Help, he's afraid of the wind.

[louis]

I know this sounds daft but 5 year old Louis has suddenly become afraid of the noise the wind makes.
We live in a rural area so it can get pretty rough at times although he only seems to react to it when its dark - out on the beach during the day he's fine.
Now I'm writing this down I'm wondering if he's having me on but he is unsettled by it at night. So much so that he climbed the stairs to me last night (which he's never been up in his life) and it's scared the daylights out of me, he's a big, clumsy boy and the stairs are quite steep and just painted so no carpet for grip.
Has anyone any advice - I've invested in a stair gate but I don't like to hear him upset.

[Liz!]

Yes. Record it while it's really loud and play it all the time, day and night until he is used to it.

[Bid]

Is there something flapping about outside that he can hear that didn't used to be there maybe? A chrub that's grown and is knocking somewhere or something? He will have much better hearing than you so you may not notice it from indoors.

Maybe a radio left on downstairs would help him, or a DAP infuser perhaps

[Sarah Bevan]

Can't help I am afraid, Jessie woke us up at 5 am this morning, we think the noise of the wind spooked her(it howls around the house)

So I let her out to the toilet, she had a wee, ate some cat poo (we think) then at seven am she vomited the whole lot back up. Lovely!

She is a nightmare to walk in the howling wind as well, can't let her off lead as she will chase a leaf to Timbuktu !

Hope we get a better nights sleep tonight, if she wakes early again I don't know whether to leave her or not.

[louis]

Thanks for the suggestions, we had another night on the sofa last night but it was really rough. I will try the radio together with a stair gate and prepare myself for a restless night listening to him. He has been outside with me all day in the wind and he was fine, in fact he seems to enjoy it blowing through his fur - I think maybe it time I toughened up.

[Liz!]

Comfort is completely the wrong thing to do as it means there is something to be scared of to the dog. If Lola is scared of something we completely ignore her, talk to each other, laugh, and carry on as normal. No reassuring voices at all.

This did not work for fireworks when we were right next to them, but is working slowly for fireworks at a distance. Now i see her listening, but she doesn't seem scared - but she does stay near us. Unfortunately the cat is scared rigid of fireworks and it's hard to reassure her without letting the dog think something Is wrong! This leads to some sttrage behaviour firework time in our house...

[louis]

We had another night on the sofa last night but until the stair gate arrives I've no way of keeping him downstairs. It wasn't a complete waste of time though as it gave me chance to have a good listen out for new noises that might be upsetting him.
I try not to use a comforting voice but it's getting everyone else in the house to do the same. My cats go wild when it's windy so I guess that might be adding to the problem too.
I know I've got to be tough with him but one look from those big brown eyes and I'm putty in his hands, ha.

[linny]

I'm on the other side of the fence to the others when it comes to a fearful dog.
I agree with them about not making a big thing about whatever it is that's frightening them and carrying on as normal.....to a degree.
if his fear is so great that he needs comfort then he needs to be with you.
I wouldn't ignore a child that's fearful it would be cruel and I think the same applies to our dogs..
If your dog is so desperate that he needs to be close to you then let him, the winds will die away eventually and you can return him to the downstairs. It's just short term comfort and reassurance that he needs because he's frightened.
We all have irrational fears at times and it's surely nice to know that someone understands our fears and offers some reassurance......even if you are a dog.

[Florrie!]

Florrie is scared of the wind too so much so that the vet has advised us not to walk her when it's windy. She's a nightmare and gets spooked at the slightest noise.

Her behaviourist said that alot of dogs don't like the wind as it distorts sound and smells and as they rely on their hearing and noses a great deal, this can upset them.

Florrie is restless in the house when it's windy but will stay in her crate if she's feeling that scared so she will sleep the night through. It's just going out of the house that she doesn't like and can't cope with.

Tasha

[louis]

Poor Florrie, I thought Louis was bad. He never liked any loud noises such as the hairdryer, hoover etc but this fear of the wind is a fairly new thing.
I've spoken to a few people and they've told me to toughen up because he's just a dog! I was horrified at that, I know he's an animal but I still wouldn't want him to be scared. I do voluntary work for an animal charity and I find all the animals have their own unique personalities - like children but usually better behaved.

Sam.

[Liz!]

LOL! Yes - I'd agree with that, if your dog is really, really upset them being there is important. Because L has to sleep next to me, she has from the start, so although we have a stair gate it's only for if I'm upstairs during the day, as the upstairs is for the cat's sanctuary! But I would have her up if she was scared - I wouldn't use a reassuring voice, but I'd def let her sleep next to us. She is a quiet sleeper though, don't know what I'd do if she snored.

You know your dog. But if you were having a stressful time with children, or work, you wouldn't be able to sleep downstairs during windy weather and stay sane and able to cope with everything, so there has to be a balance. When our 9 month daughter didn't want to sleep, we did the 5 mins away thing, then 10 mins away, then 15 mins away, with pop backs just to look in, not to say anything or put light on, and that worked - it took 3 nights and from then on she slept through, and has ever since. With an older child - you can tell them there is nothing to worry about, and they understand. But a dog doesn't, so I do feel it has to be by body language, behaviour and voice modulation.

[chrissuddell]

Hi,

If it makes you feel better we had the same problem with Frodo and our other dogs over the past few days, it has settled down now the bad weather has gone away. And Frodo can jump a stair gate so I don't think that would help with a doodle. Works with King Charles Spaniels though

Chris

[Nimitor]

Wes has been spooked by the high winds, during the day he has decided that walks are just long enough to do his business then home!I have put a t.v near him at night..it certainly helps. Luckily we have sky t.v because he loves spongebob squarepants and it keeps him occupied

[louis]

I don't have a problem with Louis being upstairs but it's a cat sanctuary here too plus I'm frightened that he'll break his neck on the stairs. He was better last night but I got up at 4a.m - this time I made a point of just saying good morning and got on making a cuppa.
I'm not sure Louis would watch Spongebob but he does like Victoria Stillwell and he might pick up some tips during the night.