[NAGDU] [nagdu] thunderstorm anxiety

[Jeffrey Young]

I think you're already doing a lot of good things to help. Have you called your school for their advice? 

Jeff Young

> On Jul 15, 2016, at 10:02 AM, Danielle Sykora via NAGDU <nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> Hi all,
> 
> For a while now, I've noticed Thai becoming anxious during fireworks
> and thunderstorms. He was fine for the first year I had him, but he
> started becoming really anxious starting when he experienced Fourth of
> July fireworks last year. Last summer, he would whine, pant, shake,
> yawn, pace, and have an indoor accident if I didn't calm him down
> right away during thunder or fireworks, but would relax after maybe 20
> minutes or so. This summer he reacted the same way, but took much
> longer to calm down. Fortunately, he didn't react at all while
> working.
> This Fourth of July, he was fine with the sporadic fireworks over the
> weekend, but became really anxious with a fireworks display on the
> night of the Fourth. I never actually took him to a display, but you
> can hear them pretty easily from inside the house. Since then, he has
> become even more distressed, and the occasional whine turned into near
> constant barking and almost howling. I worked him during a storm a few
> days ago. He guided just fine, but seemed kind of edgy--walking very
> quickly and looking around more than usual. Fortunately, he has no
> problems at all with much louder noises, it's just thunder/fireworks
> specifically.
> 
> 
> I've tried a few herbal calming supplements. One didn't work at all
> and one seems to help a little. I've also tried some
> desensitization/counter conditioning with the clicker as well as
> giving him something to chew during thunderstorms. He's not so anxious
> that he can't eat most of the time, but it just seems to get him
> through it a bit easier without actually helping him make progress.
> 
> Something I think I need to trhy is being more diligent about giving
> him the anti-anxiety supplement. Sometimes I'll see that there's maybe
> a 40% chance of scattered thunderstorms for a few hours and think I
> probably don't need to give it to him... but I really shouldn't take
> the chance. I'm also considering an anxiety wrap, but I'm not sure how
> effective they really are.
> 
> At this point, it's not jeopardizing his work, but I most definitely
> do not want it to progress any further. I'm hoping someone who has
> dealt with this before might have some suggestions.
> 
> Danielle and Thai
> 
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