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Thunderphobia ~~
by Jordan
Reprinted/revised from Celebrating Greyhounds
Yes, it's thunder season again. Being the companion of the consummate thunderphobic Greyhound (Kody, aka The Great Kodini), I'd like to share various methods of treating t-storm phobia.
Kody went to see Dr. Nicolas Dodman at Tufts for his phobia, which has resulted in his scaling 6' fences and running for miles. Kody is on Prozac during t-storm season, and uses Inderal 40mg as needed for storms. He's still not what I'd call "controlled" but the Inderal seems to improve his panic slightly.
Here are some suggestions which have helped many thunderphobic dogs:
Rescue Remedy (Bach Flower Remedies)
Aconitum Mapellus 30-C (holistic remedy) -- note, I was just told about
this, but have not tried it myself.
Phosphorous 30-C (a holistic remedy found in health food stores)
Valerian root (holistic remedy)
Desensitization via tapes of storms, gradually increasing the volume until
the dog seems to not react to the noise.
The problem: the change in barometric pressure (and a question of static electricity being a factor) are also contributing factors to the panic reaction in many dogs, so this may not be the solution. It wasn't for Kody.
Sedation: Didn't have any success at all.
Valium and Acepromazine are two
main agents used.
Kody used up to 20mg Valium with no change. Problem is, too, that by the time the drug takes effect, the storm has passed. I also don't like to sedate my dogs.
Diversion -- using wonderful treats, play, obedience, toys, etc. to divert
the dog's attention away from the storm. Close the curtains. Put the TV/stereo up loud.
When I used to bring Kody to my office, I'd put him in one of the treatment rooms with no windows, turn the radio on, and close the door. Isolating him from the sound of the thunder/rain really seemed to calm him down. Also seems to work at times in the bathroom. I close the door, leave the light/exhaust fan on, and he seems to settle a bit.
It was suggested that putting the dog in the car and taking him for a ride might work.
Avoid reinforcing the fearful behavior; don't adopt an "oh, poor baby,
everything's OK" attitude. Be straightforward. Laugh (or cry!). Pretend
you're having fun!!!
Try reading Dodman's book "The Dog Who Loved Too Much"... has some
interesting concepts.
His clinic has used human psychotropic medications (Buspar, Prozac, tricyclic antidepressants) with some success (although documented studies are not cited).
OUR CONSULTATION WITH DR. DODMAN AT TUFTS
Dr. Dodman's impression, after I described Kody's behavior, was that the purpose in Kody being
at his clinic was "to save Kody's life", since he believes that the behavior is going to continue to escalate. He feels that the scenario of Kody going through a window to escape is probably inevitable, in his experience. He believes that a multi-factorial approach to t-storm phobia has a very good chance of improving his behavior, although probably not eradicating it altogether.
We spent some time just chatting, and he observed Kody's demeanor.
"BACKGROUND" ADJUSTMENTS
Making some changes in Kody's environment should result in behavior improvements:
1. increase the amount of exercise he gets, particularly on days when storms are due. 20-30 min/day of AEROBIC exercise (not just idle walking) will go a long way toward keeping his energy level -- and his anxiety -- down. It's also felt that exercise increases serum seratonin level, which in turn acts as a mild, natural sedative.
2. feed a good-quality, preservative-free dog food. (I do already) He suggests limited protein. He specifically suggested Nature's Recipe L&R (16% protein according to him, but I checked the food out on the way home, and find it's 20%, vs. the 23% he gets on Exceed L&R presently). He suggests changing the food gradually over 3 days. He also says that if I don't see a change in behavior within about 3-5 days, the difference in protein is ineffective, and I should go back to the regular food. I guess this particular adjustment has variable effects on different animals.
3. Obedience. For Kody this is not an issue, because he's a very good, obedient dog and has an understanding of the commands he hears. For other dogs, stressing obedience is a much more important issue in reducing the phobia. He saw that Kody and I have a good relationship, no dominance issues, so there's not much work to be done in this category.
4. Change MY reaction to storms. Remain UPBEAT, in a HAPPY MANNER, but within an authoritative frame. During storms, try to get him to respond to obedience commands. Use his favorite treats and a high, enthusiastic voice, to get him to learn to associate storms with pleasurable activity. Adopt an attitude of "cheerfulness and leadership". Do a "convincing acting job" even if I'm feeling nervous myself. Don't communicate my nervousness or anticipation to him. Perform "self-behavior modification"! NO SYMPATHY!
Be sure to generalize the training to all rooms of the house,or he will become conditioned to one room, but continue the phobia response in all other!
Dr. Dodman says that typically, t-storm phobia seems to escalate between ages 5-8. A stable fear or phobia may leap in trajectory during this age window. Sometimes, separation anxiety is a component of this increase in severity. We didn't think this was a factor with Kody.
5. Systematic desensitization with counter-conditioning. (he gave me a handout on this; if anyone needs copies, let me know. I haven't read it yet,but if it seems to be helpful, I can certainly make copies and send them out)
The trick is to not expose the dog to the fear while in the process of desensitizing. Thus, this is a bad time of year to try this. I might attempt it during a window of low-humidity, storm-free days. Just bought a new tape to try this. You MUST use a tape recording (or CD) that the dog is actually AFRAID of in order to accomplish conditioning. Start the tape very softly. Look for just the SLIGHTEST ear twitch or response to the thunder (NOT an out-and-out fear reaction). Hold that level. A day later, start out again at the same level, then increase the level very slightly until, again, another ear twitch. Continue until at full volume. You want to override the fear.
Look for the subtle behavior changes (ear twitch, etc.), then immediately do obedience and distract. Give lots of good treats and reward verbally. Do this for 20 minutes at same volume. Finish lesson on a good note. If he is happy with the tape running, walk out of the room and leave the tape on for a few more minutes. Build up to being able to walk out of the house for 5 minutes with the tape on, then 15 minutes, etc., so he can tolerate storms while you're out of the house.
Will need this process repeated at least weekly for rest of his life!
There is still debate about whether this is even effective with t-storm phobic dogs. The fear is felt to be multi-phobic: may also have components of static electricity, change in barometric pressure, even a subtle change in scent that dogs discern (altho we don't). He feels that t-storm phobia "stands out as not responsive to densensitization". Sometimes a worsening of it can also be tied into another aversive event. ?isolation ?an injury ?separation. And it's very hard to discern which aversive event surrounding the storm is actually the trigger: sound, smell, static, pressure, etc.
He also notes that he has never seen another phobia (besides t-storms) send a dog to the bathtub, shower, jacuzzi, etc. Feels static may be the trigger for this reaction. He's also found that every dog he's met who hides in bathtubs has been thunder-phobic.
Counter-conditioning means giving food treats to make him associate storms with good things.
6. Anti-static measures. He mentioned two complete t-phobia cures. Both involved all the above steps, + medication, + decreasing static. Done by:
putting dog on a conducting floor: tiles, bathroom
use a plant mister or wet cloth to rub the dog down and wet him.
He joked about putting on one of those rubber static strips they use on trucks and busses! (hang it from the tail, I suppose...) He thought of putting a choke collar on him and letting it hang to the floor, but I told him I thought that was an accident waiting to happen! No way, Jose!
MEDICATION
The main meds used are Clomipramine (tricyclic antidepressant) and Prozac. We used PROZAC. Given usually 1 mg/kg, he's making the dosage lower because of his breed: 20mg daily. (a kg = 2.2 lbs; Kody weighs 76.1)
Prozac is generally a very safe medication. Some occasional side-effects may be: barking, agitation (mild), anorexia (loss of appetite) about 3-4 weeks into therapy, transient sluggishness. These side-effects are usually short-lived, as they are in people, and Kody had no side effects whatsoever.
Another therapeutic option would be Clomipramine in combination with Tranxene, which is a long-acting benzodiazapene (Valium family) -- the former to decrease anxiety levels, the latter to be used only on storm days.
Kody received a prescription for XANAX 2 mg to be used before storms (30-60 min before), and has been shown to be much more effective for phobias than Valium. A study by CIBA-GEIGY showed that Xanax given orally for acute anxiety was as effective as when given intravenously, so clearly it is a better choice for immediate alleviation of phobia.
(NOTE: Kody is now using Inderal, 40mg, when storms are approaching. Those familiar with Inderal know it's a beta-blocker, and is used for human phobic reactions such as stage fright.)
Of course, the primary concern during storms is for the dog's safety. If your dog exhibits an escape response to storms (and tries to run, as Kody did), you need to be sure he's safely contained. Dr. Dodman does NOT recommend crating or using a confined space, either of which will generally increase the dog's panic. Rather, lock all doors and windows, close the shades and curtains, and try to keep the dog distracted and out of harm's way.
Hopefully, some of the above mentioned techniques or remedies will help.