Scaredy Dog
Yup, Burger’s not a scaredy cat, but he sure is a scaredy dog. You might have seen this photo that we posted on Instagram a few days back about how he ran and hid in the corner of the bathroom when the smoke alarm started beeping in the middle of the night thanks to a low battery. Poor guy.
So I thought it would be fun to chat about other things that make Burger tick (and bark… and hide…). You know, just to give him more depth. He’s not just a dog who loves treats, barking at the mailman, and snuggling under the covers… he has hopes and dreams and fears. And he loves to make his voice heard when the urge strikes. So without further ado, here’s a list of a few things Burger tends to dislike and how he usually reacts to them:
- Knocking. On the front door. On the wall. On the bathroom door. Any knocking sends him into a crazy barking frenzy. So I guess he’s not so much afraid of it as he is ready to attack anyone who dares to knock on wood… or anything else.
- Beeping. Any commercials or shows with some sort of beep (maybe it’s someone on a show opening an armed door that goes beep, beep, beep) is all it takes to send him scrambling off of our laps and into the other room. The higher the pitch, the more he scurries. Burger no likey.
- Barking. If another dog howls in the night, his ears go up, he squints his eyes, and he happily sings along. For a little dog he sure can be a loud-mouth when he wants to.
- Clara. Most times his big sister is his best friend (especially when she’s messily eating something and sharing her crumbs with her big brother). And sometimes she can totally be his annoying little sister (picture her charging at him while he’s sleeping on a pillow and awakening just as she’s getting close so Burger springs off the sofa in a mad panic). Thankfully they’re pretty great friends 99% of the time, and Burger is way too fast for Clara, so when he wants to outrun her he can.
- Thunder. Maybe I should say storms in general. He hates pooping in the rain. He hates getting his pristine little paws wet. And he even hates being inside and listening to the loud booms of thunder overhead. Sometimes we find him just standing in the corner of the closet or under the desk all freaked out (we’ve heard of something called thunder shirts for pets – anyone know if they work?). We usually just scoop him up and hold him close until he relaxes and then once the storm’s over he jumps right off of us and acts all macho. Like “I wasn’t even scared of that, sheesh! Besides, I have important things to do. Like sleep.”
Any other pooch (or pet) parents out there with quirky stories of things that annoy their little guy or girl? Burger’s neurosis are pretty normal I think. Haha. What’s guaranteed to send your pet info a tizzy?
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Thunder Shirts are amazing!! I’ve used one for my dog before (he is way more scared of thunder than Burger sounds) and it is like a miracle cure. He is still stressed out, but able to calm himself. And the company is based in NC so local (ish)!
Thanks Vron!
xo,
s
The shelter where I volunteer often recommends thunder shirts for scaredy dogs. It has the similar calming effect that you holding him does.
I just wanted to second the Thundershirt! It’s been a godsend for our bigger dogs! Haven’t tried one on the little guy yet. Our chihuahua/terrier mix does a lot of these things – now we know it’s from the chihuahua side!
More love for the Thundershirt! We don’t really get thunderstorms here, but we have a thundershirt for Barkley for when there’s just too much going on outside (gardeners, work on our street, construction, etc). And he looks SUPER cute in it. Oh, and Barks totally hates pooping in the rain like Burger!
Ditto on the thundershirt! Our dog is very afraid of fireworks and storms and this works wonders! It’s the same idea as swaddling an infant – the fabric hugs their little body and makes them feel more secure and less vulnerable. We also put it on our boy when he’s riding in the car for longer trips. Just helps keep him calm and relaxed. Plus, you can get them monogrammed! Who doesn’t want a monogrammed thundershirt??
I saw on the Dr. Oz show to rub your dog with a dryer sheet. I think their fur gets static electricity when thunder is coming???
Interesting!
xo,
s
Love to hear about other pets’ crazy habits! We have two pugs (and two cats). The younger pug, Max, is a little momma’s boy who is afraid of the weirdest things, like the sound of my fingernails clicking together! Sometimes I forget and do it while he’s sitting on my lap and he runs away with an accusatory look on his puggy face. It’s sad but funny at the same time.
I love Burger! Our dog Freya is a wild woman, I am hoping she calms down soon. She has so much energy. The trainer called her a “tarzan dog” She doesn’t bark surprisingly, unless someone knocks on the door, then she does this “woo woo woo” bark. She also thinks that she is a lap dog at 60lbs.
We bought a Thundershirt for our dog because he was PETRIFIED of his crate (you know, the thing that’s supposed to be all den like and wonderful…with softer padding then all the human beds in our house) and it didn’t do anything. It did seem to make him less anxious around our cats when he was first meeting them though… it’s returnable even if opened, we kept it for two weeks before deciding to bring it back. It’s worth a shot!
Also, he looked SUPER CUTE in it sooo it may be worth it for the image alone :)
Aw man, thanks Stephanie!
xo,
s
The Thundershirt works great!!!! We used it on our dog who is afraid of most loud/sudden noises. He’s even afraid of clapping. Although storms don’t both him, fireworks are the big trigger. We used it when we were watching a live band and the change in our dog was AMAZING!! I was sceptical, but I definitely recommend it!
Here is our pup with the Thundershirt on: http://serendipity-365.com/2012/07/28/chewies-shirt-28365/
Thanks Amanda!
xo,
s
Our lab/hound mix, Darwin, hates motorcycles. If we’re on a walk and one is zooming by he definitely thinks he’s tough and tries to attack. He also likes to watch other dogs on TV. Dogs 101 is his favorite, but when it cuts to commercial he runs around the wall into the kitchen to look for the dogs.
Yay for lab/hound mixes =)
Ours is so cute. She’s never encountered a motorcycle, but she is fascinated by bikes.
lol our girl does the same thing! She’ll look for the dogs behind the TV.
My pug, Annie, absolutely loves the sound of a Harley Davidson. The louder, the better. She will knock down my other two dogs just to get to a window to see one when she hears it coming a few blocks away. She also knows the difference between a loud vehicle muffler & and the rumble of an HD. Very strange because I was a HD girl for years, but never been around one since getting her as a 7-month old pup (she’s 7yo now). All I can figure is that her breeders must have been Harley owners.
Now … thunder or fireworks freak her out… really bad. A friend of mine that’s a dog trainer says to leave her alone and let her find her “safe spot” during those times. It used to be either under my desk or dresser, but now it’s under my bed. I have a captain’s bed & she discovered how to get into the space between the two dresser bases. It must provide a lot of insulation from those horrible noises.
Yes, our lab mix does the same thing!! He watches every dog on TV and then runs around to the room behind the TV looking for the dog. Poor thing looks so disappointed when he is unable to find his potential playmate.
My dog bella is a pitbull mix, she’s a medium sized-dog that looks tough, but is the biggest mushiest princess of a lady. If its raining out she will NOT go potty…she will hold it for an entire day if she had to. Sometimes I’ll make her go out and as soon as her paws get wet she turns around and heads for the door. I swear she rolls her eyes at me too.
My Bella does the same thing! She will not go outside if its raining and I swear she rolls her eyes at me too! She is also afraid of thunder but do not thing the Thundershirt would work for us. If I but anything on her other then her collar I realize the “deer in headlights look” and she refuses to move until you remove said article from her body.
Haha! I have a big ol’ softy pitbull too. She is the same way about rain and wet grass. We had a hurricane here in FL a few years ago and it rained for about 3 days without much break. At one point, I was literally in the backyard in high winds holding an umbrella over my dog pleading with her to use the bathroom. It was classic!
Hes adorable… My dog is an 85lb lab/husky/greyhound and is terrified of thunder storms. His hiding place of choice is in the bathtub… If he gets in trouble, he immediately runs for the bathtub or if he knows he did something wrong, Miko is in the bathtub. If we fail to leave the bedroom door open during the day when we are gone and it storms, he chews the crap out of the handle trying to open the door and has succeeded randomly. Gotta say, thats the weirdest thing my dogs do… haha
It’s good to know Burgs has as much personality at home as he does online :)
I have a giant beast dog (lab/boxer) and she has the scariest sounding bark. Which she uses when a stranger is at the door, but only from the other side of the room because she is actually a big ol’ wimp. When we have company she also likes to stand next to them and use her big deep bark at them while also wagging her tail. I mean really, make up your mind dog!
We have a 120 pound scaredy-dog named Cooper (he’s a Great Dane) who is really a little OCD. We recently painted our kitchen, and I forgot to remove a small inch of blue tape from under the kitchen cabinet. A few nights ago we found Cooper having a near panic attack in the kitchen since that blue tape did not belong there! I’m still not sure how he even noticed it. He’s such a big baby, but he is our big baby! Can’t help but love our dogs:)
Aww, I just want to snuggle right up next to him under the blanket in that last photo!
My dog is thankfully not afraid of thunderstorms, but I’ve heard that part of what causes them to freak out is the static electricity in the air. I’ve heard you can rub them down with an unscented dryer sheet to help alleviate some of that and keep them calmer.
You know, my dog, Max, is terrified of the swiffer sweeper. Maybe this is why!! I just thought he was being a huge wimp.
My dog is also afraid of the swiffer sweeper. Or she tries to attack it. So vicious!
My dog is afraid of the swiffer sweeper too! She’s fine with the regular vacuum, but as soon as we pull out the “green monster” she panics!
Thundercoats (or thundershirts) for dogs are the best! My family has a very high anxiety doberman pinscher (was a rescue dog), and he used to get so stressed out and scared during any sort of storm. Once we got him a thundercoat though, he became so much more easy-going and chilled out not only during storms, but during other ordeals (like having lots of people over or any sort of housework). I think it’s similar to how babies respond when they are swaddled–just makes them feel more secure all over.
So here’s one big vouch for thundercoats–I just hope they come in Burger’s size! Good luck :)
Thanks Ellie Bee!
xo,
s
Have you guys seen Text From Dog yet (textfromdog.tumblr.com)? It is hilarious and most of them could totally have been written by my dog! I’ll bet you’ll find some that would apply to Burger, too!
Hahah- so funny!
xo,
s
This might be my new favorite website! Thanks for sharing! :)
Oh man. That website is hilarious. I’m in tears over here. Thank you for that!
Oh man this was great! Thanks for sharing!
Our shar pei goes crazy when we ask “Who’s that?”. He spends the next 5 minutes looking for the mysterious person.
Poor Burger Boy. We got a Thunder Shirt for our one dog Sophie and I think she likes it. She is scared of the “Wind Man”, e.g. the air conditioning kicking on, wind blowing against the house etc. The Thunder Shirt works kind of like swaddling or like the therapy swings they use for autistic kids — it makes them feel nice and secure and wrapped up. Now when the Wind Man comes knocking I swear Sophie looks at me and asks for her Thunder Shirt. Here’s a pic of her in it http://livinganalog.com/2012/04/23/a-little-weekend-update/
I bet it could work for the Burger too. Cheers – CT
My dog is also scared of thunder and most all loud noises. The smoke alarm has caused major trauma…Before we re-did our kitchen we had a poor ventilation system so smoke would build up in the kitchen causing the smoke alarm to go off in the other room. So now Ellie associates cooking with loud noises and therefore terrified of the stove/oven being on! I’ve found that the thundershirt helps a little. I don’t think it’s a cure-all but it does help her calm down a little.
My cat hates plastic bags. Weather it’s a garbage bag or a grocery bag, he hates them. Whenever we shake them out to change the bag he flips out and runs for the nearest hiding place.
My cat hates plastic bags too! I think it’s the noise they make. She doesn’t get scared at the sight of them, but when she hears me shake or rustle a plastic bag she kirks out.
The vacuum cleaner sends my dog over the edge, it even has bite marks on it!
Thunder shirts are AMAZING! I got them about a year ago for our three dogs who bark when a car drives past our house and hide in corners when it storms. They work. Trust me. Get one for Burger.
Thanks for all the Thunder shirt info guys!
xo,
s
Haha Burger is a funny little guy! I love a dog with opinions :)
My parents’ boarder collie is afraid of storms as well and they got her a thunder shirt recently. It does seem to help her, they are still in the training phase (I guess you put it on them when there isnt a storm and give them treats and praise etc). Apparently it releases some endorphins because it makes her stupid giddy, like running around, really happy with her tongue hanging out :)
The list is long for our hound mix, Rudy. We got him from the animal shelter, after he’d been found abandoned in the woods, so we think some of his “issues” are linked back to that. Poor little guy.
The biggest one is that he won’t eat unless his food is perfectly level. When his snout makes a crater in his food after eating a few bites, he barks and barks at it until we level it out again. He also won’t eat if his water bowl isn’t filled all the way. Scared he’s going to run out, I guess?
My cocker spaniel, Della, is a rescue that was abused & almost starved to death when I got her. It took a long time to get her to not gulp down her food in one bite (& then she’d vomit). Now before she eats she arranges the food in her dish & then steps back to look at it before eating it. I had to start putting my other rescue, Suzzie (a pug), into the bathroom during feeding time because during that moment when Dell is admiring her food Suzzie would dash in and woof it down.
Midge was a quiet little girl until she met her big brother Bauer – now she barks with the best of them! She’s really quick when the doorbell rings, and most times she’ll sound the alarm about something and Bauer will pitch in – especially if it’s another dog that would dare walk on the sidewalk in front of the house!
She’s also not so big on thunderstorms – but she likes to hide under the bed…Poor Midgey.
Unfortunately, getting her flea and tick/getting her nails clipped fall into the category of “things to hide from” so we have to dig her out from under the bed. But she loves her heartworm stuff since it looks like a treat!
Totally forgot to add that she likes to howl along with fire engines – my little chi thinks she’s part hound dog!
I have a dog named Midge too! We totally call her Midgie as well! ha! I’ve never heard of another dog with that name :) Great minds think alike…although it sounds like your Midge is appropriately named for her size..mine is a beagle/bulldog mix so the “Midge” is a little tongue in cheek :) Also, my Midge has a thundershirt but while she seems to really like it, I got it for separation anxiety (she pees out of spite when we leave) and it doesn’t do much…
How does Burger do with the vaccuum? My in-laws have a Chihuaha named Ella and the vaccuum drives her insane!
He doesn’t seem to mind it. I mean he stays back, but he doesn’t hide or try to kill it. Haha.
xo,
s
My dog doesn’t trust the vacuum – he has to follow us around and keep an eye on it from a safe distance. It’s hilarious.
He used to be a problem barker with the knocking, and we read you could train the speak command if you could get them to bark reliably (by giving the command then knocking) but instead it desensitized him so he quit barking at knocks. At least he quit barking so much.
I thought we had the only dog who didn’t like the rain – he doesn’t mind wet paws but the drops falling on his fur seem to drive him nuts and he gives us quite the pitiful look.
The funny thing that he is afraid of is the jump rope. Just pick it up and he’s running under the coffee table or behind a doorway. He’s done it since the first time we used it and he’s never gotten close to get hurt so we let him be afraid of that one.
Two of my cats have been scared of anyone at the door since they were kittens. Not too unusual, but the only place they feel comfortable and safe when there’s someone there is under the sofa.
That was fine when they were reaally small, considering the gap between the bottom edge of the sofa and the floor is around 6 inches. But now they’re three years old, and one in particular is rather… big boned? So sometimes you’ll hear him squeak and see a big fluffy butt stuck between the sofa and the floor
We use a lot of Thunder shirts in our vet practice and overall they seem to work really well for most dogs. A few of the nurses here swear by them for their own pets; just make sure that it’s fitted appropriately. Good luck if you try one!
Thanks Melissa!
xo,
s
Just another vote of confidence for the Thundershirt. I am a puppy raiser for a local service dog organization and we used this for a dog we were training that was having some anxiety. It was wonderful and he is now an explosive detection dog with the ATF! It definitely helped us work through a difficult phase of his training. I don’t know that it will make Burger want to “sing and dance in the rain” but it’s worth a try!
Yay! Thanks for all the thunder shirt info everyone!
xo,
s
For our two kitties, it’s the doorbell. Terrifies them every time.
My husband and I recently brought home a chihuahua puppy (by the name of Eleanor Rigby) and I too was wondering about the thunder shirt. I’m glad to see all the reviews here!
I would love to see more posts about Burger – we’re in full on housebreaking/crate training/puppy class mode – so maybe I’m just dog obsessed right now?! Here are some photos of Eleanor in her super tiny 2.5 lb puppy state. We’re in love! http://traceytilley.com/www.traceytilley.com/Blog/Entries/2012/4/18_Eleanor_Rigby.html
Aw, she’s a cutie!!
xo,
s
So my normally well-mannered husband likes to hide when I leave a room & jump out when I come back to scare the crap out of me. That is, of course, until we got Wes- our shepherd mix rescue. When he sees my husband even start to look sneaky, he freaks out and starts barking like crazy! Obviously I reward him for being my warning system :)
That’s hilarious! I have two chihuahuas and both of them go crazy barking and attacking the big, bad vacuum!
The comments to this post are so helpful. We have a yellow lab that is nearly 13 years old and while she used to be so laid back, she recently has developed an extreme fear of loud noises – thunder, our sprinkler system or A/C coming on, but particularly beeping sounds like the dishwasher. We are at our wits end, but this Thundershirt sounds helpful!
@Lucy: Dogs can get a sort of dementia/ cognitive dysfunction when older. Please take him to a good vet. There are drugs to help them overcome some of these issues.
Just but him a shirt. Any shirt. The tighter the better (but don’t hurt him) I’ve found that wearing clothing keeps my chihuahua calmer in general. He doesn’t whine as much or tremble constantly when he’s wearing clothes.
This is nuts: last year after Halloween we found a ton of pet costumes on sale for 50 cents each and bought them all. It didn’t matter what specific costume it was – I knew he needed clothes and I’m cheap. So we got a pirate, a hot dog, a princess dress, a shark and his favorite – a ladybug. I’m not kidding. He loves to the the ladybug. Strangest sentence ever muttered? “Good boy, Rufus. You’re such a good little ladybug”. His tail just waaaags.
On the other hand, my 8-yr-old great dane is petrified of storms and there is nothing you can do to soothe her. I just have to lie down on her bed with her to keep her from lying on top of me during storms (Nope. I don’t typically sleep with a 150-lb dog. Nor a 7-lb chihuahua).
Hahahaha- so cute!
xo,
s
Our little Corgi mix, Gracie, has almost all the same quirks as Burger. I never realized other dogs hate beeping! She also hates clicking…she’ll vacate the room when we turn on on or off the tv and there was that little ‘click’ sound. I just can’t figure out the connection…what’s so scary about a click or a beep?!?
We haven’t tried out the thunder shirt, but we have put a tight shirt on her before and when it’s on she awkwardly walks sideways, which is sadly hilarious but means I’m not sure we’ll make the Thunder Shirt investment for storms! :)
My dog freaks out at the smoke alarm too if the battery is dying. It must be something with that high pitch beep. He hides under our bed and shakes.
Fireworks also send him crazy.
Our dogs aren’t scared of much, but they do have their odd habits. Yoda (our Jack Chi) hates bicycles in all shapes and sizes. Roxy is a dopey Dalmation/Pit mix and was so submissive the first year of her life that she would pee in the floor almost every time a man pet her. So glad when she grew out of that.
Our poor dog is absolutely terrified of beeping smoke alarms. Terrified! She’s even terrified if it never beeps and you’re just up there changing the battery. So strange.
She’s also afraid of manhole covers in the street or any kind of metal grating like street drains, electrical box covers…We have no idea why.
Our dog flips out when there is a dog or cat on TV. I’m talking will leap across the living room, from where she’s sitting to bark at the TV. I’ve ended up with some nasty scratches across my legs and arms from her nails. She’ll use both myself and my husband as a spring board.
She can leap from the couch in the living room to the front door in one jump, probably about 15 ft. However, she refuses to step over a 2×4. So when we want to keep her out of our way, we put a piece of molding or piece of wood on the floor. It’s rather comical for us.
My dog watches tv too. She barks at every Pet store commercial.
We have 2 dogs, Great Dane/German Shepherd (Tabor aka Moose) and a Pomeranian (Hazel). Doorbells are the worst in our house!! We rarely have anyone ring our own, its when there is one on tv. They bark like crazy! Also just discovered it’s the end of the world if a bird flies into a window! Yesterday at 2 different times birds hit one of the windows and the dogs went nuts!
On a cute note, Tabor dreams a lot in his sleep. The other night he was howling in his sleep, terrifying at first but cute once I wasn’t so startled.
Our 85 pound chocolate lab is terrified of flies. Yes, flies. He totally freaks out and runs around with his tail between his legs until we kill it. Or he’ll hide in a closet or shower. I think it’s the frequency of the buzz that gets him. Wasps and bees don’t bother him at all. What a goof!
Our two Yorkies like to bark at the doorbell and knocking! Whether it be on TV or in real life. Also, anytime there is a dog on TV they start barking at it. We’ll say, “it’s just the TV, settle down”, but that doesn’t actually do any good. haha
Yup. Get a thundershirt. We love ours!
Burger makes me giggle. Our pup Dudley, who is a beagle dashcound mix, was very badly abused before we adopted him so any loud noises are not his friend (we think he was gun shy and someone tried to beat it into him). So when it storms, if we are on the sofa he hides his face behind our backs, and forcefully! His other new habit is hiding under our bed, that one started when we had a back hoe in our back yard one day with the windows open…oops!!
I think the only thing our black lab Pagoda is afraid of is not getting enough sleep. He’s a 100lb. throw rug.
I have the most ridiculous Standard Schnauzer named Walter. He is afraid of people wearing hats, sunglasses or big headphones/ear muffs. When he encounters someone wearing one of these things he barks, tries to run away and sometimes pees randomly. Even if it’s me coming in the house with my sunglasses on. Seriously, he’s the weirdest dog ever.
My parent’s dog Elsie will bark at anything new. I mean anything. Usually we drive my car to my parents house but sometimes we will take my fiance’s. When we do, and Elsie sees it sitting in the drive, her hair will bristle on the back of her neck and she’ll stand there and bark at it for a good 20 minutes.
If something moves places she does the same thing.
She’s not afraid of thunder or storms at all. But the crazy dog barks back at the thunder! She’ll just stand in the middle of the yard wait for the thunder then growl and bark back…
She’s our protector of all things normal.
Yep – one of my dogs is not afraid of storms but will bark and grumble back at the thunder.
My friends use one of their t-shirts on their dog during a storm.
Looks like Burger will be getting a thunder shirt soon ;)
My dog Bea is terrified of thunderstorms. I feel so bad for her when she’s curled up as small as possible (she’s a 45 lb. basset/beagle/lab mix) and shivering/panting with every boom. I would like to try the thunder shirt on her. Autumn (our 15 lb. cat) is also terrified of thunder, loud noises, heavy rain, and she recently overcame a fear of the ceiling fan.
I think that they are coming out with a Thundershirt for cats now too. Or maybe you could try the smallest dog size for Autumn.
Can they please call it Thundercats? That would just be awesome.
-John
THUNDERCATS, HOOOOOOOOO!!!
We live in a condo and have someone above us. Our pooch, bailey, looses his s*** everytime they are out on their patio. He just runs circles in our yard barking.
Last week they came home with a dog. And the dog is shut out on their patio a lot. Heh.. :) So now bailey gets shut inside with us a lot more.
Thunder Shirts are great! Our hound dog has seeemed to have gotten over his fear of thunder and fireworks so we mainly use it now because he gets anxious and jumpy around people. It keeps him calm and relaxed, he’ll just wag his tail and let everyone pet him. He’s like an entirely different dog with it on. And he looks so adorable in it too!
My sister and her husband have two bassett hounds, one of which also hates going outside in the rain/getting his paws wet. But he knows that he is supposed to go potty outside, so he gets the front half of his body out the doggie door, thinks he’s outside (and of course, doesn’t want to go any further), and then does his business. Unfortunately, the second half of his body is still inside, resulting in you-know-what!
We have a Thunder Shirt for our golden retriever, and it works for us! Our sweet girl would hide in the bathtub at the start of a thunderstorm (Fireworks are also awful – July 4th week was miserable!), but now she hangs out with us in the living room. It does take about 30-40 minutes for her to completley calm down after we put it on, but overall, great investment!