While I love napping to rejuvenate my spirit, alertness, and physical fatigue, I must confess that I do need a good night’s sleep! I feel incredible after sleeping 8 hours, at least that is what I remember from the last time that happened, I do okay on 7 ½ hours. Recently, I took the dogs out before the thunderstorm came in. I completed my nighttime ritual of prayers, a glass of water, wrangled the dogs into the bedroom to get ready for our sleep, and the windows lit up with the familiar spring thunderstorm heading our way. Each dog has its own personality, likes, wants, and loves in their own way. One of my dogs, Buffalo, was named because the breeder gave instructions to keep the dogs separate for a time. We set up a child gate, which seemed to work well. Still, my new unnamed dog backed up 10 paces, lowered his head, and charged the gate, butting it with his head and knocking it over! He did this a few times and looked like a little buffalo charging the gate, which is how he got his name.
Buffalo had another trick: When an approaching electrical storm was near, Buffalo’s hair would stand up straight and point to the sky! He would go into the tub until the storm passed, and his hair lay down again. We had our own early warning system for storms!
One of my “Thunder Dogs “is petrified of lightning and thunder. She paces back and forth, comes up to me, and nuzzles my arm so I would calm her down, tell her it’s okay, and depending on the storm’s severity, she would go back and lie down quickly, falling asleep. This storm was thunderous, and “Thunder Boomers!” competed to see which would be the loudest. The result was constant pacing, nuzzling, heavy breathing, and the result for me was no sleep! I tried the usual methods to get her to relax. I found her favorite stuffed toy and gave it to her. I gave her a few small treats, petted her, speaking softly: It’s okay, Daddy loves you, lie down…” She was not buying any of it! So we all got up and headed to the family room, where the windows were closed, and helped a bit, reducing the noise of the “Thunder Boomers!” I continued to console her, as the thunderstorm continued to frighten her, the storm was winning! I tried the weighted blanket that is supposed to calm dogs down. There are many products to try to calm them like hemp capsules, essential oils ( My Favorite essential oil is bacon grease! ) A calming vest to war during storms, provide a safe space, white noise or calming music, classical, solfeggio frequencies, nutraceuticals that cost a lot of money and prescriptions medications. I might need one for my dog and one for me!
Thunderstorms don’t last forever, although it seems like an eternity when you are holding and consoling the shaking pup! Eventually, the storm goes away, leaving ozone, making the air smell fresher, and depositing nitrogen to help the plants grow. The thunderstorm reduced my sleep to four hours that night. It’s a good thing I love to nap!
“Remember, every day is a gift! Some are just a little more fun to open than others. – Joel, Author of “The Guinea Pig In The Freezer”. joelmvernier@aol.com © Joel M. Vernier May 17,2025
