My senior dog shakes and has diarrhea after storms. Is it stress?
Updated On September 23rd, 2025
I have a senior shih tzu. It’s been raining the last 2 days, & she has panic attacks during thunderstorms & it was raining nonstop. The rain has stopped & all day today,she’s been shaking randomly & poops diarrhea. She eats fine & is completely normal besides sometimes she starts shaking randomly and poops diarrhea. is this due to stress from the thunderstorms? How can I help her?
2 Answers
Most Helpful Answer
Published on April 25th, 2020
Poor girl! Yes, this could be stress from the thunderstorms. Fireworks and loud noises can be really scary for dogs. One important thing to do to when your dog acts scared is not to reassure her. We think we are comforting her when we do that, but it's actually reinforcing the behavior and telling her it's ok to be scared. I recommend getting her a thundershirt to wear when there are fireworks or loud noises. These have been reported to help dogs with anxiety. At home, you can put her in a dark quiet room by herself to self-soothe. You can also turn on the TV or music to block out the sound. Finally, you can consider get a pheromone diffuser called DAP that helps dogs with anxiety.
2Pet Parents found this answer helpful
Related Answers from Veterinarians
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Published on January 2nd, 2017
That is a common problem for a lot of dogs and not easy to treat. You could talk to your vet about trying a medication like Trazodone, Sileo, or Alprazolam to be given prior to fireworks or a thunderstorm. Also, sitting with your dog in the basement with the tv or music playing loudly sometimes helps, too.
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful
Health & Wellbeing
My dog molly has been acting strange for a few days, she has been shaking randomly and hiding. All of which is very unusual. She is scared of thunderstorms but we haven’t had any of fireworks. She is still eating like a lab would. Just worried as she
Shaking can be a sign of anxiety (as with thunderstorms) or could indicate pain and discomfort. I would recommend taking Molly in to be examined by your veterinarian. She likely has some degree of arthritis and this could be causing her discomfort. She may need to be started on a joint supplement and an anti inflammatory drug to help with pain. I hope this helps. Thanks for using Boop by Petco. Best of luck.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
My dog is trembling and shaking but is acting normal except for that. She’s 10 years old and I’m afraid she might be sick. She still plays and goes outside like normal but she’s shaking a little bit. Please help.
Thank you for submitting your question regarding Miss. Trembling can indicate pain in a dog. This could be belly pain especially if she has had any vomiting or diarrhea. It can be from muscle or joint pain or perhaps she is experiencing anxiety. Thunderstorms and fireworks are big causes for anxiety this time of year. If her symptoms continue, she will need to see her veterinarian to determine the cause. I hope this information helps!
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
Hi! I'm petsitting for a 12 year old Whippet. I'm a regular with her care so I'm prettt familiar with her normal behavior. She's been sitting on her dog bed panting and shaking for hours now. I'm not sure if it's related but yesterday she had diarrhe
It's probably related to the diarrhea. the shaking is probably due to pain. she might have eaten something spoiled that is causing this. withhold food for 12 hours then offer Tess boiled boneless chicken and rice every 6 hours in small portions. if she is eating and not vomiting, continue with this diet for 2 days. After 2 days, you can put her back gradually on her normal food. If the symptoms continues, take her to the vet to get treatment.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
Hello! My dog is very very scared of thundestorms. He starts shaking and he doesnt stop until it stops raining. When the thunderstorms are louder, he even drools and ends up really tired (but he was lying down on the bed). Please, can you help me? Im
Sometimes no matter what we do they have a very difficult time with thunderstorms. I would first try the thundershirt, second try curbing his attention to something else while it is happening and if neither helps I would talk with your vet about medication. There are great prescription medications that help a lot with thunderstorm anxiety. Thank you for using Boop by Petco.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
It's pouring rain all day today and my 11 year old dog is showing fear. How can I help her?
One important thing to do to when your dog acts scared is not to reassure her. We think we are comforting her when we do that, but it's actually reinforcing the behavior and telling Bella it's ok to be scared. You can get her a thunder shirt to see if that helps. These have been reported to help dogs with anxiety. You can put her in a dark quiet room by herself to self-soothe. You can also turn on the TV or music to block out the sound. Finally, you can consider get a pheromone diffuser called DAP that helps dogs with anxiety. I hope this helps!
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
Hi I have a question is all dogs afraid of thunderstorms because Zoey she has me up right now because of it and my nana's dogs are afraid of thunderstorms. Is there anything that I could give them amd it taste good to them over the counter Thank you
Thunderstorms can be really scary for dogs! One important thing to do to when your dog acts scared is not to reassure her. We think we are comforting her when we do that, but it's actually reinforcing the behavior and telling her it's ok to be scared. I recommend getting her a thundershirt to wear when there are fireworks or loud noises. These have been reported to help dogs with anxiety. At home, you can put her in a dark quiet room by herself to self-soothe. You can also turn on the TV or music to block out the sound. Finally, you can consider get a pheromone diffuser called DAP that helps dogs with anxiety. If these methods do not work, speak to Zoe's vet about prescription medication to give her during thunderstorms. I hope this helps!
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
My 5 year old pit mix has been acting different since yesterday afternoon. She was fine all day which she’s a very happy active dog but we left the house for a few hours and when we came home she acted strange. Shaking, lip licking, ears laid back, w
If she’s eating/drinking, pooping normally and does not seem to be limping or painful when touched around her legs or belly….it is most likely stress. Possibly there was a super loud noise/siren/crash etc. that scared her. Vetriscience composure chews (available without a prescription on Chewy.com) can help with stress, including separation anxiety stress/firework stress, etc. Hope she feels better soon!
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
My 13 year old Coton de tulear has suddenly started to get scared of the noice when my neigbour plays frizbeegolf. He gets very clingy and starts shaking and panting. It stops in about two hours. I'd like to know is it normal and how to control it. T
Hi there and thank you for using Boop by Petco to address your concern. Anxiety is typical in animals and there are certain situations that animals will be more anxious than other situations. As dogs become older, hearing and vision can begin to decline. In this situation, Roni may hear certain noises or is not sure what he is hearing and that stresses him out. You can try using products such as the Thundershirt or dog calming aids with Melatonin (which can typically be found online or at your local pet store). If the anxiety becomes much worse, I would recommend discussing anti-anxiety medications with a veterinarian. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
My 7 year old pitbull mix is acting weird, it’s like he has “anxiety” attack when suddenly he start pacing really fast, sits and get up right away, yelping and shaking, and then lays down on his stomach on concrete floor. His stomach growl 2x in diff
Ruling out an underlying health issue such as pain or illness is always a good first step when your pet experiences a sudden behavior change. As seven is the start of the senior years, it is possible there is some pain from laying in the bed, or arthritis causing problems.
if Milou checks out health, trying to find if there is a pattern to the "attacks" may be helpful- does it happen the same time every night? Same spot? Same triggers? Is the neighbor arriving home in a noisy car at that time, etc? This may help you figure out what is triggering it so you can make some adjustments- IE moving the bed somewhere quieter, making sure your dog is fast asleep prior to that time, getting out excess energy before bed, feeding a treat to keep the stomach from becoming too empty and causing growling/discomfort, etc.
If you can't seem to find any pattern at all, taking a video of the even to bring to your vet or a local trainer may be helpful in better identifying what is going on, and finding
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
I recently took my dog to the groomer, she’s been numerous times to this same place and always did pretty well, but this time, she got really upset and super stressed out. She’s had diarrhea for the last 4 days. She’s not lethargic, she’s drinking an
Thank you for submitting your question regarding Delta. I would recommend talking with her veterinarian today if they are open. They may need to see her, but other times you can just drop off a fecal sample. Stress can cause a bacterial imbalance in the gut. This can perpetuate the diarrhea. Parasites are also unfortunately common in pups. You do not want to miss something that may have been coincidental with the grooming. I would recommend feeding her smaller more frequent meals in the meantime as this. will be easier on her gut. You can also add a reputable probiotic such as Fortiflora or Proviable. This will repopulate her gut with good bacteria. I hope this information helps!
Updated on September 24th, 2025
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