My dog, Laddie, who I adopted almost 2 years ago after he was found on the side of the road in Georgia and close to death after being attacked by other animals, is petrified of loud noises - especially thunder and fireworks.  Usually he shakes like crazy - I know you're not supposed to hold them, which is what I had done in the past, because it gives in to making them feel like something is wrong.  The other night I was out at a fireworks show which was not far from where Laddie was and when my boyfriend and I got back to his house we saw that Laddie tried to rip the vent off the wall.  He actually got his teeth marks in the vent and was able to pull the bottom part up.  He's never done anything like this before and it scares me - thank goodness he didn't get hurt.  I don't know if it's the fact that he was staying somewhere that he's only known for a short time so he was actually more scared.  He had also knocked over the gate (I think he tried to jump over it) that keeps him from getting into the living room.  He actually did that the night before in the thunderstorms we were having.  I love him so much and I don't want him to get hurt.  What do I do?  My boyfriend thinks we should crate him when we go out, but I don't know if that's the answer or if he'll be even more scared.  Laddie even gets scared when someone sneezes loud, coughs loud, drops something, etc.  If anyone has any kind of answers, please let me know. 

Thank you so much for your response.  Laddie is 5 (approximately) - I adopted him almost 2 years ago and the vet gave me an approximate age for him.  I will be talking to my vet today as far as this issue goes.  Laddie is the sweetest little guy and I really want him to feel safe and comfortable always.  I did hear, like you said, that I should ignore him when there is a storm or fireworks so that way I'm not making him feel like there is something to be scared of.  I used to comfort and hold him  because he would just shake so much, but I stopped doing that when I heard that was not the thing to do plus I'm not always there when these storms pop up so I shouldn't get him used to it.  I will definitely try the desensitization method and I will also pick up the book "Marley & Me".  I'll keep you posted on how things go and once again I appreciate your input.

If Laddy is crate trained I would certain use that as an option.  Way better to have him safely crated than possibly harming himself and/or your home .

You could also give him some Melatonin or Rescue Remedy.  Both are herbal calmatives available at the health food stores. 

Thank you for your response.    I have a crate, but I never used it because Laddie didn't need it when I adopted him - I let him go wherever he wanted in the apartment and never had a problem.  My thoughts are that he's more comfortable in my apartment than he is at my boyfriend's house because he's not allowed in certain areas over there so there are some gates up.  Maybe he feels trapped even though he has most of the downstairs to roam around.   He never tried to bite through anything at my place when I wasn't there during a storm or fireworks.  I'm sure he was scared because I would see him shake when I was there, but I think he feels safer at my home.  I'm afraid that if I put him in a crate he may try to bite through the metal.