Christine Hibbard, CTC, CPDT-KA
If your dog suffers from noise phobia, you know that it is a serious condition. Dogs don’t just “get over” noise phobia with time and enough exposure. In fact, we have documented cases where dogs got continually worse over time and even began generalizing their fear to other stimuli. An example of this is a dog who is afraid of fireworks that over time, becomes afraid of the backyard. If your dog is suffering, there are things you can do to keep your dog safe and even help them feel better.
Desensitization and Counter Conditioning
Begin by purchasing/downloading recordings of sounds. You can purchase a fairly comprehensive set of sounds via iTunes (buses, trucks, honking horns, construction sounds, etc). Legacy Canine sells a CD that comes highly recommended.
Begin playing the sounds so softly that your dog does not react. If your reacts, you’re playing the sounds too loud. You can leave the sounds playing for as long as you like. After a week or two of slowly increasing the volume (one click up in volume every few days). You can begin pairing the sounds with high value food. Keep these food sessions short, two minutes or less. Noise = Click/Treat. Ironically, most noise phobic dogs are not afraid of clickers but if your dog is, use a marker word like “click” or “yes”.
Management
Set up a place in your home that provides the best insulation from noise. Set up a system that allows you to play classical music (Bach and Mozart are best), use a white noise generator or TV.
Stuff Kongs with canned food or other high value foods like chicken, string cheese, hot dog bits, etc. Have your dog’s favorite chewable on hand: smoked bones, deer antlers, himalayan chews and bully sticks all work well.
Medication
According to Karen Overall, VMD, PhD, ACVB, “pharmacological intervention has been more successful in controlling a phobic response to noise than has flooding or desensitization.” Make an appointment with your veterinarian to determine whether he/she thinks medication might be helpful for you dog. NOTE: She also notes in her book Behavioral Medicine for Small Animals: “Acepromazine is not recommended for treating aggression or for home use in tranquilizing anxious, agitated or aggressive dogs. It provides chemical restraint and is not an anxiolytic. Acepromazine can also increase reactivity to sound and so may be particularly inappropriate for anxiety induced by sounds such as thunder, fireworks, large diesel engines, etc. Benzodiazepines are considered safer for reducing situational anxiety.”
Other Ideas
The company that makes the Thundershirt claims that their product helps 85% of dogs with noise sensitivity/phobia and since they offer a money back guarantee, it’s worth trying. Melatonin is mentioned in various articles about noise phobia written by veterinarians. Ask your veterinarian about dosages.
WARNING: Do not leave your dog outside, attended or otherwise. When your dog panics, he is pumped full of adrenaline, which gives him super doggy strength. Owners report that their dogs dug under the fence, chewed through the fence or jumped over the fence. Noise phobia is traumatic enough without having to pick your dog up from Animal Control or worse, search for your lost dog.
To learn more about noise phobia, see our previous article on Surviving the 4th of July. If you’d like this information in handout form, contact us at info@companionanimalsolutions.com.
I heard great things about the Thundershirt. It seems that DAP can also help. The medication makes sense to me in very phobic dogs. Chemically changing the way the feel would allow them to accept the noise easier.
Another great article! Thanks for doing the research and spreading the word!
This is great info with the 4th of July this weekend. Great ideas. Some dogs really suffer and it is serious.
Thanks for getting the word out!
I really hope more research will be done on this problem of phobic dogs; watching my little girl suffer and not being able to do anything for her seems so unfair to her. I wish I could take it from her; I would do anything.
My 13YO Brittany Spaniel started displaying a fear of thunder 3 years ago and it has worsened significantly. She trembles uncontrollably, wanders and paces, and pants very loudly and heavily – I actually fear that she will have a heart attack if she isn’t able to calm even a little. Recently she has connected night and bedtime with the fear (as there have been a couple of overnight storms that frightened her out of sleep), the sound of trucks freaks her out now too (and we live on a highway – so every five minutes she lifts her head in startled alert), and even sprinkling rain causes her anticipatory distress. We’ve tried the Thundershirt to no avail. Treats and playful distraction doesn’t work. Soothing and comforting seems to make her more anxious. The only thing that seems to work just slightly is a humming motor noise like a fan or A/C – and it has to be relatively loud. I just spent a sleepless night with her out in our brightly lit garage with fans running. She is finally slipping into a bit of sleep after a fourteen hour panic attack. I’m at my wits end. I’ve got an appointment with her vet in a week and he will also be calling with possible “in the mean-time” advise to help her. We are expecting rain and a few more storms over the next four days and I am terrified just knowing this is a small lull in her current horror. I am so scared that nothing will be able to help her and she will get worse and worse. This is no way for her to live. I beg the powers that be for some kind of help…anything! If anyone out there has any thoughts or advise, please comment and please wish us luck.