Stormy solutions

There's a storm brewing on the horizon. I can hear the thunder and the wind is picking up.  When I was growing up, I loved listening to the gentle patter of rain on the roof.  I loved playing in the shallow ditch out front of our house - feeling the mud squish up between my toes, picking up crawdads, and just splashing around.  What does that have to do with now?  Well, even a great rain storm produces thunder and lightening and that's where the problem begins.

We have this German Shepard, Lady, that most everyone is intimidated by.  She will stand at the door when someone enters the yard, she lets UPS and strange trucks know that she would rather they go away by barking fiercely and the hackles will raise on the back of her neck... Really intimidating...

What most people don't know is she is a most loving and loyal dog, tender and patient with babies and small children, can smell a juicy rib bone or burger before it passes the front door.  She believes that styrofoam is the means to getting a rib bone.


This fierce looking dog has a secret.  She is fiercely afraid of storms and strong winds. I think she can smell one before it hits the radar and the thing she wants most is to escape.  She usually starts by jumping on our bed, which is not a good solution at all.  So I usually end up sleeping on the couch with her on one end curled up behind my legs - shaking the WHOLE couch.  If I try to climb into bed and shut her out of our room, she will scratch on the door and make the awfullest racket. 

We have tried so many things and I've grown so tired of sleeping on the couch.  We've tried giving her Benadryl via our vet's instructions - even 3 fast acting caplets do not touch this fear.

Quite by mistake we discovered the only thing that calmed her down....  Putting her in the laundry room, on her pillow, with the DRYER on Air, throw in a towel or two, and close the door almost shut.  We use Dryer Balls, so the noise of all this, calms and relaxes her more than anything we could ever do.  I'm even able to sleep in my own bed!

This post is part of Works for Me Wednesday at We are That Family!