I have a dog who was also terrified of thunder, but he is much better now. I got a CD of thunder storms a few years ago and this trick has worked wonders for him. Every spring just as the thunder storms are due to being, I put on that CD and play it , low in the background at first, a lot for a period of days.

Then I play it a little louder, until it gets loud enough that it sounds like the storm is right on top if us. This has worked like a charm. He gets use to the noise and it seems to stop bothering him as much.

Years ago I got some sedatives for him, and I’ve had to use them only occasionally. But I don’t let him get upset by the storms or the CD playing, because getting upset when there’s a storm coming seems to develop into a habit.

So at first I had to give him a sedative a time or two when I increased to volume of the CD. But now he does much better and needs only a half of a pill when it’s a really bad storm.

When there’s a really bad one coming I have to watch the radar and when it’s going to be a really bad storm, give the pill about half hour before the storm gets to me. But it’s gotten to be rare that I have to give him a pill any more.