Thunderstorms and Earthworms

[Fluffypants]

Hello everyone. I received the AKC September Newsletter by email today, and it contained info on tow topics that have definitely been discussed by us. Thought you might find it interesting, and I am definitely trying that peppermint oil tip!
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Ask AKC
with Lisa Peterson

Dear Lisa: My 2-year old Belgian Tervuren is traumatized by thunderstorms. I know this is a common problem, but this particular dog remains fearful of the outdoors for days or even weeks after hearing thunder. I'd prefer to treat this problem through behavior therapy rather than drugs. Do you recommend for desensitizing her, and is this something a dog owner could try? – Terrorized by Thunderstorms in Tacoma

Dear Terrorized: Fear of loud noises, including thunderstorms, is a common complaint I hear from dog owners. Pets can develop sound sensitivities usually between the ages of two and four. And they tend to get worse with age, sometimes not even showing up until very late.

Dogs who behave in this way are usually triggered by some external force. They may know that the impending storm is approaching by sensing such things as the increasing wind, darkening sky and the drop in barometric pressure as the weather front approaches. They know it's coming and anticipate “impending doom” which makes them nervous to all sounds.

Some behaviorists will tell you to try a desensitization program where you gradually introduce the “fear” noise at a very low volume and then increase the volume and praise when they behave appropriately. This takes a long time to implement and a lot of patience on the part of the owner. You won’t know it worked until someday your dog isn’t afraid anymore.

Others may suggest trying to divert your dog’s attention to the “impending doom” by playing a fun game with her at the right moments to turn the bad triggers into good triggers.

Remedies
Your veterinarian may suggest you treat the dog with some kind of tranquilizer or go the more natural route with herbal mixtures. Sometimes these work, sometimes they don’t.

But the best “cure” I have found I learned at a seminar by Pat Hastings, a respected AKC dog show judge, breeder and handler. She swears by this and I have seen it work on one of my friend’s dog who used to jump into the bathtub during a thunderstorm and quiver. Get yourself a bottle of peppermint oil from the health food store. When the storm is approaching put a drop or two of oil on the bottom of each foot, right on the pad. While no one knows why this works, once the oil is on for a bit, the dog no longer cares about the thunderstorm. And she’ll smell very nice!


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Dear Lisa: I have a 14-month old pug who eats earthworms every chance he gets. He eats the same amount dry dog food as his brother but eats the earthworms as snacks during his outside time. His brother does not eat earthworms. I'm sure hunger isn't the issue. Is he missing something in his diet? Can the earthworms be harmful to his health? Should I prevent him from eating them? – Unearthed Delights in Delaware

Dear Unearthed: Dogs will eat the craziest things. Many times experts don’t know why or have conflicting opinions. For example, there is no solid evidence as to why so many dogs eat grass. Some say they must be missing a nutrient, others claim dogs do it to ease gastrointestinal troubles or some say it simply means dogs like greens!

As for earthworms, I’ve heard some dog owners report that their dogs devour these segmented hors d’ouevres with no ill effect. However, there are a few reasons why you should not let your pup scarf up this garden garnish.

Earthworms are great for soil because they move it around, clean it up and deposit nutrients. They do this by swallowing the soil. Some of the things that an earthworm might run across on his errands include bacteria and other parasites that are harmful to dogs.

Parasite Problems
While bacteria could cause stomach upset in your pet your biggest worry should be roundworms. The eggs of the roundworm (Toxocara larvae) can be left behind in soil by other dogs or wildlife and then ingested by the earthworms. Then once the earthworms are eaten by your dog, he runs the risk of getting the common parasite. Puppies are quite susceptible to getting roundworms, especially from their mothers. But adults can get them too.

Check your dog’s stool for spaghetti-shaped worms for the main telltale sign of roundworm infection. If your dog does get roundworms, don’t despair, working with your vet on a de-worming protocol will usually take care of the problem. It is estimated that a medium-sized garden can contain more than 20,000 earthworms. Worse yet, if your dog gets roundworms he could spread them to you. So don’t let your dog eat the earthworms and keep him and you parasite free.

Lisa Peterson, a long-time owner/breeder/handler of Norwegian Elkhounds, is the AKC Director of Club Communications. If you have a question, send it to Lisa at lxp@akc.org and she may select it for a future column. Due to the high volume of questions we cannot offer individual responses.

[corgimom]

Jessica,

Thank you for the peppermint oil "tip"; that is quite interesting and something I would try. I wonder why that would work

I am thankful that Cody does not eat earthworms

[tandemgal]

peppermint soothes tummies - maybe it calms nerves too???

[corgimom]

T-Gal, yes it does; my elderly mother has used it and says it most definitely works for her tummy upsets. Maybe it does calm nerves, or maybe the dog is too busy licking its paws to worry about the storms

[corgimom]

Was just watching Good Morning Amercia and they had Marty Becker, the "Pet Doctor" on and he said to use a Fabric softener sheet and wipe your dogs coat down to remove the static (before a thunderstorm) ;that this helps to calm them because they can feel the static in their coats. He said it helps 50% of dogs.

Never heard this one before, but interesting.

[tandemgal]

that's an interesting idea... never thought about static electricity and dogs.

Em used to be really bad about thunder and other loud noises like gun shots or fireworks. By us remaining calm and Chloe not paying attention to the noise I think that helped her the most. Every once in a while if she's caught off guard she still gets a little stressed and feels the need to run and bark

[corgimom]

Well, I am willing to try this idea at least once - I already have the cling free sheets, so just will have to wait until a thunderstorm comes

[milles2]

That is a really interesting idea! I always have dryer sheets in the house but will have to pick up peppermint oil. Tuck is a barking maniac during thunder storms. Lulu doesn't seem to mind them (we have very few last summer) but reacts to Tucker's barking.

[Mvons]

Can this be sent to the holistic care forum topic? I'd hate to miss out on this treatment which is holistic.

Merrie

[corgimom]

I'm confused, you want the information from the first post in this thread? you can print it or save it in a file or you can put the link to this thread in a Holistic thread.

[Mvons]

A link would be great alternative but I don't know how.

Print it out = loose it, here.

Just imo it fit the holistic section better than general section of the forum.

Merrie

[disraeli]

Thanks, Jessica! I may have to try the peppermint oil - Rhys gets so scared when there is thunder.

[Jane Austen]

I am not sure of my information. I have not taken time to look it up but I just thought I would ask everyone to be careful with oil of peppermint. I had some peppermint that said on the bottle that it was poisonous. There may be different kinds like "Oil of peppermint" Or Peppermint oil"?Anyway be careful of the dog ingesting any large amount, at least until you/I check on the facts.