I’m realizing, having written this headline, that a lot of you are going to find this on Google when your dog is panicking during a thunderstorm and you’re looking for suggestions on how to calm them down. I…uh…I’m sorry. This isn’t that kind of post. Have you tried validating them? Telling them you understand why they’re afraid? And then letting them know you’re right there and that you love them? I don’t know if validation and affirmation works with dogs or not.
There are, as I see it, eight kinds of dogs, as far as rain goes. These dogs are separated by three binary pairs of characteristics:
- Is the dog scared of thunderstorms?
- Is the dog willing to go to the bathroom in the rain?
- Is the dog easy to dry off?
Two times two times two is eight. Eight categories. I have a No-Yes-No dog. No, she is not scared of thunderstorms. Yes, she is willing to go to the bathroom in the rain. (Although the “yes” is pretty reluctant and usually involves a lot of dirty looks.) No, she is not easy to dry off.
They make a big deal about grabbing a puppy’s toes and ears and lips and teeth when you’re training them. Get them used to those sensitive things being handled. Let them know it’s safe. That they make a big deal about this is the result of years of lobbying by the dog grooming industry as it seeks to keep its groomers from being bitten by stressed-out pups.
I think they should make a big deal about establishing a rain routine with your puppy. Specifically, a drying and de-mudding routine. Get them used to that. Because it is not fun (not fun at all) to try to wrangle a sixty-pound wet mop with a wide range of emotions and a willingness to express them physically. Especially when that mop has mud on her paws. We had to hire cleaners for a while. One time there was a hockey puck-sized chunk of mud four feet up a wall. I wish the Petco trainer had told us to practice for rain.
