A blog post by Clutch, the thundering Yorkie
It’s summertime, and that means stormy weather. While some Yorkies might be okay with thunderstorms, I am not a fan. I am a highly sensitive dog. I’ll share with you how I navigate storms. Maybe you’ll learn how to help your Yorkie navigate storms too.
A Change in the Air
I can sense a change in the air before Miss Janet knows anything is happening. Maybe it’s sunny outside with a gentle breeze. But something has shifted.
I feel pressure changing in my ears and sinuses. The atmosphere is in upheaval. I’m a Yorkie, so I don’t like change unless I’m the one causing the change. I don’t like to be caught off guard.
Miss Janet will notice that I’m acting strangely. More antsy than usual. Unsettled. She’ll tell me to lie down, but I’m up again quickly. I’ll try another chair, another room. I just can’t find the right place to settle.
My behavior should be the first clue a storm is on the way. Miss Janet usually misses that clue and just tells me to calm down. I can’t calm down, lady. The atmosphere is changing. Can’t you feel it?
Distant Rumbling
Soon, I hear rumbling in the distance. It’s too far away for human ears, but my highly sensitive Yorkie ears pick up the sound and the rumbling sensation.
I don’t like to hear the rumbling. It makes me feel like a monster is approaching, and I should be on guard. It sounds awfully big, and I can tell it’s getting closer.
If Miss Janet wonders why I’m acting nervous, scrambling around, panting, it’s because I’m trying to prepare for this rumbling monster to appear. I alert her with frantic barking, but she just sits there looking at me, clueless as to what’s happening. She needs to check her weather app. A storm is coming!
Time for My Calming Chew
Ideally, Miss Janet would have picked up on my obvious clues by now. This is the perfect time for her to give me my calming chew. What is a calming chew? I’m glad you asked.
Whenever I’m faced with a stressful situation, like a thunderstorm or going to the groomer, I eat a calming chew. It’s a chewable vitamin specially made for dogs. Your vet can explain those options to you.
I love the taste of my calming chew. If given the chance, I will swallow it whole and can’t be trusted to actually chew it. Miss Janet has learned to break it into little pieces and gives me one piece at a time. My calming chew really does help me stay calm.
Miss Janet should give me my calming chew when I first act unsettled—when the storm is still in the distance. She should be more in tune with my pre-storm behavior. But she seldom connects the dots. Maybe after she reads my article, she’ll become more observant.
In reality, it’s usually the first thunderclap that prompts Miss Janet to say, “We better get your calming chew.” I’m already dancing in front of the cupboard. If I had opposable thumbs, I would have already gotten the calming chew myself.
Static Everywhere
As the storm moves closer, the air fills with static electricity. I feel it moving through my hair. It’s an uncomfortable, tingling sensation, and I can’t seem to shake it.
I try to get myself grounded. This is hard for me, first of all, because I’m nowhere near the ground. We live above a garage. Even so, I run around the apartment, trying to find a way to shake this awful static sensation.
I want to check out all my options. If a closet door is closed, I’ll tap on it repeatedly to let Miss Janet know to open it. That doesn’t mean I’ll stay in the closet, but I don’t want any room off limits.
When I act this way, Miss Janet finally realizes a storm might be coming. She will look out the window and check her weather app. Then, she opens the doors to the bathroom, closet, and laundry room to give me a choice of hiding places.
While Miss Janet doesn’t want me near electrical wiring and plumbing during a lightning storm, she has learned to let me choose my own hiding place. She knows if she doesn’t, I’ll break down the doors.
She told me her childhood cat, Taffy, used to hide below the TV set during electrical storms. Taffy lived a long and healthy life. So, Miss Janet is willing to let me figure out where to be.
Helping Me Calm Down
When Miss Janet realizes an approaching storm is causing my freak out, she wraps my thunder shirt around me. My thunder shirt puts gentle pressure on my torso, which helps calm me. The gentle pressure also releases hormones that reduce my anxiety.
Another thing that helps a lot is if Miss Janet stays calm. If she gets upset, I really get upset. I start trembling and can’t stop. When Miss Janet sees me shaking, she knows she has to calm down for me to calm down.
Miss Janet doesn’t like lightning, and she really doesn’t like when we’re under a tornado watch. But she has learned that if she acts like nothing is wrong, I will be less agitated. Maybe it helps her too.
She tells me everything is fine. She carries on with her normal behavior. She acts like she doesn’t hear the kabooms outside, the way the wind whips the trees around, or the sound of sticks from the trees pelting the tin roof.
Her only hint that something is up is when she constantly checks that little handheld box during a tornado watch. She says it makes her feel calmer when she can see where the storm is located and how it looks on the radar. Seems that would be more stressful, but it works for her. She doesn’t have a thunder shirt or a calming chew.
The Noisy Lightshow Arrives
When the thunder and lightning hit full force, I’m done with running around. I no longer want to take on the invading monster. I just want to hide!
I drop down on my belly and crawl under the nightstand right next to the bed. It’s the only place that feels safe to me. It’s boxed in, away from the windows, and I know Miss Janet is nearby. It has an overhang in the front, so I don’t see the lightning. That’s where I ride out the storm.
Miss Janet turns on her box fan to drown out the noise. The thunder doesn’t sound as loud. I hunker down and try to stay calm.
If the power goes out, I get anxious again. It feels like a full-on assault by the storm monster, that he can turn off all the lights and turn off the box fan, the fridge, and the AC. When the power flickers on and off, it makes me more upset. The monster is messing with us.
Miss Janet doesn’t like it either. I can tell because if the power flickers, she yells at the storm: “Stop it!” Then she remembers she is upsetting me. She sits in front of the nightstand to calm me down again.
Eventually, I get sleepy and forget what’s going on outside. I wake up after the storm is over. The rumbling has stopped, the static has lifted, and it’s safe to crawl out from under the nightstand.
Tornado Watch Precautions
Sometimes, in a tornado watch, when things look severe, Miss Janet drives me over to the basement at my puppyhood farm. We sneak in the back door so Beauregard, my giant doodle brother, doesn’t hear me. We stay overnight in case a tornado forms.
I feel very secure in the basement. There’s a sound machine that blocks out the noise. There are no windows, so I don’t see lightning and trees bending. Miss Janet stops watching the radar and turns off that handheld box. I fall into a sound sleep.
I’m thankful for my puppyhood family. They are very kind. Miss Janet thinks so too.
If you are in a tornado-prone area and have a pup or other pet, make sure to have a plan for how to keep your pet safe during a potential tornado. ASPCA offers suggestions.
When you understand how pets react to storms, and why, you’ll be better able to help them stay calm through every storm. When you focus on helping your pet stay calm, you’re likely to stay calmer too.
Have a super safe summer!
Clutch
The Inquisitive Yorkie 