Tess32 Posted June 15, 2019 Share Posted June 15, 2019 Hey all, My dog Winter barks non stop whenever it is raining, whether heavy or light. Doesn't matter where she is, inside, out, garage, bedroom, anything, she barks hysterically at it. I haven't considered medication before but considering it now, any other ideas? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted June 15, 2019 Share Posted June 15, 2019 Hi What breed is Winter, How old is she , and has she always barked at rain ? What else is she anxious about /does she bark at ? have you ever walked her when it's foggy/misty/rainy ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tess32 Posted June 15, 2019 Author Share Posted June 15, 2019 (edited) Hey, She is a Collie Rough, almost 4 years old, we've had her since Aug 2017. She's fairly confident about most other things, no issues with people, flooring, other dogs, other animals. Noises like a blender she will bark at but with the rain comes anxiety, pacing and hysterical over the top barking non stop. Don't think we've ever walked in it. Edited June 15, 2019 by Tess32 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teddybeans Posted June 15, 2019 Share Posted June 15, 2019 Could it be related to a bad experience with a bad thunderstorm and as a result they associated rain as a bad thing? I don’t really know what to suggest but found this http://www.vetstreet.com/our-pet-experts/why-does-my-dog-refuse-to-go-out-when-its-raining ive read things like adaptil where you spray in the surroundings can have a calming effect for the dog but I’m not sure how effective 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdierikx Posted June 15, 2019 Share Posted June 15, 2019 Is your roof colorbond or corrugated iron? And the rain makes noise on it? Just because you mentioned she barks at the blender, I'm thinking it could be noise related... There are rain/storm CD's that you can buy to try to desensitise dogs to the noises of same... maybe you could see if she reacts to one of those? I have a storm phobic dog myself at the moment, but just normal rain doesn't upset her much at all - we've deduced that she is sensing the barometric drop that happens with proper storms, so noise desentising doesn't work for her. She knows a storm is coming hours before it happens... *sigh* T. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted June 16, 2019 Share Posted June 16, 2019 14 hours ago, Tess32 said: Hey, She is a Collie Rough, almost 4 years old, we've had her since Aug 2017. She's fairly confident about most other things, no issues with people, flooring, other dogs, other animals. Noises like a blender she will bark at but with the rain comes anxiety, pacing and hysterical over the top barking non stop. Don't think we've ever walked in it. Ok . take her very favourite treats ...a good strong collar /lead & go play/walk outside next time there's a heavy fog/misty shower. RELAX. no fussing ..it's a normal thing Just a few minutes . Let her eat treats/sniff ...see how she goes in just light stuff ..heaps of reward/praise/fun if she is OK . gentle reassurance /RESCUE REMEDY immediately if she stresses . when it rains at home .. I would suggest using the BACH RESCUE REMEDY drops , and also ADAPTIL diffuser, or collar for her . poor girl ..Not knowing the whys... makes it tricky 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tess32 Posted June 16, 2019 Author Share Posted June 16, 2019 Thanks. I've tried rescue remedy an hour or so before and during rain but it makes no impact, I think her level of anxiety is pretty high. The other night a week ago it rained non stop from 11pm to 7am and I was literally awake with her the whole time. She stops barking as much if I am near her, but still has bouts and mostly just whinges/paces/whines. I've tried treating her during the start of it, playing with her during it, but she just loses all interest in anything. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tess32 Posted June 16, 2019 Author Share Posted June 16, 2019 6 hours ago, tdierikx said: Is your roof colorbond or corrugated iron? And the rain makes noise on it? Just because you mentioned she barks at the blender, I'm thinking it could be noise related... There are rain/storm CD's that you can buy to try to desensitise dogs to the noises of same... maybe you could see if she reacts to one of those? I have a storm phobic dog myself at the moment, but just normal rain doesn't upset her much at all - we've deduced that she is sensing the barometric drop that happens with proper storms, so noise desentising doesn't work for her. She knows a storm is coming hours before it happens... *sigh* T. The roof doesn't make much noise, but I've noticed if the toilet door is open (where somehow the rain is louder) or she's in the garage, she barks more. So I'm sure it's noise related over the 'feel' of the weather changes. I've tried rain sounds on youtube though and get zero reaction from her at all. She'll bark at noises in general, but that's such a collie trait I wasn't overly bothered, but this rain thing is becoming a huge problem through winter. I haven't yet tried to crate her as she's not crate trained (well I don't think so, not sure yet) but going to try that next time there is rain. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted June 16, 2019 Share Posted June 16, 2019 1 hour ago, Tess32 said: I haven't yet tried to crate her as she's not crate trained (well I don't think so, not sure yet) but going to try that next time there is rain. This is probably NOT a good plan, as it may increase her anxiety if she is unused to being confined in a crate /separated from you / esp in a wire/metal crate which will vibrate/rattle somewhat . Crate TRAINING is just that A period of time in which pups/dogs are gradually taught that a well equipped and comfortable crate is a wonderful and safe place to be . It may take longer with a dog her age ..and any odd noises which occur during the training could then stamp "crate" as a BAD thing in her mind . The following have some useful information on crate training LINKLINK 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted June 16, 2019 Share Posted June 16, 2019 3 minutes ago, Snook said: I would be talking to my vet about short acting medication for when it's raining to help keep her calm. yes. You certainly don't want her a zombie 24/7 ..but she needs relief from this anxiety when it occurs. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted June 16, 2019 Share Posted June 16, 2019 8 minutes ago, Snook said: Justice is on two medications a day to manage his anxiety and noise phobia and he just finished having a lovely run around at the park in the sunshine and is no more sleepy or dozy on them than he was without the medication. It's lovely that there are meds..and vets who can use them well so that dogs like your boy can enjoy life 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tess32 Posted June 26, 2019 Author Share Posted June 26, 2019 The vet has give me xanax to try next time it rains.. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tess32 Posted June 29, 2019 Author Share Posted June 29, 2019 It rained quite a bit last night and I've noticed she is okay if she's locked in the bedroom with us. She slept the whole night, maybe got up and whinged once. She's had two tablets so far (7pm and then 12pm as it's still raining) and I think she's calmer. She's still barking when it gets much louder but easily distracted with a toy. She's not getting as worked up. It's a very low dose so would be interesting to see if a slightly higher dose would make a bigger diff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teddybeans Posted June 29, 2019 Share Posted June 29, 2019 On 26/06/2019 at 12:02 PM, Tess32 said: The vet has give me xanax to try next time it rains.. @Tess32 is it the same version as the one for humans? Good that it seems to be working. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tess32 Posted June 29, 2019 Author Share Posted June 29, 2019 1 hour ago, teddybeans said: @Tess32 is it the same version as the one for humans? Good that it seems to be working. I don't think so, it's called Kalma. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tess32 Posted June 29, 2019 Author Share Posted June 29, 2019 1 hour ago, Snook said: I'm glad she seems to be coping better with the medication on board. Dosage can be a bit of trial and error with some medications and you might need to gradually increase it until you find the right amount for your dog (and you can lower it back down if you feel like a dosage might be too much.) I've had to do that with a few medications we've tried for my boy to get it just right for him, sometimes even playing with half or even a quarter of a tablet to find the right balance. I hope your girl finds it much easier to cope with rain from here on. Did you ask the vet each time? She's on half a tablet with no more than 4 full tablets allowed in a 24 hour period, so I could give one full tablet without a problem? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teddybeans Posted June 29, 2019 Share Posted June 29, 2019 Now you just need to wait for it to rain to test and see Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tess32 Posted July 23, 2019 Author Share Posted July 23, 2019 She's doing much better. Dose 1 and 2 of the Xanax didn't do much at all, but now it does actually seem to be working, and it rained for hours this evening and she only barked twice. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Papillon Kisses Posted July 23, 2019 Share Posted July 23, 2019 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomiandme Posted August 16, 2019 Share Posted August 16, 2019 It's sad that he's barking because of the rain. I think it's because of past experience. My poodle doesn't bark when it rains but he hides under our sofa and I don't want him to be scared of the rain so what I did was dressed him with a raincoat and we went for a walk. We did this for 2 months and now he loves swimming while it's raining (just not when there's thunder). 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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