Terrified of loud noises

[sebcat]

We're having an issue with our 6 month old puppy. she was fine with loud noises eg. vacuum, dogs barking, blender etc. then approx. 6-8 weeks ago when we were coming back from a walk she was attacked by our next door neighbour's two dogs who they let run free in the street.

while she came away with very few injuries since then she seems terrified of any loud sounds. when she hears next door's dogs fighting she'll run to you and attempt to climb up you (although she's still fine when a dog comes up and sniffs her on walks). when we turn on the vacuum she'll cower in the corner of the kitchen or living room and shake in terror, on a few occasions she's been so scared that she's peed herself, and she'll continue shaking for a good 10 minutes afterwards.

I get why she's scared of the sound of dogs fighting but being scared of the vacuum, electric whisk, blender etc. is just getting too difficult to deal with. there isn't always somebody there that she can sit next to for reassurance and we don't want her to turn into a dog that is easily scared. we tried putting her in her crate while we used them so she could get used to the noise and understand it won't hurt her but that didn't work. we even tried putting her out in the garden when we used them but she can still hear them and will hide at the end of the garden and not come in for a while.

any advice on how to get her over her fear would be much appreciated. thanks.

 

[goldenbear2013]

That's horrible she was attacked! Did you speak to the owner?

One negative event can undo all your hard work instantly and it is heart breaking to see them so scared.

When you are going to do the hovering or whatever it is your about to do, give her something that is going to take at least 5 minutes to work her way through.

A stuffed kong for example. Pop her in her crate with the tasty treat and lock the crate door, and she will be super excited about it! turn on the vacuum or whatever loud appliance it is for a couple of seconds and then turn it off. if she doesn't react or doesn't react very much and continues with her stuffed kong or chew or whatever it is she has then praise her in a really happy voice!!! no need to open the crate and pet her the words should be enough.

do this again for a few seconds more and repeat and then gradually build this up with all the things that scare her. only do this a couple of times per day and go from there.

for the time being I would probably say get a family member to give her a quick walk round the block whilst you are hovering or whatever whilst you build this up again.

Any negative behavior she has or if she is scared should try to be ignored, not entirely ignored but no fussing, or picking her up, as otherwise you are just reinforcing that it is ok for her to be scared.

It will take time, but if you slowly incorporate the negative with something positive for her, she should start to get used to the sounds again.

I wish you the best of luck!

Sophie x

 

[eingana]

Oh poor baby, that must have been so scary for her.

I don't think that you have much choice but to start exposing her to the things that scare her in a reprogramming way, to gradually teach her that these things aren't what she needs to be afraid of.

Start off rewarding her for being calm around the vacuum cleaner when it's stationary and not turned on, then for when it's wheeled past her, then for when she's calm in another room while it's turned on etc etc, as Sophie says. She's still really young and it's easy to understand why she's reacting in this way, but there's lots that you can do to reassure her that these things aren't going to hurt her.

Another thing to consider is that you are careful not to perpetuate this by showing your anxiety when she gets scared or by giving her extra fuss as reassurance. This is something that tends to happen around bonfire night, with owners unwittingly making things worse by fussing around their animals that are scared of fireworks. These noises are normal background everyday noises so the important thing is that you teach her coping skills, like going into another room, or paying attention to a toy, and carry on just as normal because if you're acting differently then this reaffirms for her that she is right to be upset by them.

I know that this makes me sound really hard hearted, but the sooner that she starts to see that it's OK to move away from these things, but they aren't anything out of the ordinary, the quicker she will start to build them into a new sort of normal in her head. As soon as I go to the cupboard and get the vacuum cleaner out in our house Molly asks to go upstairs, where she will lie perfectly happily on her bed with whatever cats are around, in order to not flap downstairs while it's turned on. As far as I'm concerned that's a totally valid coping skill. In fact, her being elsewhere makes it easier to lift her bed and clean under it, so that's me happy and my dog not stressed

Good luck

 

[gypsysmum]

This sounds like quite a serious case and I would advise you seek the help of a qualified Pet Behaviour Therapist from either COAPE or the APBC.