Nov2011_Dayboro Vet Surgery on STORM PHOBIA
Coming into summer, pets with storm phobias are about to enter their most stressful time of the year. As many of you know, a terrified pet every time a roll of thunder threatens can be just as stressful for their human companions!
Fear behaviours can be destructive to the animal and their surroundings.
Often animals will inappropriately urinate or defecate, destroy furniture and/or frantically seek their owners. Unfortunately, these habits are often reinforced by the natural tendency of owners to console their frightened pet.
Behavioural modification and training is an important part of managing storm phobias, however failing this, there are a variety of pharmaceutical options available. It is a combination of a variety of these techniques that will result in effective reduction or management of noise/storm phobia behaviours.
It is important that your pet has a safe place to retreat to in the event of a storm such as a kennel or crate within the house or garden, where they can seek refuge should you be unavailable to console or medicate them.
Frightened pets are also at an increased risk of becoming lost and being hit by cars and injured during storms. At the Dayboro Vet Surgery we see lots of dogs rescued from the streets after storms. For this reason it is especially important to ensure your pet is microchipped and your name and address is clearly identified on a name tag on their collar. If a storm is predicted, bring your pet inside if possible and keep them calm by remaining calm yourself, without reinforcing panicked behaviour.
If your pet suffers from storm phobias do not hesitate to make an appointment with your vet at Dayboro Vet Surgery to discuss and establish an integrated storm management plan.
