Owners can help pets overcome fear of thunderstorms

Please note: Media Relations is unable to answer questions about pet health problems. Contact your veterinarian.

Source: Dr. Kari Wallentine, 785-532-1089, honeyq@k-state.edu
News release prepared by: Amber Haag, 785-532-6415

Thursday, April 28, 2005

OWNERS CAN HELP PETS OVERCOME FEAR OF THUNDERSTORMS

MANHATTAN -- When the thunder rolls and the lightning strikes, does your pet become visibly frightened? If so, you're not alone. Many pets, especially dogs, are fearful of thunderstorms.

Dr. Kari Wallentine, a veterinarian and Kansas State University graduate student in animal sciences and industry, said it is not entirely known at this point why a pet might develop a fear of thunderstorms.

"It's thought that the predominant aspect is the sound of thunder itself, but I'm researching other factors, including meteorological variables such as barometric pressure and static electricity," Wallentine said. "My dog can tell the difference between the Fort Riley artillery and a thunderstorm, so that makes me think there is something more going on in the thunderstorm that our pets pick up on and become afraid of."

Wallentine said other noises might be factors in a pet's fear of thunderstorms, such as hail, hard rain and high winds.

If a pet shows signs of fear during thunderstorms, Wallentine said it is most important for the owner not to reinforce the pet's fearful behavior.

"The one sure way to increase their fearful behavior is to reinforce it," Wallentine said. "Reinforcing it is doing anything the pet likes -- petting it, talking soothingly to it.

"When I first got my dog, she would hide in the closet during thunderstorms," Wallentine said. "I didn't know you shouldn't soothe your pet, so I would go in the closet with her and talk to her and pet her. Now, I don't do that, and she's actually decreased her fearfulness slightly."

Wallentine said not reinforcing the behavior becomes more difficult as the behavior becomes more destructive, because it is harder to ignore.

"Some dogs just hide in the closet, tremble or bark, but some do more extreme things that destroy their owners' property," Wallentine said. "Some dogs have been known to be so scared they eliminate or jump through windows. In this case, pharmaceuticals can help soothe the pet."

Wallentine said owners can also work through behavior modification with the fearful pet, something that involves two parts -- desensitization and counter-conditioning.

"The first part is desensitization, which is exposing the pet to the fear-evoking stimulus. For example, if the dog is fearful of thunderstorms, we expose it to a tape with the sound of a thunderstorm on it," Wallentine said.

"Start the sound at a low level where the dog doesn't even know it's there. If the dog is relaxed, reward that relaxed behavior," Wallentine said. "The second part is counter-conditioning, which is conditioning a dog to do a behavior that is not what they have been doing. Reward them for being relaxed and not fearful during the tapes of thunderstorm sounds. You just gradually expose them to the stimulus and reward them for good behavior. If they show fearful behavior, ignore them or turn the volume of the sound down until they are no longer fearful."

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