My dog is going crazy while thunderstorm!!!

[nezzy4ka]

My dog is one year old, he is mixed golden r.-labrador. When he was a puppy he didn't cared about storming, or raining, or ringing the bell of the door.... But now (in this present moment) outside is lighting, not raining too much. And my dog is freaking out of the sound of the storm - he is barking like crazy, he don't stop for a second. I gave him drug, not helping!!!!!!! He is barking over and over again!!
When I am outside with him there is no problem he is lying in the yard, playing with his toys... But when I'm inside he is doing this.
He is very anxious when it about me, cause I'm the only one paying him attention, but sadly I cant bring him inside nor staying out all day long.
If anyone knows any good solution, please help.

[shaggy307]

my puppy runs in circles and barks  at the rain when she is in the back yard  can you help????????

[EverWolf]

I will try my best to give you several things you can try to possibly help. I have a black lab mix that is 10 years old and has had this problem for several years. Starting to slowly get better now that I'm finding what works for her.

First thing, please don't baby them because it only makes it worse. Trust me.

Try to get your dog a crate or put some blankets down in a closet. A lot of dogs feel better about being in a more enclosed space, then out in the open. See if that doesn't calm your boy down.

Another thing to try, is the distractive method such as playing while a storm is happening or even do training with treats as a reward.  

What I did with my pup when I started to figure out praising wasn't working, was putting her on a leash while inside or the problem area. Making her lay down while completely ignoring her, except to remind her to lay down or sit. Not allowing her to continue the pacing behavior and showing her that storms are nothing to be afraid of, cause it doesn't bother me (your dog can pick up on any negitive emotions from you, so try to stay calm). Now she's gotten better, so I don't use a leash but simply give her a command to lay down somewhere and stay. Each time making her go back to the same spot while the storm is going on, sometimes it helps to give them a direction when scared. It took her a few minutes on leash and off but once she found out that I wasn't letting her win, she stopped.

You could also try recording or finding sounds of thunder and lightning (YouTube has some) to practice with while waiting for the actual thing. You can keep the volume low at first, until he is calm and then proceed from there. Also remember not too do it for too long of a time, cause they can get bored and always end the training sessions on a good note. Don't be discouraged if he takes two steps back during training, don't give up on your little guy, it'll pay off in the long run.

As for the barking, I would use the command you use for when he does a behavior you don't like. Repetition is your best friend as well as patience. Every time he barks, tell him "no" or your command and when he stops reward him. Doing it over and over and over again. If he gets away with it just once, especially at his age then he'll know that if he pushes you to a certain point that you'll let him win which isn't a good thing.

Enjoy every moment with your puppy/dog because time goes by so fast. Don't forget to laugh, even when your puppy is driving up the wall because it won't always be like.

Have any more questions or just wish to tell me if any of this helped, feel free to message me. I would love to know how it went or to try to help with something else.

[gokuangel]

my dog too! hes a barker all right but usually its cus some1 is actually at the door! but with the rain he stands in front of the fireplace and barks and barks! I couldnt figure it so i dont really  have a recommendation i need one too! but i put him in his crate for a few then kept him away from the spot he was barking at and that seemed to work pretty good!
my dog does seem to know when things are going on though the last time we had a nasty NASTY storm he was going nuts and then my kitchen window exploded! kinda makes me nervous now lol so i always chking things!

[lindapalm]

I don't have a solution, just a recommendation.  Make sure your dog cannot get loose during a storm. we left ours out for a potty break, and it started to thunder.  She was a half mile away before we knew what happened, fortunately she had our number on her collar and someone called us.