Dog Scared

Some dogs are nervous or even frightened of loud noises like thunder, fireworks and storms. At some point in their life they have learned this behaviour. Perhaps the behaviour was learnt at home after your dog experienced a particularly stressful noisy event. Some dogs learn fear from other dogs. For example, at a boarding kennel your dog hears other dogs barking in fear during a storm. Your dog has reason to believe that the storm is bad and barks too. Your dog arrives home and over reacts the next time there is a storm.

If you are not home during these times, your dog may go looking for you for reassurance. At these times you may have your dog jumping or climbing your fence to escape the feared noise.

One of our clients’ dogs would try to break in through their French doors whenever loud noises occurred. This problem was successfully treated using a Radio Collar Dog Fence which was set to activate only near the French doors. Some desensitisation was also prescribed as part of the training. The customer was most pleased with the results as the doors were costing about $700 a time to repair!

Treatment

There are a few ways to help your dog overcome scared or nervous behaviour:

• Identify what your dog is frightened of and work to desensitize them.
• If you know there is a chance of the noise occurring outside (eg. Storm approaching), keep your dog inside and make a cosy spot for them in a room and block out the potential noise by turning on a radio, fan or TV in that area. If lightning also seems to trigger the behaviour then cover the windows & switch on a internal light.
• Provide your dog with a safe place that they can go to when they are afraid or frightened.
• Take care not to reinforce your dog's fearful behaviour. For example, if your dog sticks close by during a storm, you should act as if this is normal. Do not try reassuring your dog or trying to calm your dog down. The message you would be sending is "You are right, this storm is bad. Come here & I'll protect you."

This will not help reduce your dog's anxiety. Instead, follow the suggestions above.

Desensitization

• Consider seeking the services of a professional dog trainer.
• For most frightening sounds there are training CD's available which are designed to gradually get your dog accustomed to the feared sound. These CD's should be used only when your dog is calm and in a comfortable place. Start playing the CD at a low volume and gradually increase the volume as your dog becomes accustomed to the noise. It will take many training sessions to achieve the results you want. You must be patient, never force your dog.
• If your dog is worried don't tell it off, but don't comfort your dog either, as these may strengthen the abnormal behaviour.