Does Your Pet Suffer From Storm Phobia?

As winter comes, so does the stormy weather. At times, these storms can be quite intense and may have a lot of lightening associated with them. Though some pets have unreasonable phobias such as fearing a certain object, with storm phobia, there is a real threat to them and their nervousness and behavior can get worse, as the storm does.

In extreme cases, it could be life threatening. In a nervous/storm phobia, there are one or more of the following signs ; shaking, dilated pupils, panting, loss of bladder or bowel control, and excessive salivation.

They may cry or whine and seek out a companion for reassurance. Most cats and dogs will simply hide.

It is proper to refer to the phobia as storm phobia and not thunderstorm phobia because thunder does not need to be present to cause the pet to react. The strong winds, rain, hail, sleet or snow is what the pet is reacting to as well as a storm with lightening.

Some dogs show these signs before the storm actually arrives, even if there is a storm passing by in a distance. Their restlessness, crying and/or pacing is a sure sign a storm is on the way.

Though there is no easy cure/solution to this phobia, desensitisation can be tried. It involves exposing the pet to the stimulus that is threatening in a low/controlled way such as going for a walk on a light, rainy, warm day or a very windy day.

As the pet gets used to the low level threat, you can increase the level slowly and in a repeated manner. Make sure not to cause the pet to have enough stimulus to cause the phobia.

There are no drugs used that don`t have side effects like "dopiness" and excessive sedation, although some vets may prescribe alprazolan or Zanax in a .25mg. tablet, as reported by some pet owners and they claim their pet does not act "dopey."

Holistic or natural treatments have no side effects. Some proven natural alternatives includes; Chill Out by Aroma Dog and Rescue Remedy by Bach Flower. You can also get tablet form natural medicines such as Complete Calm by GreenDog Naturals and Happy Traveler by Ark Naturals.