# Campbell Co, VA: ATLAS M GSD afraid of storms



## tierbee (Aug 16, 2003)

Can anyone please help this guy? He needs someone to work with him on his fear of storms... his former owners left him out in a hail storm







. Please email Barbe ASAP at [email protected] (@yahoo.com) if you can help. 








Atlas' link:
http://www.humanecampbell.org/animals/detail?AnimalID=1000837

Location: Campbell County Animal Control Facility Rustburg VA 24588 434-821-4416
Name: Atlas URGENT (Campbell County Pound)
Breed: German Shepherd Dog (medium coat)
Sex: Male (neutered)
General Potential Size: X-Large
Current Age: 3 Years (best estimate)
Activity Level: Moderately Active
Indoor or Outdoor: Indoor Only
Good with People: Friendly
Good for Inexperienced Caregivers: No
Good with Cats: No
Good with Kids: No
Housetrained: Yes

Description:
Atlas' family had assured me they would NEVER take Atlas to the county pound, because they just loved him so much. What a horrible shock to see him there on Friday, November 6! Atlas is a dog who needs a very special and understanding new family, if his placement is to be successful. He has some separation anxiety, and is extremely frightened of thunderstorms, to the point that he completely comes unglued. (A dog behaviourist recommended a couple of different kinds of Bach Flower essences which could help him through this., and a desensitization program was recommended to the family as well.) Atlas is housetrained, crate trained, and is very well-behaved in the home. His current family has a smaller dog that he didn't do so well with, but my feeling is that he would be fine with another German Shepherd or larger breed companion. He does appear to have high prey drive, which should come as no surprise to a German Shepherd lover, so should not be in a cat-lover's household unless the new family is prepared to work with a positive-reinforcement dog trainer to condition him to cats. He had no problems making friends with the dog walking volunteer who came in on Friday and appears to be making the adjustment from beloved family pet to "pound dog in danger of euthanasia" fairly well. Apply online. Experienced dog owners only please.


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## maggs30 (Aug 5, 2008)

He is beautiful!


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## bdanise1 (Jan 25, 2008)

Oh is face is so sweet, what a heartbreaker.


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## BowWowMeow (May 7, 2007)

What a gorgeous dog. He will not be an easy adoption with that storm phobia. Counter conditioning is possible but someone needs to be committed to working him through his fear.


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## daniella5574 (May 2, 2007)

What a sweet huggable boy!!


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## CindyM (Mar 20, 2007)

> Originally Posted By: BowWowMeowWhat a gorgeous dog. He will not be an easy adoption with that storm phobia. Counter conditioning is possible but someone needs to be committed to working him through his fear.


Do you know what he does in storms? Two of my dogs are scared of storms - one just hides under the bed and the other one jumps up and sits on the bathroom counter. Neither do anything destructive or anything that will hurt themselves. It does say he comes "unglued" but i wonder what that means.


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## daniella5574 (May 2, 2007)

I'm afraid of storms myself (no joke). My dogs and I all hide out together lol.


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## CindyM (Mar 20, 2007)

maybe we can all chip in and get you some Bach Flower essences for yourself!


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## CindyM (Mar 20, 2007)




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## ebrannan (Aug 14, 2006)

My border collie hides in the bathtub. I guess she has watched too many Weather Channel shows w/ me and knows during severe weather; if you can't get to the basement, get in the bathtub.


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## CindyM (Mar 20, 2007)

bump


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## brt (Sep 16, 2008)

I had a male that was very afraid of storms. He was a kennel dog until he came to me at the age of five. I'm not sure if he'd ever been left out in a storm but seems a good possibility. After he became a house dog I found there was an easy cure for his fear. He felt secure in his crate. After putting him in there a couple times when he became frantic due to an approaching storm he learned to go to in on his own and waited out storms in his little safe place.


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## Myamom (Oct 10, 2005)

Bump!!!!


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## CindyM (Mar 20, 2007)

Bump!


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## CindyM (Mar 20, 2007)

bump


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## CindyM (Mar 20, 2007)

any help? he's marked urgent on the web site


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## tierbee (Aug 16, 2003)

He is now very urgent - if someone can help please contact Barbe ASAP [email protected] . His time is just about up


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## CindyM (Mar 20, 2007)

BUMP!!!


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## windwych (Mar 20, 2007)

Last Hope Safe Haven Inc has funds available for approved rescues wishing to assist this dog. We will pay for pull fees, s/n, vaccinations, 
heartworm testing (a total of up to 100$) and three days of board for a GSD in need. If your rescue has room to take this dog, please contact us for financial assistance and a copy of our application that will enable your rescue to be approved by our BOD for funding. 
Dawn Restuccia, Pres.
Last Hope, Safe Haven Inc.
501c3 non profit charity
Lasthopesafehaven.com


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## CindyM (Mar 20, 2007)

Thank you so much, can anybody help?


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## CindyM (Mar 20, 2007)




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## marksmom3 (Dec 17, 2007)

bump


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## ded37 (Jan 18, 2005)

I received an update this morning that he was pulled before being euthanized yesterday and is in boarding at Happy Tails in Verona, VA. Please contact Angela Brown at [email protected] or 540-430-8223 for more information.

I do not know if this means he still needs rescue, as he is in boarding, not foster care.


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## judith (Nov 18, 2008)

I don't know if this is too late to pass on this info. I have found it has worked wonders for general anxiety and severe storm-based anxiety. 

As we all know, B vitamins are needed to help our body deal with stress. 

This may sound odd, but bear with me. I'm not sure of the technical terms, but when a dog is fed a diet with large amounts of grain, the levels of B vitamins in their systems will drop. I'm not sure if the grains make B vitamin absorption difficult, or how exactly that works... I just know it happends.

I have seen wonders in anxiety levels of dogs who were put on a grain free diet and supplemented with B vitamins. Even if your dog is on a grain free diet, I'd still be supplementing with B vitamins.

As I said before, B vitamins are stress vitamins. They are also water soluble, so your dog can't OD. I have been told that many dogs have severe B-vitamin deficincies and it takes a while to bring their levels back to normal, although I do see a change right away. Here is the reccomended dosage for a dog over 30 lbs.

Week 1 and 2: (1) 50 mg B-vitamin tablet/day

Week 3 and 4: (2) 50 mg B-vitamin tablet/day

If you are still noticing improvements,

Week 5 and 6: (2) 50 mg B-vitamin tablet one day, (3), the next, (2) the next, (3) the next etc.

Then, once you see no more improvements, slowly decrease the amount of B vitamins until you see your dogs anxiety levels increase. That is your threshold. Add a little more B-vitamin until the general anxiety levels decrease.

It often takes months for a dog to get their B-vitamin needs in control, but many dogs, in the end, may only need 25 mg/day. Again, it depends on the dog, some need more, some less. I have seen this work wonders in dogs from general anxiety to severe thunderstorm phobias.

Also, copper-tree.ca has a great line of essences that work really well with anxiety. I haven't had much success with the Bach remedies. 

The "Emergency" essence should be used before your dog gets into a panicky state and the "Calm and Clear" should be used all the time. 

If anyone is interested, there is a number listed on the site. Louise is so knowledgeable about nutrition, natural remedies etc. 

Anyways, hope this isn't too late. Maybe the OP could pass this info along to the foster home.


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## judith (Nov 18, 2008)

bump


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## Hilary (Apr 12, 2005)

Bump!


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## djmcmullan (Jan 28, 2008)

His web page says he has been adopted.


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