Shake it, baby! Tips to keep your pet safe in an earthquake
By Kim Campbell Thornton
July 8, 2010
We’ve had a few earthquakes here in Southern California lately: shakers, temblors, one of the gods making a soccer goal, whatever you want to call it.
Despite the common belief that animals can predict earthquakes, I have found over the years that for the most part mine just sleep through them, and that’s usually what I hear from my friends about their pets, too.
When we had one yesterday, though, Twyla looked up, a little concerned. When it got stronger, she stood up and trotted purposefully off to her crate. I’ve always said she’s the smartest of the bunch.
That got me thinking. I’m never sure what I should have them do when an earthquake starts. Should I call them to come? Leave them where they are? (Yes, if they’re under my desk.) Maybe I should teach them to go to a crate.
Bella and Twyla already know “Crate!” Twyla, good girl that she is, has internalized the command, but Bella is really too old and deaf to respond to it anymore. Some bad owner spoiled Harper and never insisted that she learn it, but she does know “Sofa!”
It’s a start. We’ll have to practice.
If you haven’t taught your dogs (or cats) to run to a crate on command, here’s how we did it.
Call your pet to come. (He does know that one, right?) To teach the cats, we whistled a particular tune every time we fed them. They learned very quickly to come to it. The same technique works for dogs, too, even some sighthounds. If your pet isn’t food-motivated, try using a favorite toy.
Lure him into the crate with a treat, saying “Crate!” in a happy tone of voice. Once he’s inside, give another treat, saying “Good crate!” and close the door. Start by leaving him there for just a few minutes, then gradually increase the length of time he stays in it. It can also be applied to other places you might want your pet to go: “Car,” “Bed” or “Desk,” for instance.
In my experience, this doesn’t take long at all to teach. Our dogs got to where they were anxious for us to leave the house or get ready for bed because they knew they would get a treat. All we had to do was yell “Crate” and there would be a general stampede as they all raced to be the first inside.
The “Come” and “Crate” commands can protect your pets during other natural disasters, too. How many people leave cats or dogs behind in the event of a hurricane or fire because they can’t find them? Teaching a pet to come instantly when you call or whistle ensures that you can find him when disaster comes knocking at your door.
Images by Kim. Top: Twyla. Bottom: Larry Bird and on top of one of the crates, with Twyla safe inside.
This story made me laugh—I was at work yesterday in OC when the quake hit, my two dogs both happened to be at work with me and were snoozing on the couch. They did not so much as stir while the quake was happening, what finally got them to lift their heads was all the commotion from my coworkers post-quake… And we thought they “predicted” these things… Erm, not so much in our pack!
Good call on using the crate command. It seems the majority of quakes are nighttime/early AM, so in our case the dogs should likely already be contained. Regardless, a solid “crate!” command is surely an invaluable tool.
Comment by Liz — July 8, 2010 @ 10:33 am
I’m in Orange County and felt the earthquake. My guy Bryan, a 9 year old Siberian Husky, came running into the house with his tail tucked and sat on my feet during the quake. He then decided it was safer to hide under the desk in the den. He wouldn’t come out for a good 15-20 minutes. The big quake on Easter had him hiding in my closet for a couple of hours. Poor guy, he also hid in my closet on the 4th of July. He didn’t care much for the fireworks going off at the lake a couple of miles from the house. I’m definitely going through my earthquake supplies this weekend as we seem to be having several of these shakers lately.
Comment by Renee — July 8, 2010 @ 6:19 pm
Great intentions, but not really practical. Either the quake will be so mild that putting the dog into a crate is not really necessary. If it is really a serious one, this is impossible unless both the dog and the crate are already within arms reach. I have been through two big, serious quakes. In each case we were unable to even remotely stand up, let alone find our way to a doorframe and certainly not to take a dog to a crate while TV sets were flying over our heads, cabinets bursting open and all contents hurtled across the room. The real thing is not a walk-through. Our dogs raced for the back door but stopped in the hallway, the only place without flying projectiles.
Comment by Gwen Lebec — July 9, 2010 @ 1:25 pm
Gwen, I would disagree. Even mild temblor — by California standards — can knock things off walls and shelves, and your dog is probably safer in a crate.
A really big one … yeah, all bets are off.
Sign me,
California native
By the way … speaking of things coming off shelves. While I prefer to recommend people put things they really like in displays with doors — so cats won’t knock them off shelves — I also recommend a product called QuakeHold, generically known as “museum putty.” It affixes items to shelves without damage to either.
Comment by Gina Spadafori — July 9, 2010 @ 3:24 pm
The biggest quake we’ve been in was a 6.7. With that one and the other “mid-range” quakes my main concern, as Gina notes, was that things would fly off shelves or fall over. For those, I’d be happiest if the dogs were under or inside something sturdy, and it never hurts to have them be in the habit of going there instantly on command. Re Quakehold, yes, that stuff is great.
Comment by Kim Thornton — July 9, 2010 @ 3:47 pm
There are a lot of different scenarios that come into play depending on how big the quake is, how close you are to it, and how far the dog is from the crate. At 6.5 things definitely start flying around; but if the dog has to run across the house off a command it may be better to let it’s own instincts find a safe harbor immediately. At 7.5 or greater (I’ve been in 7.9) you can’t stand or run and you need to take care of YOU at that moment in time! Everything that possibly can will be flying around in every direction (up,down and sideways)at the same time. So I don’t think there’s one “right” way to keep your dogs safe. As soon as it starts shaking, you know right away if the quake is small, medium or “the big one.”
Comment by 2ittybittykitties — July 9, 2010 @ 5:41 pm
What if your dog is in a crate and something falls on top of it? My extra-large wire crates wouldn’t hold up (and neither would any crate, I’m sure) to having big objects fall on it, and if it’s damaged it could be difficult or impossible to open. The prospect of a big earthquake (and foxtails, and the bad economy) make California a place I’m unsure about moving to, although the weather and the culture appeal to me a great deal.
Comment by KateH — July 10, 2010 @ 7:51 am
The hard plastic crates are very sturdy. Years ago, I was working on the copy desk at the Sacramento Bee when my friend Morgan, one of the photo editors, brought me a picture off the wires.
A jet crash in Kenner, La., had killed almost everyone aboard. One of the survivors was a black Labrador puppy, shown in the picture smooching the rescue worker. He had survived the crash in the cargo hold, protected by his crate.
That picture made a big impression on me with regard to the use of crates, let me tell you.
Comment by Gina Spadafori — July 10, 2010 @ 8:09 am
Gina, no doubt that the crate is very sturdy. But to say the dog survived because of it is like saying the baby they found still strapped to a single seat in the midst of a plane crash was because of the seat belt. It was a fluke (a miracle?)and probably won’t happen again too many times.
The point I’m trying to make is that when an earthquake happens, and it’s strong enough, everything INSTANTLY starts flying around. It’s best to let the dogs and cats wherever they may be at that moment in time seek their own shelter under something close by. If it’s the crate, great. If not, they’ll find shelter. I wouldn’t give a dog a command to go into a crate unless it was right next to it. Dogs are smarter than that :)
Comment by 2ittybittykitties — July 15, 2010 @ 1:23 pm