I was just curious. Does anyone else's Husky gets anxious and crazy when its about to rain? Mine starts whining and pacing and needy whenever the weather looks like rain.

Not my dogs, but my horse did. I think its smell and pressure changes...

Does your kid have a thunder phobia?

She doesn't freak out when thunder hits but she does stick close to me and makes the same sound she makes if she's afraid when its about to rain. Don't know if this is normal behavior or not because I've haven't heard of other huskies doing this.

Sounds to me like she might be a bit leery of the weather change not afraid which is good. We had a pit mix that had to be tranquilized when it stormed or for fireworks because she would just go nuts trying to dig into the closet corners and nearly flipping furniture to hide but she could never find a safe enough place. I'd say dont worry to much unless you notice it escalating into fear. My last husky mix liked to sleep next to me for thunderstorms not bothered by it much just wanted to feel you there and was fine when left home alone in a storm.

That's good to know. Thanks!

My late husky was okay but leery of Thunderstorms. Then he was trapped in a metal building during a thunderstorm and he became fearful of thunder. Back then there were not thundershirts but an otc herbal calming pill worked for him. It was not bad enough as the furniture flips but it was a pill for my peace of mind. He would shake and have to stay with in 1 foot of me or hubby. The older he got the little bit better it got. But a 70 lb dog can shake a bed so on a thunderstorm night he used to get the pills.

I agree as long as the dog is just needy and not stressing to bad you are okay. There could have been bad storms as a pup.

I am a firm believer that animals can tell by the pressure, barometer etc. My other dogs are not anxious or scared but they do not hang outside before a storm they tend to want to be inside or near shelter. Good luck! Stay positive around them, I hear you are not to be overly sympathetic and do not constantly say Its okay cause I guess you are actually conveying that it is not okay but will be soon.

Koda hasnt been through any bad weather yet.. I plan to sit on the pourch with him when a storm comes around for a little to get him used to it hopefully.. But we havnt had any bad weather yet..

.!

I didn't want my dogs to be afraid of storms because I live in Nebraska and the weather is always super crazy. For example, on May 2nd we had snow; three days later we broke the record for the hottest day. With all my dogs, I would sit on my front porch with them during a thunderstorm and give them something to play with, like a frozen kong. I would stay calm and happily talk to them about the weather or whatever else we did that day. I also walk them in rain and thunder, just so they learn that no matter what they weather, they at least need to go potty.

Last night though, during the hail storm, Ares wailed his little head off. If it wasn't hailing the size of baseballs, I would have brought him outside too! Oh and he popped on my carpet. It was a lovely night, let me tell you..

This newsletter came in this morning....it might help some of you get ideas.

. Sometimes fear can be a good thing. It tells dogs when trouble is approaching so they can escape or prepare to defend themselves. But sometimes fear isn't so good. It can sometimes overcome a dog, turning simple everyday activities into stressful, unpleasant situations.

The truth is, some dogs are just naturally tense, anxious or jumpy. Other dogs acquire their fears for a reason.

A fearful dog may feel threatened by people, places, noises, activities, other animals, being left alone or vet visits. If your dog trembles, resists, hides, barks or whines in certain situations, it is a sign that your dog is afraid and finds the situation to be stressful.

This type of reaction could be natural when a dog is in an undesirable situation. For example, if your dog's last vet visit was painful or upsetting, the next time you visit the vet your dog may very well be even more fearful and resistant. If it was bad before, why willingly go back for more?

A dog's fear may also come from traumatic learned behavior. Things like abusive physical punishment and confinement can leave a lasting impression on a dog. When a situation sparks that kind of fear, the fearful dog could bite, try to run away, chew on inappropriate objects, bark, or even urinate.

Thunderstorms, fireworks and other loud noises also scare many dogs.

Regardless of the reason behind a dog's fear, sometimes that fear is so intense that the dog will suffer physical reactions. Some dogs will vomit, chew away sections of its hair and coat… if the reaction is really bad, the dog could even have seizures.

If your dog is afraid or stressed, reassure your friend with a gentle touch and some soft words. But importantly – don't reinforce the bad behaviors.  There is a fine line between giving your dog comfort and reinforcing the behavior you are trying to stop.  Ideally – reinforce the calm behavior.

What else can you do? Play some soft, relaxing music. Certain types of music has been shown to calm dogs.

What newsletter is that?

Dr. Jon writes the Dog Crazy Newletter from petplace.com
It is kindof a daily moment type thing and it has a lot of products advertisment or advisory for petproductadvisor and 1800 petmeds. Lots of food for thought. I have found some days to just be ad for product but most have a good advice section prior to the product ...like this one I copied. Ther was a paragraph or two about a pill to calm animals after what I copied.