A. Many dogs share Blackie's problem and as you've noticed, this time of the year can be very bad for them. Thanks to El Nino we've started off with a terrible thunderstorm season this year and as the weather gets warmer, the thunderstorms will probably get more numerous and intense. It's not only the dogs. I don't remember being awakened in the middle of the night as frequently by thunderstorms in past years. The mainstay of treatment for thunderstorm anxiety in dogs has always been tranquilizers.
Tranquilizers work well.
However, they do have their drawbacks. They work much better and at lower doses if you can give them on an empty stomach and before your dog hears the thunder begin. This can be difficult. Dogs' hearing is much better than ours. They seem to be able to detect the low frequency rumble of an approaching storm while it is still an hour or more away-much sooner than we are aware of the storm.