Any tips for dogs with separation anxiety and who are scared of thunder?

My dog is scared of thunder and fireworks. He shakes really hard, panting and drooling all over and also rips things apart when it thunders and we aren’t home. He also has separation anxiety. When we leave the house he completely trashes everything. He tears apart molding, carpets- and if outside he tears apart the gardens and our garage. I have given him a pill before from the vet, but it doesn’t really work. When we give it to him, he will become drowsy like he is supposed to, but he randomly has spurts where he gets up and starts tearing things. It’s a pain but it’s also not safe for him because he can fall down the stairs and get hurt when he goes on these ‘spurts of energy’. We also tried crating him, but while we were gone he ripped apart the metal cage and his mouth in the process. It’s getting to the point where it’s really expensive to have him tear our house apart. Any help would be really appreciated!

Airline crate – heavy duty plastic one to house him.

During thunderstorms, IGNORE the behavior. Don’t comfort him or even acknowledge his presence unless he is calm. You might even think about getting a CD with thunderstorm sounds and play it, gradually increasing the volume over time to desensitize the dog to the sounds.

Noise Before & After – Joe

How to ease noise anxiety: thunder, fireworks, sirens and even the vacuum cleaner can cause elevated fear in your dog. Here’s help.(BEHAVIOR): An article from: Dog Watch $9.95 This digital document is an article from Dog Watch, published by Belvoir Media Group, LLC on October 1, 2009. The length of the article is 1157 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.Citation DetailsTitle: How to ease noise anxiety: thunder, fir…