Today we had some very bad storms. High winds, whipping rain, loud thunder; the works. When I picked Rusty up from his original owner I was told he was afraid of storms… I never would’ve imagined…
This poor dog. I have no idea how it could be possible that this dog could be so fearful of something so natural…
The storm clouds blew in somewhat fast. The boys and I {Rusty included} were outside playing. Rusty looked up and immediately his attitude changed. He hid in the garage. He didn’t want to come out. I tried treats, catch, everything. I wasn’t really paying much attention to the clouds at that point, just kind of playing with the kids… Then our neighbor tells me that it is going to start storming soon. Rusty had finally come out of the garage to see who I was talking to…
No sooner than we finish that conversation does it start to rain. Not really rain, but a few drops here and there. Rusty runs back into the garage. I get the boys together, and try to coax Rusty out of the garage. No dice. There’s no thunder, no lightning, it’s not even really raining all that hard. It’s just a few drops out of the sky… I’m closing the garage, and Rusty FINALLY decides to come out.
We get inside the house with seconds to spare. It starts to downpour. He runs inside, runs upstairs, and hides. It thunders. I hear him bark. Then he runs down here, all around our somewhat small house… He’s shaking… I sit down, pet him, massage him behind the ears…
The wind starts, the rain starts going sideways. The storm is now in full swing and dear Rusty is now freaking out. Thankfully he has control of his facilities {if you know what I mean} but other than that the poor dog is really scared. All I could think of to do was just give him lots of attention and love… It was all I could do.
Thankfully, the severe weather passed fairly quickly. As I write this entry we are currently having another very mellow storm… More of a peaceful, restful thunder in the sky type storm. The husband came home this evening and is upstairs sleeping with the oldest boy; Rusty’s up there with them. The night’s lazy thunder has only really seemed to bother him once… At least he’s only barked once. Maybe the male presence of my bearish husband makes a big difference…
The day’s events do have me thinking, though. Why, on earth, would such a sweet dog be so afraid of thunder? English Setter’s are usually NOT fearful breeds. When I looked up what I like to call “doggy storm phobia” the typical breeds that suffer are definitely NOT setters; they are Collies, Beagles, Basset Hounds, and German Shepherds.
I did come across a study that stated that dogs that were in shelters and had been rescued had a predisposition for the phobia. Here’s what it said:
An article in the July/August 2001 issue of the Journal of the American Animal Hospital Association showed that rescued dogs–dogs adopted from shelters or rescue organizations–may also be more likely to develop storm phobias. The article suggested that these dogs are more likely to have had unpleasant, scary experiences prior to being adopted. They may have been abused or abandoned by a former owner, or they may not have been well socialized or exposed to a wide variety of sights and sounds. These kinds of early-life experiences can make dogs more anxious and prone to all kinds of phobias.
I’d be willing to bet that Rusty was NOT abused by his former owner. They are good people; very loving, caring, wonderful people. The parallel I noticed was that Rusty was in his cage a lot, and rescued dogs are, too. Also, the fact that Rusty did spend so much time being crated could have caused his intense fear of storms and the world in general. He didn’t get to experience much. He didn’t get to see as much as he should have…
So, after a fun filled, problem filled, stormy day, here I am. Researching, trying to find ideas. So far all I’ve been able to come up with is “medicate your dog,” or “don’t bother them or try to comfort them,” and I’m sorry, but neither one makes a lick of sense to me. If you love your pet, you can’t just let them be, and medicate a dog?? Are you serious??
So on with the reeducation… We forage ahead. Our love for our Rusty carries us on, it binds us to our sweet, sweet Setter…
Filed under: behavior, work ahead | Tagged: phobia, rusty, storms, thunder
