18 July 2010

Thunderphobic

Thunderphobia:  The fear of thunder or other loud noises.

Not highly prevalent in humans  but most dogs will go ga-ga nuts during a thunderstorm.  I've seen perfectly calm & even tempered dogs turn go all Cujo during a storm.  Google Thunderphobic and you'll get lots of advice or suggestions on how to keep your dogs.  Shadow was frantic whenever a storm was approaching.  He never got destructive, but he did burrow in the closet behind the shoe rack trying to hid from the noise and light show.  Also wasn't a big fan of fireworks.  Claire and Grayson are different.  I can tell whenever a storm is approaching long before we hear it.  Had a big storm yesterday blow through town yesterday afternoon and both dogs were not happy.  Both dogs will start to pant and pace and get antsy/nervous.  Grayson is a pacer.  He will walk back & forth throughout the house looking for some place to hide.  Trainers will tell you not to coddle the dogs and make a big deal of it but I will try to turn up the radio or TV to drown out the thunder.  Claire on the other hand pretty much just slinks off to a dark corner or under the bed until all the hoopla is over.  She pretty much lies in the closet with her head in the corner under my shoe rack.

For me, I like the thunder & lightening but it really depends on where you are.  Sitting at home or at the office and watching a major thunderstorm is nice.  Way back in my Army days, I would be out in the field when a storm blew in and it was "interesting" to ride out a thunderstorm parked in a giant metal box on treads (aka tank).  The most "exhilarating" time was back in '04 when we were out on the trail at Philmont in New Mexico.  Sitting in a nylon backpacking tent on top of Mount Phillips at 11,657 feet during a wild lightening storm is one ride you'll not soon forget.   

And Lois still playing hard to get.

5 comments:

Abby said...

Our dog China qualifies for "All of the Above". She paces around frantically before eventually cowering in some corner. Not a fan of the loud noises. 4th of July? I think she didn't eat for 3 days.

This is another reason I do my running in the mornings. Thunderstorms typically hit in the afternoons or evenings around here. I've had enough times when I was out in the middle of Mouse Town when lightning came to visit! On top of a mountain? That's really tempting fate!

Abby said...

By the way, the Subaru is manual transmission - proud of that boy!

agg79 said...

I envy you up in up in the high country, in spite of the occasional storms. Hope that China is able to survive the storms.

And I am impressed you are training him on a stick. I feelit is old school to teach them how to handle a clutch. Anybody can drive an automatic - it takes character to drive a stick.

meleah rebeccah said...

Aw, your poor doggies. I tend to get nervous/antsy during a storm too. I am terrified there will be a power outage.

When I was a little kid I used to hide in my closet or under my bed until after the thunder passed. Now that I am older , I don't hide anymore, but I do still feel anxious when I hear the clap/booms of thunder!

terri said...

Shelby never got to freaked out by thunderstorms, but our cat, Holly did. She would do this belly-crawl across the floor until she could get to the laundry room and then she hid behind the furnace until all the commotion passed.