During stormy months it is not uncommon to hear the sound of a scared dog wailing just before or after loud thunderclaps.
Ask ten dog owners and at least seven of them will have has some experience with a dog afraid of thunder and lightning.
The good thing is that even if you have a dog that is frightened by loud noises, there are ways to get help! This article will give you four easy steps for turning a scared dog into a brave dog during thunderstorms, electrical storms, fireworks, gunshots, and sirens.

1. Do some digging into your dog's history and find out if there is any reason why he or she is afraid.
   This might be hard if your dog is from the pound, but try to get as much information as possible, even if it isn't very nice.
   Unfortunately there are some dog owners who have not been nice to their puppies, and these dogs have been beaten or yelled at so much that they associate the environmental noises of thunder to the sound of someone yelling at them.
   If this is the case then do not worry because you can still follow the rest of the steps to help your dog, just remember to treat it with kid gloves during this time.
   
2. Next is to find or create a safe place in the house for your dog to relax.
   A dog frightened by thunderstorms and other loud noises might already have a place where they like to hide like, under the seat in a car or under a desk.
   Find this place or create one and put a static free blanket and a chew toy in there.
   This will help to reinforce that it is safe and will calm your dog down considerably.
   
3. The third step involves showing your dog that there is nothing to be afraid of.
   A dog frightened by environmental noises is a dog who does not understand them.
   Maybe it has lived in an area that rarely gets storms or maybe it is young, but most dogs of all ages have problems with loud noises because they do not understand them.
   Your dog will generally start to get upset or scared before the storm and it is at this point when you should take your pooch for a quick walk outside even if it is just in your front yard.
   Act as calm and normal as you always do even if he or she gets upset.
   You can do this for as little as sixty seconds the first few times and then gradually build up until your dog realizes that there is not anything to be afraid of.
   
4. Positive reinforcement is step four, and a lot of people think that this works better than step one.
   During a thunderstorm or fireworks give your dog a treat every time that there is a loud sound.
   Pet your dog but do not baby it because it will think that there is something to be afraid of, and this will make the fear higher.
   Like taking the dog outside, step four will result in a dog who does not find anything scary from a thunderstorm; your dog might even come to enjoy them.
   

And there you have it: four steps to helping a dog afraid of thunder into a dog who doesn't mind them.
These tips can also help if you have a dog scared of gunshots or sirens.
Please note, a dog that is scared can easily turn into an angry dog and even a violent dog, so be careful if you can see that your dog is displaying dominant anger signs.
Your dog may love you, but it may not hesitate to attack if it thinks you are endangering it.