Hi everyone! Welcome to my blog. I’m really glad that you are here because I have lots of news this week.

Before I share my news I want to say a big thanks to everyone who has liked my Facebook and Twitter page. You are helping me to raise awareness for dog anxiety issues. If we aren’t connected, don’t worry, you can find me here on Facebook and Twitter :)

My week has been really fun. Dad and Cortney took me on a boat trip and it was awesome! We did some fishing and I swam in the sea with my life vest. When it comes to sports and water, I’m very brave and love to get involved. Whatever dad is doing, I want to do!

If you’ve been following my story, you’ll know that thunder scares me a lot. My anxiety might have cost me my role as a seeing eye dog, but it doesn’t stop me from helping others. Last week I blogged about my visits to the hospital as a pet therapist and showed everyone the cool badge they made me. Cortney takes me to the hospital once a week to help people who have issues with anxiety, like me. It’s one of my favorite things to do :)

I’d like to share some advice that’d helped me through times of anxiety. Did you know that pets feel safe when in an enclosed space? We are sensitive to barometric pressure and can sense a storm coming before you do. That’s why we get anxious and act funny when a storm is on the way.

Before a storm, we might chew things, run away or cry. Making a fuss and telling us that it’s ok can make us even more anxious. The best thing to do is create a safe place for us to hide in when the storm comes. Place a blanket and a chewy toy in the area so we feel secure.

Dad, being an engineer, built a special crate for me that I can hide in when the thunder starts. I love it so much that I go in there even when there’s no thunder. At night it’s a really cool place to sleep! It plays calming music, which is proven to reduce dog anxiety. I sometimes annoy dad with the music at 3am, so he built a volume control to turn it down at night. He turns up the volume again before leaves the house, in case there’s a storm and I need to hide out in my ZenCrate.

I’m really excited this week as I found out I’m going to star in the feature video for my favorite place in the whole world! It’ll be a cartoon version of me, with my story of how I flunked Guide Dog for the Blind school because of anxiety. As soon as it’s ready, I’ll share it on my blog.

Dad will be using it to launch a Kickstarter campaign for the ZenCrate. We are going to help other dogs with anxiety issues, such as fear of fireworks, thunderstorms or separation anxiety. What’s your pet’s biggest fear? I’d love to know what my fellow furry friends are afraid of and how they deal with it. If you have any tips or stories to share, please comment below.

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Charger

Hi, I'’m Charger the guide dog! I live in Florida with my dad Jonathan. It'’s really cool living here, with lots of stuff to do outdoors like sailing and swimming. Dad takes me everywhere he goes and we'’d like to share our adventures with you through my blog.

There'’s something I should come clean on. I’m not really a guide dog. My fear of thunderstorms got in the way of my big dream. When I was a puppy, dad raised me as a dog for the blind. Labradors like me make great guides :) Dad and I spent a wonderful 15 months together. When it was time for me to move on, I passed my training with wagging tails.

Off I went to NYC to be trained on a hard harness. I rocked at this! Another 15 months in NYC and I was starting to look like a fully fledged guide dog! One week before my graduation, disaster struck - there was a huge scary thunderstorm with loud noise and flashing lights. I got really scared and hid under the bed until it was all over. This never happened when I was back with dad so I was given a second chance.

For the next week, I worked extra hard to impress my trainer. Then, out of the blue, another thunderstorm. I couldn’t help but hide until it finished. It was really scary. Things were looking bad for me. Scaredy dogs can’t guide the blind - a guide dog has to be calm in all situations.

So much time was invested into my training that my trainers didn'’t give up on me too easily. It was after the third thunderstorm that they realized I’'d never graduate as a guide dog for the blind. Dad was given the opportunity to adopt me permanently and Florida became my home.

Even though I was back with dad, happily going on a new adventure each week, my doggy anxiety and fear of thunder stayed. Dad tried lots of things to help me. He tried rubbing essential oils between my eyes and on my forehead, I got a Thundershirt, we played music...…nothing helped. Drugs were not an option for us.

Dad being an engineer, he decided to design a special crate for me. It’'s my favorite place to hide when the storm comes out :)

Do you have a dog with anxiety at home? I'’d love to hear from you. Even if I can't be a guide dog for the blind, I'd love to help other dogs with anxiety. Dog anxiety is a real problem and together we can beat it. Please leave a comment below sharing your experiences.

Charger