Thunderstorm Jitters

tip submitted by Joan Ragan

Thunderstorm season is upon us. Is your dog afraid of storms? Does he or she shake uncontrollably or hide under the bed? You might want to try this suggestion mentioned on a television program about just this subject. For several Airedale owners, it seemed too simple. But after several tests, they found it to work very nicely. Here is what Joan had to say:

“When the dogs start to stress from a coming storm, take a clothes dryer sheet - any kind - it does not matter. Do not wet it, just take a sheet and wipe the dog gently all over, head to toe, chest, feet, all of him. Within 10 minutes your dog will relax and stop the nonsense of a storm. Breezie took a nap. Cindi Mysyk’s Willie slept through a storm. It lasts about 4 hours. If it is still storming, use another dryer sheet and they will relax again.”   

Supposedly just before a storm, the barometer rises, dogs sense the static in the air and they start becoming stressed. The dryer sheet breaks the static, they no longer feel it and will act like nothing is going on. The static in the air is why so many of them exhibit signs of stress.

Joan has found that using the dryer sheet works best if you use it at the first signs of stress.  This could be up to several hours before the storm actually arrives.

Give it a try and let us know how it works for you.