Tuktuk and the Thunderstorm Season

Tuktuk is only four months old, and he is already a fearless little Pomeranian in his own mind. Then the first big rain of the season rolled over Sukhumvit, and he went from barking at the air conditioner to hiding behind the washing machine. Thunder, fireworks, even a motorbike backfiring on our soi were enough to send him trembling. I was worried, and I will admit I spent that first stormy night on the bathroom floor with him, reading everything I could find online.

What helped most was boring routine. We kept the curtains closed in the afternoons, turned on the fan for background noise, and gave him a chew toy he only gets during storms. I also stopped making a fuss when he was scared, because that only told him there was something to worry about. Instead I sat calmly on the floor and let him come to me. Slowly he started to notice that the loud bangs came and went.

Now when the fireworks go off during the New Year countdown, he just looks up, sighs, and goes back to sleep on my feet.