Tipper - adrenal tumor/breathing issues

i am so glad that my dogs are like toby and don't mind thunderstorms.
they sometimes bark a few times when the thunder is really hard and there is a lot of lightning, but since i am fascinated by it [mad, i know] and i am the pack leader, they copy my behavior.
same as fireworks etc. they even want to catch it.............
i did wrong by comforting my first dog and she got very scared of anything.
i bought a very stable shepherd who was not scared of anything and she began to copy his behavior.
i've learned a lot from this.
did you like the woman that collected delora's cat? i hope so. that would be one thing less to worry about.
hope toby will keep his mouth shut tonight, so you and tipper will have a quiet night.

It worked for Molly. I talked to her exactly as I do normally. Kind of silly. Aww who loves Molly and rubbed her ears in a playful manner. Nothing to acknowledge her fear. She stopped shaking and she rolled over on her back belly up and went to sleep.
Cross fingers. It probably wouldn't work if too bad but I will try.

Hugs sharlene and Molly muffin

I'm sorry to read about Tipper's storm fear. Pansy was very sound-reactive (I once tried clicker training and 'charging' the clicker only taught her to be afraid of taking treats from me) and 4th of July was the worst time of year for us. Here's what I tried over the years, in case there's anything on here you haven't yet:

-soothing her
-ignoring her fear/behaving as if nothing unusual was happening
-crating her in a dark room with a blanket over the crate
-crating her in a bright room
-putting a loud stereo on to drown out the noise (this probably had the best results of anything I tried, but may not be practical for long overnight storms)
-thundershirt
-rescue remedy
-benadryl

I wanted so badly to help her but nothing really cut her panic significantly - she would just pace, pant, and shake like a leaf regardless of my behavior. I also tried having people over to shift the focus from her, no difference. Once I had to lift the bed off her - boxers don't really fit under the bed but somehow she wedged herself in there. The vet did prescribe some doggie valium at one point but as her health was already declining I was afraid to use it. The only silver lining in her health problems was that the hearing loss significantly reduced her ability to hear the fireworks, so our last 4th of July was relatively drama-free.

I really hope you can find something that makes this less stressful for both of you.

i am happy it worked for molly! you can support them, but never reward their fears.
after my first dog, i always act like a stable pack leader and it really worked. they do copy my behavior.
so no more frantic doggies.

Hi Everyone:
I got Tipper out of the closet and she laid on the bed listening to the low rumbles. She was ok with that and has never been. I just keep talking aloud as I would in the day time and did not change my voice tone. She was doing good and Toby started to bark. Up she went and in the closet. In and out running and looking at me in a panic mode and panting with water dripping off her. This went on for most of the nite. I have been up all nite. She is worn out this morning and I am afraid of what this has done to her eyes. There is little you can do to stop Toby from barking at thunder so it was a heck of a nite again. I believe Tipper must have inherited this as before 8-9 years old this never happened and there was never an incident that scared her into this. The article that Glynda sent me said it can be inherited. I just saw the news and it said maybe three four more days of this! She will never make it thru that. I am going to make the herb mixture over today and make it stronger as the vet said and maybe that will knock her out a while. This is terrible to live like this and people wonder why I like winter????? I called the lady that took Delora's cat last nite. She said the cat is running all over the house and down the basement, something she was not allowed to do at Delora's. She said she was going to rename her precious and thought she was so adorable. Hope all goes well there and she has a great home. This woman has money and a beautiful home so she will have it good. I hope all of you saw the cat on TV that beat up the dog that was attacking the little boy at the cats house. It was miraculous. the dog pulled the 4 year old off his bike and was biting him, and the cat came out of no where and flew in the air at the dog, the shocked dog ran, and the cat ran after him chasing him away. It was caught on the families surveillance camera!! The boy got stitches and the dog must be destroyed. I have to go get Tipper's chicken they have it ready so I can run in and out of the store as she will be with me. I will post later unless I fall asleep first! Blessings
Patti

Hi Everyone:
Tipper is taking a much deserved nap. I have the stronger herbs brewed and ready as more bad weather is to come soon. I forgot during all these storms when I went to take her potty the other nite she had a vestibular episode. I swear
this baby cannot catch a break. I can hear low faint rumbles of thunder.Normally this would be enough to send her tto the closet but she is handling it for now. I went and got her chicken. Hope it lasts for a year for what it costs! It is getting very dark here so I guess we are getting another round soon. I am resting today as this has worn me down too with mlittle sleep. I keep thinking of poor Deloras car and praying it forgives me for having to do this. My neighbor man is so happy she is gone I could just slap him one. I just don't get some people, so now he sits there alone again, just seems stupid to me! I am waiting to get a call back from the pain Dr. I sure hope he can do a nerve block on this, I need this gone like yesterday. Tipper has been panting off and on, but I think it is her nerves and the cortisol soaring when she gets frightened. She just woke up to a rumble and her little ears are rotating like an antannae so she is on alert again. Blessings
Patti

Sorry to hear that Tipper didn't make it through the night with the herbs. Hopefully stronger will do the trick.

I'm sure Delora's cat will love being spoiled and having a big home to roam around in. As long as she is loved and treated well, she will likely be very happy.

Hope the storms aren't bad. We're just having rain, no thunder and molly isn't phased by the rain it seems.

hugs
Sharlene and molly muffin

Could it be Tipper senses your anxiety and ''reacts'' by being even more scared?
I've found ignoring ''bad/unwanted'' behavior does more wonders than ''caring''(<rewarding with attention) for it...

i've had an -epileptic!- dog like this too, so i was very worried about her health during storms/fireworks etc..
a "dogwhisperer"' has given me very useful tips by then and i will tell you what those tips are;
-stay in bed during the storms. show normal behavior during the night. if you set an example she will follow it.
when you -as the packleader- go out of bed and pacing too and paying attention to her, you are confirming her fear.
storm-packleader on high alert-dog on high alert- and you are reinforcing each others fears.
open the closet, so she can seek comfort there, but try to totally ignore her fear.
we do not realize it at first, but by paying extra attention to them [even talking] during this state of anxiety-and even observing them is also paying attention-we show them that we are worried about them and the dogs know there is something wrong.
what they need is a very stable pack leader to show them there is nothing to be afraid of.
i know this is very difficult to do, but it really worked in the end with my dog.
at least no more panicking.

Hi Patti,
Trying to catch up on posts tonight. Had to get my daughter home from college so the last couple of days I didn't have a minute to log on. I was thinking of you when I've seen the weather these last few days. I'm so sorry Tipper has had to deal with the thunder and lightning. I spoke to my friend in Pittsburgh today and she said it was pouring like crazy. We're getting that tomorrow. I really hope Tipper does okay and that if you do get some bad storms that they pass quickly. Sounds like you all need a good night's sleep tonight.

Barbara