What Makes Your Dog Crazy?

Dogs are selectively sensitive creatures. For example, July 4^th and its inevitable fireworks makes many dogs completely crazy. It's one of the times of year when some dogs get so freaked out by the noise of firecrackers and other noisemakers that they run away and often end up permanently lost or in a cage at an animal shelter. Christmas, Thanksgiving and Halloween can also be stressful for dogs. But everyday noises and situations may trigger anxiety in dogs too.

Our Husky mix Boz has no fear of fireworks, but he hates thunder. Unfortunately for him, New Mexico is famous for the frequency and violence of its thunderstorms. Even before the first sign of a storm, Boz will beg to come in if he's outside and immediately head for the upstairs bedroom walk-in closet, where he will lie quietly in the dark until the storm passes. Or sometimes, if I happen to be in my downstairs office, he'll crawl under a desk and stay there, I guess comforted by my presence, until I move to another room. When we first adopted him, Boz would sit and shake uncontrollably during storms. Since then, he has managed to find his own way to deal with his nervousness, and so I just let him go where he finds comfort.

Our Chow and alpha dog Shu, who in his younger years ignored thunder, is becoming more nervous about storms as he gets older. Like Boz, he also wants to come indoors when he hears thunder, but unlike Boz, he paces back and forth until I talk to him and pet him, at which point he will relax and settle down on the floor to wait out the storm.

Hunny, our gentle Chow mix, has no problem with thunder, but she hates it when we raise our voices for any reason. She has been known to disappear all day in reaction to shouting or just talking loudly. Hunny also dreads having to get in the car and go to the vet. She will immediately start salivating, and although she's gotten calmer over the years, she's been known to throw up and even defecate in the car out of sheer nervousness. Taking Hunny to the vet is a two-person operation. I relax her by sitting with her in the back seat while my husband drives, stroking her and talking to her softly, making sure the windows are open so there's enough air circulation.

For nervous dogs who may not respond to gentle stroking and a comforting voice, there are a number of herbal, homeopathic and holistic remedies, as well as stronger tranquilizers your vet can prescribe as a last resort. For example, many of the 38 Bach flower essences are used to treat various types of anxiety and phobias. The most popular is called Rescue Remedy, a combination of five different flower essences recommended for any kind of trauma.

I should mention that I tried Rescue Remedy once on Hunny before a trip and it didn't work; she immediately threw it up. However, dogs are individuals, and there are many other natural products you can experiment with to calm them down. These include valerian, St. John's wort, chamomile, vitamin B5, skullcap, lavender, Oregon grape and passionflower. Make sure your veterinarian is aware of any natural supplements you may be giving your pet so as to avoid possible negative interactions with other medications. A form of touch therapy called TTouch has also worked wonders with anxious dogs. You can probably find a TTouch practitioner in your area, or you can become one yourself with training.

Despite all the available options, I have found that the most effective way to calm my nervous dogs is simply to hold them, speak to them reassuringly, and let them do what comes naturally if it makes them feel better. Never lose your temper with them because your loss of control will just add to their anxiety. But don't go overboard on the comforting, because dogs can also train their people to give them too much attention at stressful times and end up making the situation even more traumatic. Keeping them in the house in a room away from the stimulus that triggers their anxiety is generally the best policy.