my dog scared of the thunder and lightening storms why he hides under my bed for?

Answer 1

He's looking for shelter and protection. Being in a closed dark place usually comforts them. Just ignore him when he does this. If you punish him for being scared, then he'll become even more anxious when there's thunder. If you comfort him or baby him while thunder is going on, you're simply promoting his irrational behavior.

One of my two dogs is terrified of thunder and this is what the animal behaviorise at the vet suggested I try becuase before, I would baby her when she was scared. Now, I just let her find a place where she feels secure and leave her alone. She seems to be doing much better.

Answer 2

My dog is EXACTLY like that. She is a normal dog even picking fights sometimes with the others and then when it starts thundering she finds any dark hiding spot. She prefers the closet or under the bed than in my arms in the blanket. And she also starts shaking and won't stop till the thunder stops. I turn on music to try and drown out the noise. It works sometimes. I feel sorry for her. I can't do anything to make her think it is ok. I have always thought maybe she had been outside alone when it thundered sometime and scared her. She then learns to hide from it.

Answer 3

Dogs are den animals. So many who have a crate, will hide there for comfort and reassurance. Your dog has chosen the under bed space as his/her den. Be careful if you try to "get you dog out". Sometimes, they will get protective of there den area especialy if frightened. Many don't mean it but some will still bite if they feel threatened enough. Call your vet and tell them what is going on. They can help give other ideas or the also have meds that you can give just before a storm to help calm the dog down.

Answer 4

I am uncertain as to exactly why your dog is afraid of thunder but most likely something either frightened or hurt him that was loud and booming like thunder. I also have a dog that is terrified of thunder but the reason he is afaid is because before we adopted him he was a stray and he and another dog were killing chickens in a neighbors yard when the man saw what was going on he shot at them and did infact hit the other dog (he survived) but ever since then Blackie has been afraid of thunder and loud noises that sound like thunder or gunshots.

Answer 5

He hinds under your bed because he is afraid of the thunder. Its very common in dogs to feel that fear, and most will turn to hiding under things... Most commonly, the bed. I live in South West Florida, so in the summer, storms are a daily occurance. Talk to your vet and see if there isn't something he can give you to give the dog that will just take the edge off and relax him so he won't be so stressed out. At my vet, the Dr. gives out Acepromazine.. the people who use it claim it does wonders for their dogs! Good luck!

Answer 6

My dog is like that also, she stays in bed for the whole day and is also very grumpy. The reason for this is because they can sense thunder before we realise its coming. They tend to hide all day like you said. The reason for this is because dogs are more sensitive to noise then we are, because the sound is louder through a dogs ears. So when we hear the thunder, they hear the thunder a few mins before us.

Answer 7

My mom's Chocalate lab is the same way. She is terrified of thunder storms; only she'll destroy a house to get out of it. She litterally chewed and scratched through drywall in an attempt to escape during a storm. Some dogs just have that instinctive fear in them. My mom is just patient with Mocha and talks to her softly and lets her know everything is okay. Unfortunately, because Mocha tends to destroy things during storms, when my mom is at work she has to put Mocha in a kennel.

Answer 8

No--suck it up and be brave! heavily--I observed a dogs that fluctuate into terrified of thunder and he's now indifferent to it with the aid of fact I even have taught him that that's ok--in basic terms a huge, meaningless noise. My final dogs could come out into the thunderstorms with us to boot.

Answer 9

whenever your dog is scared of something, that is your clue to make it play time!

if you're walking your dog and a big truck drives by and scares your dog, then get a happy voice and say "com'on boy, let's go, yeah, let's walk!!! oh, we're having fun..." you know all the silly things we do to get our pups excited and happy!

the same is when it storms. he is scared and trying to hide under the bed...well, then get that happy voice out and say "hey boy, let's play! come get mommy! com'ere, let's play..look i have a ball! do you want the ball?? come get the ball!" or "look i have a bone...come get the bone!"...
whatever will get him out from under the bed and in the mood to play. then, once out from the bed, play with your dog until the storm is over!

then, if you do this everytime it storms, instead of a scared dog, you will have a dog that says "oh, boy i heard the loud noise...that means it's time to play!!!!".

distracting your dog from what scares them is key. never pet and coddle your dog when they are scared b/c you will end up with a scardey cat for a dog. who wants that???

we learned this from our puppy trainer, and i can assure you, from personal experience, that it works!

take care.

Answer 10

just like us when we're little.. we tend to hide under the blankets when we're afraid of dark! my dog is similar to that but i guess as he got older, he no longer afraid of thunder and lightening!