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This was a request in the comments section of one of my posts. I decided to post it in my blog and may have a pod cast come out on this. I decided to make it my blog for easy reference for everyone. This can be painful to watch your dog go through. This fourth of July is the biggest time of year where we see dogs runaway in response to to try and get away from the loud noises. They're often in this state of mind are frantic and won't be able to just find their way home. This level of panic is their flight response and will disorientate the dog completely.
With any behavior regarding fear patience will be your best friend. You have a couple of different methods when dealing with fear. You can accept it. When you allow your dog to accept the fear you will just provide a safe place for him/ her to feel safe. You can flood the behavior. This will be putting pressure on the dog essentially drowning the dog in the things that make him/her scared until she relaxes. This method is highly stressful but can also help the dog recover fast. If done wrong can really hurt the dog. Imagine what large amounts of stress do to us as people. The method I would recommend and would give the dog the most confidence would be a desensitizing of the loud noises like storms or fireworks.
One way to do this is to set yourself up for success. Download an app that has these sounds on them. And play them at a level that the dog doesn’t show anxiety. Have a game in mind that the dog loves, or high treat reward. If you choose to play the game I would only play that certain game when you are working with your dog. Make him/her have something to look forward to. The big thing here is the association with the sound. The sound in the dogs mind we want to represent that game or excitement not the fear. So, I would hook my phone I-pad up to some good speakers and start low. Be set up to play with your dog with whatever game. Tug of war is a good one. If you use this game, make sure during these exercises you work a good release before hand and when you play make sure to let the dog win. We are trying to create confidence. If you are using treats, then during the exercise make sure the dog is moving to you. Never let the dog retreat. You shouldn’t have to if you start at a low volume. If you make a mistake unfortunately I would stay in it with the dog until they do settle.
Now that the game is set up, how do we begin to connect this with a good experience? With marking the behavior. If your dog doesn’t show signs of anxiety and is able to still mind you then you are right where you need to be. I would start the game to where the dog shows no emotion to what is happening. That way you can create a habit first vs work through. Once you have marked the correct behavior when the dog shows no interest in the sound then you play the game or treat. In that order. Mark first, then play. Once he/she understands that the sounds mean play or high value reward and perks up when he/she hears it and you see a change to excitement, then it’s time to start raising the volume. Rinse wash and repeat until your ear drums are bleeding. Kidding about the ear drum bleeding but get to level that can be about uncomfortable to you. Remember your dogs are sensitive. Do not over do it.
If you have just gotten a puppy and know this may be his first storm or you just adopted a puppy. I would pay attention to the weather. When there’s a storm coming play games with your puppy or dog. As we know storms start out small in noise. Your dog will be able to smell the moister in the air and hear the thunder from far out before you can. Best to start out by making sure your dog has no adverse feelings toward rain, thunder, and or firecrackers.
I hope this helps this year for fireworks or loud noises. Remember patience is your friend. Your dog is ready to move on from things when you’re ready to help them!