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I have two dogs. One of the dogs is indifferent to excitement. He is mellow and relaxed always, as you might expect from a hound dog. My other dog however, is a nervous Nellie. He develops a new phobia every other day. Today he won't go to the basement with me, he shakes and cries at the top of the stairs. Tomorrow, he will go down the basement stairs without a care in the world, but he might be afraid of my camera, the cat who lives next door, or a bird on the porch.

The only thin he is consistently scared of is storms and sirens. We live in town, so it is not uncommon for a police car, fire truck or ambulance to come roaring by our house and scare my nervous dog half to death. Storms are the worst without a doubt.

I have tried just about everything to calm him down. From herbal anxiety supplements, to talking to him in a soothing voice, to just letting him freak out. From my experience, the following are the tactics that seem to work the best for my dog when it is storming or if there is trouble in the neighborhood.

If I hear that it is going to storm, or rain hard I try to get him outside before hand, so he can potty. A crack of thunder or rain hitting the windows too hard usually provokes him to loose control of his bowels. Taking him out doesn't always work, but it is a good attempt to prevent an accident.

Sometimes you can calm your pet down during a storm by rubbing a dryer sheet over his fur. It has been said that dogs panic during storms because of the static electricity they feel. Just like using a dryer sheet when doing laundry, it will help destroy the static electricity.

If that doesn't work, we get out a tiny t shirt that fits our dog snugly. This helps him to feel secure and safe. It does not always work, but sometimes getting him into his t shirt is like a magic trick, it provides immediate relief for my nervous dog.

By watching where he tries to hide from the storms I learned where he feels safe. We have a huge cabinet in the kitchen he likes to try to get in during storms, I decided to clear it out of dishes and food and now we use it to store odds and ends like a basket of cleaning supplies and dog food and treats and so on. If it is storming I pull everything out and crawl inside the cabinet with him. I don't know why but curling up in that cabinet with mommy always calms him down. Sure it is uncomfortable, but it helps the stressed out pooch, so it is worth it.

Learn more about this author, Chenault De Salis.
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