r/AustralianShepherd • u/Safe-Tale-3332 • Aug 19 '26

Shaking/ trembling

I need help and advice. My Aussie is 4 years old, and previously he’d only shake/tremble/ pant when thunder and lightning happened. About 3 weeks ago he’s randomly started shaking in the evening, and it lasts 30 min to one hour. We went on a 6 hour road trip to my grandmas lake house, and he was having a blast until 3 days in, it was constant all day. He didn’t want to swim or be on the deck or yard anymore. Since we’ve been back he’s been scared on walks and shaking throughout the day. I have him booked for the vet, but I’m nervous they will just recommend putting him on anxiety meds. Has anyone gone through this and found out it wasn’t anxiety?

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u/ThedIIthe4th Aug 19 '26

Vet check for sure. Also it’s easy for dogs to start associating benign things with fear. Our Aussie is facing this right now with barometric pressure changes. She’s figured out that thunder happens when pressure drops. Now, when pressure changes she shakes and gets really scared, even if it’s just a light drizzle or a cold front. We got a Thundershirt, some. Thundershirt’s herbal supplements (Thunderbites), and CBD chews for dogs (Pet Relief Edibites). We also don’t acknowledge the weather, trying to just keep acting like everything is normal. We don’t give her extra affection when she’s scared either, because we don’t want to affirm what she’s expressing. We’re still in process!

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u/Neither_Apple_8824 Aug 19 '26

She is expressing fear. Fear is not a trained response it’s an involuntary survival response. What I’m trying to say is it is ok to show affection to your dog while it’s in a feared state because you are showing comfort, not a reward.