I need a little advice from all my friends in the Pet Stop. I have an approximately 4 - 5 y/o Boston Terrier that has been blind in one eye since birth. A little brief history, he was rescued from a puppy mill at the age of approximately 1 1/2 and we have had him 3 years now. When we first got him he was moderately afraid of thunderstorms but nothing terrible and that was about it. The new problems started last year and appears to be getting worse. He seems to sense an oncoming T/Storm before they hit and he literally goes crazy when they hit. He is terrified. Now its also getting to be just almost any unusual noise and he is terrified, example is his sister has a squeaky toy that she likes to bring me and play fetch sometimes and poor little Sampson becomes terrified and starts shaking till it stops. Any suggestions as to what is going on? Now once the noise stops he's his usual self. The DW and I have thought about trying a thundershirt. I hate too see the little guy so terrified.

I would give the Thundershirt a try. If you buy them and it doesn't give you any results you can return them, and get a refund. I would also keep some Rescue Remedy in the drinking water all the time.I've had good luck with both the thundershirts and the rescue remedy.If a thunderstorm hits, you can put a few drops directly in the mouth, or on the paw pads. You want the rescue remedy absorbed for full effect. Never put it on food. Puppy mill dogs come with baggage and some of them adjust to a point, but there is always that boogey man, living in the back of their mind.You want to reassure the dog that everything is okay, but in the same sense, you don't want to over do the coddling/attention. If you give them too much, it just reinforces their fears. Try to act non-chalant and find an activity that will draw their attention away from the storm....I don't know what part of the country your dog came from, but puppy mills are pretty much the same nightmare everywhere - just the address changes. Many of them are kept in dark barns, with little to no temperature control, stacked in cages without trays underneath.Several years ago, I got some mill dogs in rescue. The one was doing good in her home for months on end. One night the family's 20 yr old son came in around 1 am. She heard him coming up the steps and went berserk, screaming and running and hiding.Mill dogs can come a very long way given patience, love, and time. However, there may always be something that triggers a memory and sets them off.Good luck with him, I hope things work out so he can have some peace.Edit: Do you know why he was blind in the one eye from birth? Was it something genetic or an injury - like from a loose wire on a cage or something? I was just wondering if his vision is declining in the good eye, and that might add to some of his anxiety if he can't see as well as he did. Just a thought...

I have seen many dogs that suffer from sensory loss (either eyesight or hearing) become more fearful or anxious in different situations. The behavior can become habitual, so I think you are doing the right thing by trying to address the issues now.I've seen success with the thundershirt and somewhat less with the rescue remedy, but still worth a try. Also, talk to your vet as there are some mild anti-anxiety medications (not tranquilizers) that work extremely well either short term or even longer term if necessary.Doug, DVM

Sorry Doug, but I don't have any recommendations since the only dog I had that had somewhat of a problem with fireworks, and sometimes thunder was Harlee.Anyways, I wanted to chime in to wish you the best in helping Sampson out with his fears.Lance

I, too, suspect that having only one eye makes him feel more afraid when he hears a loud noise, as in...."where is THAT coming from?" And has been said, there could be issues with the healthy eye. Nabi is our expert on the subject. Let's she what she says. That being said, our Chi mix Rosie, ten lbs when we lost her a few weeks ago, shivered and hyperventilated like a 2 lb chi at thunder, loud wind storms and small earthquakes. Unfortunately are all common here. She would be inconsolable when one or more of those events happened. I had a snug fitting little jacket for her that closed with velcro and she couldn't take it off. That and some Rescue Remedy on her tongue helped a whole lot. You can rub Rescue Remedy into his ear leather, too. Sometimes Rosie would go hide in a closet until the threat was over. It seems that if they have that kind of nervous system, we just have to adjust. Not baby the pooch or make a big deal out of comforting him, but some rituals like Rosie's jacket may help. Poor little guy!

Rescue Remedy, thundershirt, pheremone collar are all things that could help in the moment, though the pheremone collar would be worn all the time.If you get the RR, be sure to dose yourselves simultaneously when you dose the pup. Having a dog freaked out will stress you out, and your anxiety will feed his. The RR will help counteract that effect. Anti-depressant/anti-anxiety stuff nutritionally would include a daily dose of sam-e and/or a daily dose of l-tryptophan to get seratonin levels up a little. I've had good results with both on me and my dogs and the tryptophan on the cats.Also regular, structured exercise and, counter-intuitively, a week or so of "nothing in life is free" can be extremely helpful in fear cases. I realize that sounds like the last thing that would help, but it does. Clear pack structure provides a feeling of security. Finally, you might want to talk to a doggy chiro and see if anything is out of whack. Acupuncture/massage could be helpful, too. But.... I don't know, just something feels like it might be misaligned and not helping. I know that a chiro told me that she saw a lot of "wierd symptoms" from dogs with their jaws out of alignment. He could also be carrying his head at an odd angle due to the vision issue.If you get him a little bit calmed down, buying a thunderstorm cd and playing it starting at very low levels and slowly increasing... preferably while the dog is doing something fun (mealtimes are good) is one way to desensitize.

Need a little advice on one of my fur kids | Good Sam Community

12 Replies

dturm
Moderator
May 31, 2014
I have seen many dogs that suffer from sensory loss (either eyesight or hearing) become more fearful or anxious in different situations. The behavior can become habitual, so I think you are doing the right thing by trying to address the issues now.

I've seen success with the thundershirt and somewhat less with the rescue remedy, but still worth a try. Also, talk to your vet as there are some mild anti-anxiety medications (not tranquilizers) that work extremely well either short term or even longer term if necessary.

Doug, DVM
raindove
Explorer
May 31, 2014
I would give the Thundershirt a try. If you buy them and it doesn't give you any results you can return them, and get a refund. I would also keep some Rescue Remedy in the drinking water all the time.

I've had good luck with both the thundershirts and the rescue remedy.

If a thunderstorm hits, you can put a few drops directly in the mouth, or on the paw pads. You want the rescue remedy absorbed for full effect. Never put it on food.

Puppy mill dogs come with baggage and some of them adjust to a point, but there is always that boogey man, living in the back of their mind.

You want to reassure the dog that everything is okay, but in the same sense, you don't want to over do the coddling/attention. If you give them too much, it just reinforces their fears. Try to act non-chalant and find an activity that will draw their attention away from the storm....

I don't know what part of the country your dog came from, but puppy mills are pretty much the same nightmare everywhere - just the address changes. Many of them are kept in dark barns, with little to no temperature control, stacked in cages without trays underneath.

Several years ago, I got some mill dogs in rescue. The one was doing good in her home for months on end. One night the family's 20 yr old son came in around 1 am. She heard him coming up the steps and went berserk, screaming and running and hiding.

Mill dogs can come a very long way given patience, love, and time. However, there may always be something that triggers a memory and sets them off.

Good luck with him, I hope things work out so he can have some peace.

Edit: Do you know why he was blind in the one eye from birth? Was it something genetic or an injury - like from a loose wire on a cage or something? I was just wondering if his vision is declining in the good eye, and that might add to some of his anxiety if he can't see as well as he did. Just a thought...

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Need a little advice on one of my fur kids

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