How to help dogs that are afraid of thunderstorms

This article is about helping dogs that are extremely afraid of thunderstorms.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• One comfortable old t-shirt

1. At first sign that your dog hears the thunder, put the comfortable old t-shirt on your dog. The dog's front legs will be in each of the short sleeves. Sizes will vary and children's t-shirts will be preferred for smaller dogs.

2. Snug the t-shirt to the dogs body and make a knot with the excess material.
   Tie the knot on the dogs back.
   This will keep the dog from tripping on a baggy t-shirt.

3. Increase the volume on the TV, radio, or stereo. This will act as white noise that will make the thunder harder to hear as the storm moves off.

4. Leave the t-shirt on the dog until it has completely calmed down. Perseverance is the key. My dog used to get so scared, he would get sick. When a storm would come, he would literally jump into the t-shirt. Now, he no longer needs the t-shirt. He is still afraid, but he calms down almost as soon as the storm is gone now.

Tips & Warnings

• Constant praise is essential.
• This is on on-going process. Progress may be slow at times.