When it comes to dogs a lot of people "baby" their dogs or pets. If you try to show affection to your dog when she is stressed, anxious, nervous, etc. then that will only encourage that behaviour in the future. And a lot of people do this, they comfort their dog like it is a human being. It is not human but a pack animal that will take direction from the pack leader.

Dogs are pack animals and when you baby your dog you make your dog think that she is the boss. This is where a lot of problems happen when your dog "owns" your apartment or house. You need to remain calm and assertive when your dog freaks out. Never back down from your dog because she growls at you either. That is one way to show your dog that YOU are the dominant one, and not her.

But if your dog thinks she is the dominant one that too can add to her anxiety, and also make her more possessive and territorial. If your dog understands she is not dominant then she will relax more and may not be likely to get possessive or territorial with strangers who come to your place.

Also, dogs will show signs that they are going to start freaking out. Maybe your dog wimpers first, or maybe it is some other tendency that happens, like you see they way she stares at something. The best thing is to get your dog's attention to make her snap out of that mind set so she doesn't freak out completely. Stop the problem at the first sign. Your dog gets focused on something and you can distract her from that so she won't become fixated or freaked out from it. It is possible to stop this behaviour before it really gets started. But get your dog's attention and hold her attention so she doesn't freak out.

But unfortunately when your dog is afraid of something the best thing you can do is to be there, but don't try to show affection or baby the dog, and be calm and assertive to help keep the dog as calm as possible. Try holding the dog if you must like the dominant dog of the pack might restrain the dog when she starts to freaks out.

Don't let the dog freak out. Be the dominant one who shows strength, this can help your dog. A dog's anxiety isn't different from a human's so distracting the dog can help. Use any distractions that work.

Many problems with dogs can be corrected by the right training for the owner.

But don't ever try to reassure your dog or baby it like it is a human when it is anxious or stressed out. That only encourages that behaviour and makes your dog think that she is the dominant one.

Cesar Millan does this kind of work. He is not a dog trainer but he does rehabilitate troubled dogs. His book is called The Dog Whisperer and I think he has a show on some cable network. But he does have a DVD out on how to deal with these types of bad behavior in your dog.

The other poster made a valid point that something else may have happened during a storm that has your dog associating storms with this problem. The thing is that only helps you understand WHY this freaks your dog out. But, you still have to teach your dog to work through these anxiety-producing situations as best she can.