A German shepherd has been taking shelter in an unusual space during storms and other noisy occasions inside and outside the house.
Jen Brown, from Delaware, posted a video to TikTok under the handle Gunner_and_winter, revealing that her white German shepherd Winter "always wants to hide" inside her dryer.
"This is her new spot," Brown wrote alongside the clip. "Any time it storms, she sits by the dryer and whines until we open it."
Brown told Newsweek Winter first began hiding in the dryer last month around the annual July 4 celebrations. "Our neighbors were setting off fireworks and we were doing laundry. She was pacing the house, following us everywhere… and as we opened the dryer to take the clothes out, she hopped right in," she said.
"Ever since then, when it storms really bad or she gets scared she 'asks' for us to open the dryer. She used to hide in her crate or the bathtub because she likes to be enclosed to feel safe, but I guess the dryer is even smaller so she feels safe."
Winter isn't alone in experiencing anxiety when it comes to loud noises like fireworks.
In fact, dogs are largely an anxious bunch. In 2020, a survey of some 13,700 dogs, including 14 breeds and several mixed breeds, which was published in the scientific journal Nature, found that around 72.5 percent exhibited at least one form of anxiety.
Noise sensitivity was the most frequently identified with 32 percent of dog owners polled stating that their four-legged companions experienced issues of this kind.
It's good then that Winter has found an easily accessible way to help allay those fears. It's a solution that has been given the thumbs up by her followers on TikTok.
"She is absolutely adorable in her safe den," one wrote with another commenting: "it's warm and comfortable." A third viewer did spot one slight issue with the video - Winter sitting on the clothes inside.
"That's too cute. but the clothes need to be washed again," they wrote.
Brown has been keen to stress that the necessary precautions are always taken to ensure Winter never ends up locked inside the dryer.
"We don't ever leave her in there unsupervised," she said. "She typically just stays in there for a few minutes, we laugh about it, and then we call her out ."
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