How do you help your pets stay calm during thunderstorms?
SACRAMENTO – Thunderstorms shook the Sacramento region overnight Sunday into Monday.
Some Residents across the region reported extremely loud thunder early Monday morning, with some close cracks of thunder loud enough to set off car alarms in some neighborhoods. And while the house-shaking thunder jolts humans from sleep, it has a similar anxiety-inducing effect on pets.
What can you do to help furry four-legged friend endure storms? Here are some tips from the experts at the Animal Humane Society:
- Be calm: Animals can sense our emotions, including stress. If you're anxious or afraid when you try to help your pets, it can make things worse. Work on calming yourself down before helping your pet.
- Limit their exposure to fear-inducing sights and sounds. Do things like turn lights on, close curtains and blinds, and drown out sounds outside with things like a TV, radio, a fan, or white noise machine.
- If your pet has found a safe space to hide, let them stay there. Make the space comfortable by doing things like providing toys and providing them with food and water.
- Seek help for extreme reactions. If your pet howls, screams, destroys things or hurts themselves while trying to escape, talk to your vet. There medications that can help reduce severe anxiety.
- Tired dogs are more calm. If there's a storm on the way, exercise your dog and tire them out. Exercise reduces anxiety and helps keep them calm during bad weather.
For the latest weather forecast for the Sacramento region, click here.
