Sensitive to loud noises

[mwiacek10]

Not sure how to handle this. It appears that Gunny is sensitive to loud noises and I'd like to check if I'm handling it correctly. First noticed the issue while at a family birthday party one of the kids broke a balloon close to him. He left the garage, went to play with my sister's dog. When it was time to go I couldn't get him back to the garage. Finally, I lifted the tail gate the my SUV and he immediately jumped in. I assume it was because of the noise. Then, a while back the smoke alarm went off (from cooking) in the house, he rad around with his head hung low and went to the back door, so I let him out. Again, I couldn't get him back into the house. This is when it dawned on me the issue was with the noise - his recall isn't 100%, but still very good when I call him to come in. Last night, again the smoke alarm went off (you'd think I would of learned to turn the fan on by now), he ran around and went to the back door again... this time I did't let him out. I gave him treats and tried to calm him down. My thought process was to make less of a deal about the noise. Am I correct with this method? Any suggestions on what I should be doing?

[ZAYDA]

I am sure someone has the correct method but if I had to decide how to handle my dog @ age 2 years old I would not give him treats or affection once he gets in his frightened stage although I understand your intentions.

I would get him very interested in a piece of leftover food like steak or hamburger then I would just let the detector go off for a second and keep saying good boy while he eats his treats.I would do this in a room where it might be that loud and I would let it run a bit longer still keeping him focused on a really good treat.

keep it going in the hopes he will not be bothered by the noise and hey quit burning dinner ok. lol

[AbbyK9]

Looking at the two situations from a dog's point of view, it's easy to see how those may be frightening. Here he is, minding his own business, and all of a sudden, there's a very loud, startling noise he has probably never heard before in his life. He doesn't know what this sound is or how to place it.

I would definitely not make a fuss about him when he is frightened by a loud noise. This is very much like not making a fuss during a thunderstorm or during fireworks where many people will try to calm their dogs by telling them "it's okay" and giving them treats - which is reinforcing the fearful behavior, not dealing with it. The dog learns that being frightened is the correct response.

I would approach this similar to how I approach training dogs around gun fire. I start with a toy that is very high in value, like a favorite tug. Or, for dogs that aren't interested in toys, high-value treats. (Peanut butter did it for my German Shepherd.) I use a noise I can replicate and start far from it, playing (or treating) the dog and move closer as time goes on, trying to build a positive association with the noise. Noise = play (or food).

If you can set off your detectors individually, start furthest from it while playing with your dog (have someone else set it off) and move on from there.

[mwiacek10]

Excellent advice! Thank you so much. We will start working on this.

[LoveEcho]

Originally Posted by AbbyK9

I would approach this similar to how I approach training dogs around gun fire. I start with a toy that is very high in value, like a favorite tug. Or, for dogs that aren't interested in toys, high-value treats. (Peanut butter did it for my German Shepherd.) I use a noise I can replicate and start far from it, playing (or treating) the dog and move closer as time goes on, trying to build a positive association with the noise. Noise = play (or food).

If you can set off your detectors individually, start furthest from it while playing with your dog (have someone else set it off) and move on from there.

This is really great advice. Echo used to LOVE being around my husband when he was using power tools of any kind (I'm talking chainsaws, log splitters, etc). He would always be put in a "down" a safe distance away, and he'd just sit there and watch... never bothered him. He would even chase my husband around trying to bite the weed whacker (obviously he was kept inside, after this one...). One day, he was on his "place" mat while my husband was cutting down a rotting tree in the yard, and it made a horrendously loud crack...scared the poop out of the dog. After that-- he'd bolt whenever he heard any power equipment. So I'd take him out on leash, start playing with him with the squeaky duck, and essentially force him to stand there and distract him while hubby ran all kinds of tools. It took a little while...but he loves that **** duck too much to care about the chain saws Desensitization is a great route to go, if you can find a way to make the experience positive. Dogs get funny about this stuff-- something random will totally scare the crap out of them one day, and they're fine the next, and then they're not...and so on. Just be consistent yourself, and they'll pick up on it.

[mwiacek10]

Thank you all so much. This is the type of feedback I was looking for.