A woman who taught her dog to enjoy thunder rather than be afraid of it has been showered with praise as her pup's reaction to a storm went viral.
Taylor Eubanks, 30, lives in Texas with her 4-year-old border collie Nova, and was determined from the start that Nova wouldn't live with the same fear her previous dogs had.
In a video shared to her TikTok account @duckn_around on May 3, Nova can be seen relaxing in the living room when suddenly a huge crack of thunder rolls in.
Most dogs would immediately be cowering or hiding, but Nova instead jumped to her feet, picked up a nearby ball, and dropped it by Eubanks to throw for her.
"Since she was a pup, I would always throw Nova a toy immediately after thunder to prevent storm anxiety. Now she loves thunder," Eubanks told Newsweek.
Eubanks captioned the video: "I trained my dog to associate thunder with play rather than fear. She understood the assignment."
Speaking to Newsweek, Eubanks, who is an occupational therapist, explained she had "many dogs in the past that were terrified of storms and you just feel so bad for them".
As a puppy, Nova had "zero fear of storms," and as "storm anxiety gets worse as dogs age, I decided to get ahead of the problem and do something to prevent it."
"I had the idea to associate the sound of thunder with something positive. Since fetch is Nova's favorite thing in the world, this was an easy choice," she said.
From the moment Eubanks picked up Nova as an 8-week-old puppy, "every time I would hear a clap of thunder, I would act really excited and play fetch with Nova."
Regardless of whether she was in the middle of a task or had company over, Eubanks committed to the training, and it worked.
"The louder the thunder, the faster she will bring me toys," Eubanks said, adding it was "quite funny" and a huge difference to her previous dogs.
"She will even run out the doggy door in the pouring rain because to her, storms equal play," she said. "Not sure if that one is an advantage, but I'll take it!"
The American Kennel Club (AKC) suggests that the reason dogs tend to have such a visceral reaction to thunderstorms stems from multiple reasons, including their powerful hearing being sensitive to loud sounds. They are also sensitive to changes in air pressure, and potentially static electricity—things that go unnoticed by humans.
It is also instinctual to fear loud noises and want to seek shelter, the AKC adds. It urges pet owners to give dogs a safe space to hide during thunderstorms, as well as putting on background noise to reduce stimulation, and to soothe them with toys and treats.
Hundreds of TikTok users took to the comment section of Eubanks' video, which has over 89,000 likes, where one wrote: "That's such a great idea! Thank you for sharing!"
"This is actually genius! How awesome," another wrote, while one recalled: "During puppyhood I took mine outside to dance in the rain every storm. Now every time it rains he begs to go outside and play in the mud."
Countless people asked straight out: "How did you do it?"
Eubanks told Newsweek that while she is "no professional dog trainer," she has always had an interest in the subject, and noted it is "much easier to prevent a fear than to do it, so that's why it's best to start this type of training before the fear been develops".
However she urged any dog owners whose furry friends are afraid of storms to give it a try, whether with play, treats or praise.
She finished: "I hope others will try the same method with their dogs.
"It feels good knowing mine doesn't have to worry about storms, even if that entails her waking me up on a stormy night with a slobbery ball!"
Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? Send them to life@newsweek.com with some details about your best friend and they could appear in our Pet of the Week lineup.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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