Remember what thunderstorms were like before you had a dog?

Think back to those days or nights when thunder would roll in. The trees made the most beautiful rustling, the sky got a mysterious cover to it, maybe showers began to fall, but not enough that you couldn’t open a window just a bit to let that fresh, smell of spring in?

You’d climb onto your most comfortable chair and watch the world outside and be thankful for shelter and a sense of place. Maybe GrubHub was on its way – something comforting. Or you cozy up to a cup of tea, cover yourself in your favorite blanket and just be.

Life changes in a lot more positive ways than negative when you become a pet parent but for those of us that live with thunder phobic dogs, it’s easy to go from a lover of storms to absolute hate.

And I see this shift in my client’s lives as well. It’s almost as we revolve around the weather report. So this week, I’d like to share a few of my very favorite resources for owners of dogs with storm phobias:

• APDT – Thunderstorm Phobia in Dogs
• Fearful Dogs – Storm & Sound Phobias
• Eileen and Dogs – What Happened to Summer’s Thunderstorm Phobia?
• John Visconti, CPDT-KA – Canine Thunder Phobia; The Bunker Protocol

In the comments below, I’d love to hear how you and your dog survive storm season. What are your favorite tools & resources (better yet, link us there!)? Have a success story to share?

Julia Rohan founded Rover-Time in January of 2012 and received her formal training at FetchFind Academy, a program for aspiring dog trainers, based in Chicago. Julia lives in Irving Park with her husband Mark. Together they co-parent Archer, their 4-year old son, Lou, their 4-month old, and Chauncey Billups Vanderhoff, an over-confident, territorial, and anxious 8lb. Chihuahua-Terrier mix. All the boys do a decent job of melting her heart hourly.