1. A retreat in a cabin in the woods with a dozen women. I think I will be the youngest one there, which is kind of exciting because at the age of fifty, I hardly ever get to be the youngest! (Maybe in honor of the occasion, my crow’s feet will opt to recede a little.)
2. Some sort of tropical storm/hurricane which may or may not turn into a “storm of historical proportions” as it makes its way up the eastern seaboard.
Unfortunately, Activity 2 may adversely affect Activity 1 because the cabin in the woods is reachable only by an unpaved road and when it rains, the road becomes virtually impassable.
So. We shall see.
And speaking of storms, Steve and I were out-of-town the last time there was a storm so we weren’t present to witness Summer’s fear of storms. A visit by a hurricane/tropical storm should make for an interesting couple of days with her. If anyone has any advice for weathering big storms with a dog who is afraid of them, please let us know.
I was happy to hear that a few of you started receiving email updates again. The bad news, however, is we did nothing on this end to make that happen so I have no idea if it might occur again.
Sigh. Dontcha love technology?
The guy that I contacted for help with the technical issues (which seem to be narrowed down to trouble commenting and not receiving email notifications) asked me if I would find out two things from you:
1. What browser are you using? (Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer, etc)
2. Are you on a Mac or a PC?
So if anyone has any further technical snafus to report, please include that info.
Also, if you’ve already left a report, please take a moment to briefly report it again by just saying “trouble commenting” or “not receiving notifications” along with the info above. Thanks!
I took these pictures almost a year ago and just came across them again yesterday. They are such peaceful, serene scenes; it soothes my soul a little to gaze at them, especially in light of what is heading our way.
Here’s hoping these pictures will send you into your weekend with a little more serenity as well.
http://thundershirt.com/
I have heard good things about this!
Man, Manteo is so beautiful and soothing. Becky, since you’re going to be empty-nesters in just a few short years, have you considered filling the nest with an adopted daughter so you’d continue to have someone to dote on and go shopping with and stuff? Specifically, a daughter in their thirties? More specifically, ME? 😉 I sure wouldn’t complain about moving back in with the parents if it meant living there. It would be a win-win for all of us 😉
Ellen, you sound like you would be a delightful adopted daughter! 🙂
Love, love, love all your Manteo pictures.
Olivia, thanks. I especially love the serenity of the ones I posted here. They make me want to take a deep breath and say, “Ahhhh. . . .”
We have a dog that is terrified of storms. He is a 60 lb. lab mix that was found as a nearly-dead stray about a year ago. We do put his Thunder Shirt on him, but he wants to practically sit on top of me anyway. If the storm is at night I have to go into another room so he can get up next to me on the bed (otherwise he sleeps quite well on the floor). He trembles a lot and the shirt does help with that. Benadryl also works for lots of dogs, but I don’t know about dosage for one as small as summer. Our smallest is 16 lbs. You can check with your vet about that. The tighter you can hold them, the better. And bundling in blankets will help, too. Good luck!!
Gayle in AL
Gayle, thanks for the advice. So far so good! Some trembling so far, but no out and out panic attacks.
Our Hurricane Katrina rescue teacup poodle is very afraid of storms (imagine that!). One thing I do for her since she is under 5 pounds and the vet does not want to medicate her is to bring her in our bed and leave the TV on during the storm. It seems to help drowned out the storm noise and being close to us keeps her calm. She still shakes and whines if she realizes it, but it is nothing like the terror if she is caught in a room or her kennel alone when a storm hits. Have a great weekend. I love the time I spend with older friends; they impart such wisdom.
Lisa, I agree wholeheartedly that time spent with older friends is fabulous; especially when the older friends are fun AND wise! The idea about a “noise blocker” for Summer is a great one; we have a white noise machine on that I think makes a difference for her.
We used to give our Greyhound a tranquilizer when she was so scared of storms. Now she is not as affected by them. I have heard about the thunder shirt before – but if it is a severe problem, talk to the vet. Poor Summer.
Now, I have been receiving e-mail notifications just fine the past few days. I have also found that I do not have trouble posting a comment if I enter through all the fields, including website even if I don’t have anything to enter in the field and that seems to take care of the not being able to post or page not found message. If I skip entering through all the fields I almost always get the error message.
I am using Internet Explorer and a PC.
Have a good weekend and hopefully a very dry and quiet one.
Mary, thanks for the helpful info about entering comments; I will pass that along to my tech guy.
Beautiful Pictures! I started receiving e-mail notifications again right after I let you know I wasn’t getting them. I use Firefox on my PC.
Jan, thanks! 🙂
For small dogs,a weighted blanket or the aforementioned Thunder Shirt I hear works great. I had a rather large dog and his solution was to leap over/knock down all obstacles between me and him during a thunderstorm…regardless of time of night 🙂 He did well when I lay down with him as I would a child with my arms over him and covered us up. So the common denominator is making them feel snug…maybe so their bodies don’t vibrate.
Guerrina, a large dog leaping over obstacles does not sound like a gun time. Glad you have found a solution.
No email updates have come to me in several months now.
I use everything thing from a pc (Internet Explorer) laptop, android cell phone to a Samsung tablet (chrome) to read your posts.
I love your blog Becky. I look forward to it as a calming and fun part of my day.
Jenna, thanks so much for your encouragement about my blog; I’m glad it’s a special part of your day!
I am one of those that just as mysteriously as they disappeared, the email notifications reappeared. I use a PC, Internet Explorer.
Sure hope that the weather does not mess with the cabin in the woods plan. Sounds like a wonderful retreat.
Stress sticks – apparently taste like a regular dog treat. Can be ordered from 1-800Pet meds. Have a rescued lab that is terrified of storms. They do help him to be calm.
Janet, stress sticks are a new one by me. Wonder what they’re made of! (I could use a stress stick every now and then.) 🙂 I’ll check them out!
I HIGHLY recommend the Thunder Shirt that you can get at Petco for sure that I know of…. it is a bit pricey at around $39, but definitely worth it when you have a fearful panting, pacing, shivering baby. They just calm them down and make them feel secure. Let us know how it goes with her. good luck!
Tammy, we did get the Thunder Shirt and while it hasn’t calmed her completely, she is doing really, really well!
Hi Becky,
I’m using Internet Explorer on a PC. The Techincal issue I had was that I wasn’t receiving notifications but as of Wednesday of this week I have started receiving the notifications again.
Chase, that is so odd that people have started receiving them again. Hopefully whatever the glitch was got taken care of. Thanks for letting me know!
My advice for Summer this weekend; make sure everyone takes an antihistamine! We would hate for anyone to sneeze on top of a possible storm! She’s precious, though! I had to give my brother’s cat to a family friend! I Ernie was my brother’s cat & he didn’t get to tell us what he wanted b/f he passed away! I really tried! Even though I was only with him ever other day; & its been >3 weeks since I lost him @ 37, I got too sick; I am severely allergic to cats! ! I feel like I failed him! Pls hug your siblings a little tighter this weekend or call them & just say hello! Cancer truly is an equally ‘age’ opportunity disease! Take care, Jodi
Jodi, yes, we have been trying to keep our sneezing to a minimum! 🙂 I’m sorry you had to give your brother’s cat away because that cat was no doubt a precious link to your brother. You’re so right–siblings are so very, very special; thanks for the reminder to never take ours for granted.
Hi, Becky,
I am one of your loyal readers who didn’t get notifications for awhile and now am getting them again, which is very pleasing!
Here is a suggestion for Summer and her storm fears. Literally swaddle her (use a wide ace bandage if you have them) as tightly as is comfortable for her, also winding across her chest. There is also a product available called a “Thunder jacket” which is made of stretch jersey and velcro. It is a bit pricey, and I know the ace bandage works well for smaller dogs. Good luck with this. And hope your weekend doesn’t get stormed out. No blizzards up here in MN yet, but it sure is cold all of a sudden.
Just realized I didn’t tell you that I use Safari on an iMac.
MNMom, The Thunder Shirt is working really well for Summer–so far so good! And so glad you’re getting notifications again! Stay warm!!
I’ve got the emails again – yay! Use Firefox on a pc, iPad and iPhone (safari)
Our old dog was terrified of thunder and we used to wrap him in his blankets and play calming music. Whilst he was still scared, we all stayed with him and he was ok. Course, we don’t get storms of the same magnitude in the uk as you do in the us so….
Becky, well, I would love to come to the UK and experience your “small storms” for myself! Someday I WILL get to your lovely part of the world. You’re right about dogs liking company during storms; Summer wants us to stay right with her at all times!
Becky,
I found this information online for helping a dog cope with fears of thunderstorms. Hope it helps:
•Don’t heed advice to let her “sweat it out” or not to “baby” her.
I’ve heard many pet owners explain that they don’t offer any consolation to their pets because they don’t want to reinforce the “negative behavior” brought on by a thunderstorm. But a severe thunderstorm is no time to tell your dog to “buck up and get strong.” Fears like this are irrational (after all, she’s safe indoors). Your dog won’t get it when you punish her for freaking out. Indeed, it’ll likely make her anxiety worse. Providing a positive or distracting stimulus is more likely to calm her down.
•Offer treats, cuddlings and other good stuff when storms happen.
This method is best employed before the phobia sets in –– as pups. Associating loud booms with treats is never a bad thing, right?
•Let him hide — in a crate.
Hiding (as in a cave) is a natural psychological defense for dogs. Getting them used to a crate as pups has a tremendous influence on how comfortable they are when things scare them. Having a go-to place for relaxing or hiding away is an excellent approach, no matter what the fear. Another approach to try, whether he’s a pup or not:
•Get him away from the noise, and compete with it.
Creating a comfy place (for the crate or elsewhere) in a room that’s enclosed (like a closet or bathroom) may help a great deal. Adding in a loud radio or white noise machine can help, too. Or how about soothing, dog-calming music?
•Counter the effects of electromagnetism.
Though it may sound like voodoo, your dog can also become sensitized to the electromagnetic radiation caused by lightning strikes. One great way to shield your dog from these potentially fear-provoking waves is to cover her crate with a double layer of heavy-duty aluminum foil. Another method involves clothing her in a commercially available “Storm Defender” cape that does the same work. If she hides under the bed, consider slipping a layer of aluminum foil between the box-spring and mattress.
•Desensitize him.
Sometimes it’s possible to allay the fears by using thunderstorm sound CDs when it’s not raging outside. Play it at a low volume while plying him with positive stimuli (like treats and pettings). Increase the volume all the while, getting to those uncomfortable booming sounds over a period of weeks. It works well for some.
•Ask your veterinarian about drugs.
Sure, there’s nothing so unsavory as the need for drugs to relieve dogs of their fears, but recognize that some fears will not be amenable to any of these other ministrations without drugs. If that’s the case, talk to your vet about it –– please. There are plenty of new approaches to drugs that don’t result in a zonked-out dog, so please ask!
•Natural therapies can work.
For severe sufferers, there’s no doubt it’ll be hard to ask a simple flower essence to do all the heavy lifting, but for milder cases, Bach flower extracts (as in Rescue Remedy), lavender oil (in a diffuser is best) and/or “Dog Appeasing Pheromone” (marketed as D.A.P. in a diffuser, spray or collar) can help.
•Consider seeing a board-certified veterinary behaviorist.
If nothing else works, your dog should not have to suffer. Seek out the advice of your veterinarian, and, if you’ve gone as far as you can with him/her, consider someone with unique training in these areas –– perhaps a board-certified veterinary behaviorist.
Marla, how very helpful and how interesting to read. Whoever knew that there were so many good stratagems for dealing with this? We are trying several of them and so far, are having great results. Thanks for taking the time to post.