out-but if you read this and have a dryer sheet rub it on and it should help!
-
Balu is not scared of loud noises...He is trying to get away from you & that camera!...lol...He has the same look of someone who was caught on film on the toilet...lol!
-
Hope everything went well with Zoe this weekend.
I heard of another technique for storms that may work. It's a technique called 'pounding'. During a storm, watch for the lightning. ONce you see the lightning, pat your dog on his/her side through the end of the thunder clap. Keep doing this throughout the storm. If you need to, dim the lights in the room so that you can clearly see the lightning. This is a way for you to have contact with your dog (which is what we all want to do when they are scared) and this kind of touch is thought to build the dogs confidence. When I say pat...I mean a pretty hard patting...not a love pat. I haven't had to try this, so I don't know if it works...my guess is that it works best if the storm anxiety is pretty recent. I don't know that it would work on a dog that has been afraid of storms for a long time.
Just another thing to try. Body wrapping, as I described earlier, is also a highly recommended thing to try on another list.
Lori & Jack the Berner
-
Hi all. I want to thank everyone for their help. Received Rescue Remedy in the mail just in time for the remains of hurricane Dennis. Terrible thunderstorms and as usual Zoe was petrified. Gave her a few drops and within ten minutes she was remarkably better. She wasn't drugged out like she was with the perscription medicine. I highly recommend it! She stopped panting and shaking it was wonderful! Thanks again.
Zoe's Mom
-
I'm SO glad Rescue Remedy helped Zoe. And a hurricane is a great test! Awesome. Love the updated pic of Zoe too! She is a pretty, pretty girl.
Lori
-
Lucy's fine with storms, fireworks are a problem, but what really puts her over the edge is the garage door opener! Figger that one!
We tried the heavy sedatives a couple years ago (for the dogs) on the 4th, it was horrible. Never again. This year we hopped in the car and went for a ride, worked great. Course, it makes the sedatives highly irresponsible. .............. ........
-
Wow! Xanax for dogs! I'll have to try Rescue Remedy. My Doberman gets upset during thunderstorms. I'm guilty of comforting him. He lays beside me on the couch and whimpers here and there. I also try to distract him though by bringing out the favorite ball or rope and playing. That seems to work.
Now, what do you do about a dog that's afraid of the dark? And no, I'm not kidding.
-
If we're home and it's dark she's not so bad. We had a huge ice storm a few years ago and were without power for four days. All the hotels were full so we had to stay home and tough it out. Every night when it started to get dark she would sit in front of us and look at the lamp then back at us then at the lamp and back at us. Like she was saying, "Guys, it's getting dark, turn that thing on now." She had a really hard time. We've learned when we leave at noon we turn on lights in case we don't make it back before dark.
I have nightlights throughout the house as I'm an insomniac and tend to trip over things in the dark. Those aren't good enough for her. Snuggled in bed with us she's fine, but there's not watching TV in the dark. She has to have a light on in whatever room she's in!
-
I'm actually in Pa. but we get all the leftover remnants from the hurricanes, heavy rain, thunderstorms, lightning. Zoe's favorite spot is under the computer desk, its her safe spot. The picture of Bava is soooo adorable! I love when they sleep on their backs like that. Zoe sleeps like that in bed with me. Of course her heads at the other end and I usually have a big paw in my face. I look over and she is spread eagle to the world, she has no shame. I keep wanting to take the camera up to bed with me so I can take a picture of her, tongue hanging out, smiling and having her puppy dreams just as happy as she can be. She is a serious bed hog but I don't know what I'd do without her. Of course I could do without inhaling hair all night. But I do recommend the Rescue Remedy it is so much better than having to drug her out completely.
-
Although late, I concur on the Rescue Remedy - it is always the best first option to try in case it works. I also know that a lot of fear and paranoia is a common side effect from vaccines - specifically rabies and distemper which both affect the neurological system. If you have a dog in really bad psychological condition during these episodes, I certainly wouldn't vaccinate her again and risk making it worse. I would strongly recommend you consider consulting with a homeopath - knowledgeable homeopaths are very well schooled in the side effects of vaccines and the best remedies to try to counteract if this is underlying the problem at all.
Good luck
-
So glad you got help for Zoe. I love all the berny photos. I am still looking for a new dog after my 18 yr. old died and I love a berny or a berny mix, however, I read that they do not adapt to heat very well. We live in a desert type climate and our summers are hot!!! Do they adapt to that or not?
Peggy
-
Oh boy, No....not at all. They are a true cold mountain dog and are highly susceptible to heat stroke. If you put a Berner in the desert or in high heat - he would never come outside - search for the coldest floor spot and not live a happy active life. I know people in Arizona with them and I just cant imagine - when I ask how they do I just get the reply "oh, they just dont go outside and must be in air conditioning" - that's no way to live.
Our summers, although always very temperate, have become much warmer with all the global weather change and if my temperatures get over 75 degrees, my Berner is in the house. Fortunately, we have had very few of those days so far this summer.
I hope you find a dog that will fill your void - I would highly recommend a sun dog however.
Good luck!
-
A friend of mine desensitized her dog to thunderstorms by buying one of those nature tapes. She played the tape of the thunderstorm at first at very low volume, every day for hours at a time. VERY gradually she turned the sound up until she could finally play it at full volume- it seemed to work, her dog doesn't even notice the thunder anymore.
-
Thanks for the suggestion. I will have to try that. Would prefer she got used to them instead of having to give her anything.
-
Peggy,
I have to disagree somewhat with sctrogans. There are many, many people who have Berners who live in Texas, Arizona, Florida. To imply that their Berners are not living any kind of life is completely wrong. I think you definitely have to be more creative in terms of exercising your Berner when you live in hot termperatures. They will not want to be outside during the hottest hours....but neither do humans that live in those areas. Walking them early in the morning and later in the evening often works. Setting up a shady area in the yard with a baby pool is a way for your Berner to spend time outside (though my guess is they will choose to hang out inside with AC). Creating mentally stimulating games to play inside with your Berner is a great way to engage them. Taking trips to the mountains where your Berner can frolick and play is always an option.
A Berner may not be the best choice if you want a dog that can participate in a lot of outdoor summer activities with you. A Berner may not be the best choice if you won't have a lot of time to spend with them indoors...caus e they can get bored and you don't want a bored Berner. There are a lot of factors you need to consider, but I would not say don't get a Berner just because you live in Arizona. There are ways to make it work and many Berners live great lives with their families in the hot spots of the country.
Lori
Who lives in PA and it has been wicked hot ALL summer!