It’s summer and thunderstorms are a typical occurrence, some dogs are not worried and yet others are frightened. Dogs with the condition frequently look to their owners for comfort, yet are in such a state of panic, they are inconsolable. And it can be difficult to learn how to ease an upset dog without accidentally reinforcing its agitation.Potential cures include medicine, desensitizing the dog to thunder and training it to retreat to a secure place when a tempest hits. But there appears to be no single cause for the dread of thunder, and there also isn’t any one assured treatment, vets who concentrate on dog behaviour say. Something that helps one dog may not help another ; a technique that works during one storm may not in another. The owner should at first stay with the dog and offer treats and coaching to fortify the assumption that it is an agreeable, secure place.

Swaddling a dog can also help, relaxing it like a baby wrapped up in a blanket.

It can be so simple as wrapping the dog in a light blanket or towel.

For a snugger fit, an animal leotard called a sheep suit – generally used on show animals to keep the coat neat before competition – is an inexpensive option. Shull and Fox advocated an item called an hysteria Wrap that comes in standard and custom-made versions. Other stuff to try include anti-anxiety medicines, either alone or in mixture. It’s increasingly becoming common for vets to prescribe the common version of substances like Xanax or Prozac for anxious dogs. The natural herb valerian – the herbal form of Valium – may also be effective, Fox declared.

“The difficulty is that it needs a good twenty mins before it has effect, so you are going to be doping your animal before the big storm comes,” Fox added.