Dog Nervous of stormy weather

00833827

Hi all - i have a border collie cross and he is a pretty nervous little fella. He sleeps in the garage, which has a kennel in it for him. About 3-4 days before christmas we had a big storm during the night, very heavy hail and thunder and lighting that woke everyone at about 5-6 am - I can imagine it was pretty stressful in there for him that night, ever since its a battle to get him into the garage when we put him out of the house to sleep. he gets to the door pulls back and a major struggle ensues. He got off on me a few times and i would have to wander thru neighbors gardens in middle of night to get him back. i leave a light on in there and even a radio so he is more relaxed but with the weather we are having now being so unsettled, his confidence in there is just shot.

He can wander in there in the day time no problem but really doesn't want to go in at night since the storm. He is fighting so hard to stay out, there is no way the missus would be able to handle him as i can barely do it - i am worried he is getting so desperate to stay out he might get aggressive as i have to be pretty insistent to get him in there - which i feel terrible about every night.

Would anyone have an idea of how i could restore his confidence in his sleeping room? I try lure him in with food so i can get out but if you know Border Collies you will know how clever and quick they are.

angelfire9

Would a crate in the house be an option? Is the shed warm enough? Would there be a draught freezing his whiskers off?

00833827

no its not cold, its not even cold these nights, plus he is 4 now so he lived out there no problem during at least one of the two very cold winters - think he was born during the first one. Garage is in good nick, very dry in there plus he has a kennel with bedding inside. I dont have a crate but i did leave him in the utility room a couple of nights when i was physically unable to battle with him anymore to get him into the garage. Just think i need a way to restore his confidence in his old bedroom - a spell of settled weather would help :-/

ABajaninCork

OP - Have you tried giving your guy a few drops of Bach's Rescue Remedy? That's very good for calming him down.

I've heard great things about Thundershirts too, and have recommended them for friends with nervous dogs at home.

00833827

had not heard of Bach's Rescue Remedy - would certainly give it a try, especially tonight as might be some fireworks about, the poor chap will be a wreck. Would the likes of Maxi Zoo have that?

ABajaninCork

You get it from any chemist, including Boots!

borderlinemeath

00833827 wrote: »

no its not cold, its not even cold these nights, plus he is 4 now so he lived out there no problem during at least one of the two very cold winters - think he was born during the first one. Garage is in good nick, very dry in there plus he has a kennel with bedding inside. I dont have a crate but i did leave him in the utility room a couple of nights when i was physically unable to battle with him anymore to get him into the garage. Just think i need a way to restore his confidence in his old bedroom - a spell of settled weather would help :-/

Your right in that you need to restore his confidence in the garage. But it's not simply a spell of good weather, he's most likely terrified of the noise that the storm made, I would imagine hailstones on a garage roof are far more amplified than within a regular house. Forcing him to go there at night while he's this frightened is only going to reinforce the problem.

Let him sleep in the utility to restore his confidence of a night time routine. Get him some new bedding for the utility, give him treats every night going to bed and start using a 'bed' command for night time (I use beddybyes and nightnights ). Once he's confident and settled try and get him used to the garage, perhaps during the day, when you might be able to do a bit of work out there, just to show him that it's a good place to be. Give him treats to associate the garage with being place to get nice stuff. If he's a dog that enjoys his food, feed him in the garage, or even give him a nice meaty bone that he can chew on out there. Gradually his fear of the garage will subside and when he is confident about being in there try putting him to bed using your night time routine, familiar bedding, treat and command and hopefully he will settle. Keep an eye on the weather forecast and make sure there aren't any heavy showers coming!

syklops

borderlinemeath wrote: »

Let him sleep in the utility to restore his confidence of a night time routine. Get him some new bedding for the utility, give him treats every night going to bed and start using a 'bed' command for night time (I use beddybyes and nightnights ). Once he's confident and settled try and get him used to the garage, perhaps during the day, when you might be able to do a bit of work out there, just to show him that it's a good place to be. Give him treats to associate the garage with being place to get nice stuff. If he's a dog that enjoys his food, feed him in the garage, or even give him a nice meaty bone that he can chew on out there. Gradually his fear of the garage will subside and when he is confident about being in there try putting him to bed using your night time routine, familiar bedding, treat and command and hopefully he will settle. Keep an eye on the weather forecast and make sure there aren't any heavy showers coming!

Do all these things when there isn't a gail battering the garage door with rain.

Dogs hear a much wider spectrum of frequencies. The storm with hailstones would have sounded like artillery to him. No wonder he is reluctant to go back in.

00833827

Thanks lads, he is fine to go in to the garage at any time, except when he knows hes going to bed - i can bring him out there right now, play ball with him, throw it into the garage and he will fetch it back - happy as larry. Just that he now can remember the storm (which was the most violent I can remember around here so I guess its the same for him) -

I went to the pet shop and got some - Serene-Um Calm - will try them and keep him in at night till the weather settles down - then try again -