Now that spring is in full swing with the hot weather, thunderstorms are not far behind. For some pets, thunder and other loud noises such as fireworks or smoke alarms can trigger fear, anxiety, and stress.  Signs your pet has a thunder phobia can range from trembling, ears back, and tail down up to shaking, panting, eyes wide, and hiding.  Pets’ symptoms may escalate as the noise persists or become worse with time. Thankfully, there are many effective treatments for thunder phobia that scale with the severity of symptoms and often can be matched to the pet parent’s lifestyle and home environment.  

It is always recommended that a safe room be setup for your fearful pet.  It can be a small bathroom with no windows, closet, or crate with a blanket over it that still allows your pet to leave freely so as not to feel trapped.  It should contain the pet’s bedding, favorite toy, and water if you will be gone for a long period of time. Try to drown out the loud noise by using a white noise machine or playing relaxing music such as Through A Dog’s Ear or Through A Cat’s Ear, which is available on CD and on the streaming service Spotify.  Your pet’s safe area can have a calming natural pheromone diffuser plugged in such as Adaptil for dogs and Feliway for cats. Adaptil and Feliway are available as a spray which can be used on his or her bedding for an enhanced calming effect.

Treatments to directly reduce their fear, anxiety, and stress include dressing your pet in calming clothing such as Thundershirts, Storm Defender Capes, Anxiety Wraps, Mutt Muffs, and Calming Caps, nutriceuticals such as Solliquin, and prescription medications as determined by your veterinarian.