It's thundering right now in Pittsburgh an Taz does not like it , the poor little guy is shaking.  Any advice would be appreciated.

Thunderstorm anxiety is a tough one.  What I've always done is take my puppies out on the patio during every rain shower or thunderstorm.  The younger the better.  I put them on my lap and we play with a favorite toy.  If there is a crack of thunder, I just act like nothing happened and play even harder with the pup.  This desensitizes the animal to it.  Zipper was a stray and was on her own before 6 mos. of age.  Consequently she isn't afraid of thunderstorms at all.  Button isn't either as I did the patio games desensitizing with her.  This method has worked with every one of my 7 dogs over the years. 

Hopefully the fear isn't so bad yet you can try my method and see if it works.  If you don't see any improvement in a few weeks of associating favorite toy playing with thunderstorms, you'll want to ask your vet for further advice.  You may even want to talk to a dog behaviorist for suggestions.

Provide a safe place for him and encourage, but don't force your dog to go there. Since most dogs with thunderstorm phobia will look for tight quarters, a little igloo doghouse (NOT OUTSIDE) can make him feel like he's in dark cave.  I don't advise using a crate for dogs afraid of thunder... dogs with severe thunderstorm phobia can hurt themselves trying to escape.

De-sensitization is a method used to introduce your dog to his fear of "thunder". A CD of a thunderstorm is played at a low volume, then the volume is increased over time. (Keep in mind that this does not always work for severe cases of thunderstorm phobia). Try to distract your dog and take his mind of of his thunder phobia by playing with his favorite toy. If that doesn't work (many dogs won't acknowledge a toy or even food when a storm is going on)... just use positive reinforcement and associate good things...stay calm and relaxed and reassure him that "it's o.k."

Of course, thunder phobia is something that your dog cannot control. A dog afraid of thunder requires plenty of patience and love on behalf of the owner, (something that dogs give to us humans unconditionally on a daily basis!).

Max hates thunder.   He can hear it long before  we can. 

  WOW!   I'm sure Max would do the same thing .  He might do that if left in a crate without the thunderstorm. Mom can comfort him a bit but he usually just shakes and pants alot.   Sometimes we wonder about his heart.

I was flipping channels the other day with Mimzy in my lap and happened upon a tv movie that had thunder/rain in the background.  Mims took off to the bathroom, between the toilet and the tub.!  She didn't know the difference between real and Memorex!  She definately HATES thunder storms.