Posted on June 17, 2009 by: WayCoolDogs

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Josephine (Jo Jo), a lemon-and-white female miniature rat terrier,  came to us several years ago at the age of seven. At the time she never demonstrated any signs or behavior of noise phobias, or was the type of dog who was afraid of storms. She originated as a breeder dog from a very large kennel, whose age was counting against her at this point which was why we had her here. We were told very little about her, other than she was not very friendly but did not bite.  We found out we could not trust her with other dogs, as she would attack them and was overly cautious of most people. Of course, we attributed this to the fact we were new to her and she did not know the dogs. Everybody was an enemy to Jo Jo, in a world where she had to fight for adequate food, water and territory.

A NEW HOME FOR A DOG AFRAID OF STORMS

Little Jo Jo was about 16 pounds when she came here. We had mostly toy rat terriers, but she was larger than they were in size and attitude.  She was placed in one of the outside rescue kennels with an igloo dog house, in a roomy 10′ by 5′ pen as she came here as an outside dog. We felt it was something normal to her, and we did not want to disrupt her any more than we had to. She was allowed to exercise in a large 50′ by 50′ exercise pen by herself twice a day during feeding and cleaning time, a thing which was new to her.

We found she loved to run as fast as she could and was a ‘prancer–very seldom standing still–and did not know what a toy was or what bones were for. But over time, she became adjusted to us and the other animals,  and she became quite affectionate.  Jo Jo still could not be trusted with other dogs totally but she was much better than when she came here, as she was quite aggressive at times and would attack with very little provocation.

THE DOG WHO DEVELOPED A FEAR OF STORMS

I do not really know when  Jo Jo became afraid of storms or if she had always been, with nobody noticing. But one severe storm we could not find her. She had went through (or under) her chain link fence and was hiding in the pen of her female next door American Eskimo neighbor. She had dug a hole deep enough to bury her body in during the night. Covered with mud, at the time we did not associate her behavior with the storm. But after another time or so, we connected her abnormal behavior with a dog who was very much afraid of storms.

She was brought inside after that, crated in a very large kennel inside our dog room, while being taken outside twice a day to exercise. With continuous handling and companionship, she began to adjust to the other elderly dogs inside and we could trust her totally with them. In fact, she enjoyed going out with them and running around during exercise periods like a dog who had found new friends.

She also developed a special relationship with us that had never been there before. She wagged her tail and would jump in our arms. And when she was done exercising, she would run inside to her crate as if to say “I am done. Nap time now. Where is my treat?” We recognized Jo Jo would always need crate security due to her previous background throughout her life. Meanwhile, we offered her the best of both worlds–freedom and security at the same time. She began to recognize commands such as “No”, “Stay”, “Out” or “Come”. In other words, she had became a different dog. That is, other than with storms which terrorized her more than anything in the world.

AS DOGS AGE, STORM TERRORS WORSEN

As time went on, Jo Jo’s fear of storms have worsened. Now at the age of 13, she will begin to ‘prance and pant desperately whenever a loud truck would go by, or someone would close the cellar door outside with a “bang”. All of this she associated with an oncoming storm with thunder and lightening.

Left unattended, Jo Jo will dig in her crate or in a corner of the house until her feet are bloody, tearing off toenails and pads. We could never leave her outside, as she will go from one area to another while digging her way through, under or over,  as if seeking shelter mindlessly to get away from the storm.

We have moved her crate away from any outside walls or windows which seems to give her a better sense of security. By remaining by her side, she seems to be less terrorized, even though the ‘prancing and panting still continuous throughout the storm.

Unfortunately, her behavior has extended to the nearby elderly dog–like 17-year old “Barbie Doll”–a small American Eskimo or another rat terrier by the name of 10-year old  “Butter”.  These other two dogs have never displayed any noise phobias before Jo Jo came here. But if the storms are too severe, our vet has given us an order for Acepromazine Maleate Injections (ACE) which does work but needs to be injected into her muscle. It does work well as far as calming her down, but gives her a ‘druggy staggery effect. We have since ordered an alternative homeopathic med–”Anxiety TFLN” by HomeoPet– which is given orally by drops. (It costs us $9.15 for a 15 ml bottle.)  We have not used it yet but prefer to try something less invasive due to her age and fearful condition. Directions for it are to place one dose in her water three times a day or orally (3 drops as one dose for a 1-20 pound dog, 5 drops for a 20 to 100 pound dog).

We are hoping that the combination of the alternative treatment and providing human contact will work enough so her stress level is down.

Could it be this condition can also develop through environmental settings? In our case, yes it can. The fact that the other dogs are older may also have something to do with it. But for sure we do not know how long Jo Jo has had her condition, or how it developed. We just know we can never leave her outside or by herself with an approaching storm for the rest of her life.  Which is why we are a 24/7 rescue center for elderly dogs and those with behaviors.

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