Dog Nervous of Sounds & Won't Go For Walk

Lucyx

Hey

I've a quick question about dog behaviour.

I live near a beach and my dog has always loved having a good run there and I love seeing her meeting her dog mates and having fun.

But recently there seems to be background sounds like shooting. I live near farms too so I'm wondering if its the farmers or something but it scares the bejaysus out of my dog and its so tough to even get her out of the car. She sits in the back trembling like crazy

I've managed to get her out a couple of times and she'll follow me walking up the beach but shes constantly listening out for the sounds and I think its actually an unpleasant and anxious walk for her which is no good of course. but at the same time I want her to get a good walk in for the fun and cardio and meeting dogs and stuff.

So what should I do? Should I just keep at it and let her follow me up the beach and hope she'll eventually tune it out? These noises can't be brand new but its something that shes only noticed in the last few weeks.

Cows Go µ

Our dog did the exact same thing earlier this year. She has never reacted well to gun shot type sounds and in the end we just had to go somewhere else for a while. Even when we just made her come along she was very nervous and not enjoying herself like normal and when we started walking back to the car she had to go on the lead as she would just run straight for the car and leave the rest of us behind. Honestly I have no idea how to fix this and I'm very curious as to what advice is given to help our wee girl. We just went somewhere else for a while and went back to the normal place after a few weeks, when her memory of it seemed to have faded.

Cherry Blossom

You can get training CDs with different sounds, the idea is you start off at very low volume and incease it gradually as the dog gets used to it.

SarahMs

we got the cds and played them before ours were let out, so the noise of traffic etc did scare them when they were out for the first time.

we got them off ebay, maybe try amazon

dvet

+1 on the CD's idea. The idea is to desensitise the dog to the sound that scares them - e.g. gunshots/fireworks. You have to use the CD's properly for it to work, and it's a gradual process, but it's the best way to get them used to it.

Specialist dog behaviourists (which are different to dog trainers) are actually great in this respect too if you need extra advice, anyone I know who's gone to one has seen great results with their nervous dogs!

Lucyx

I actually do have that CD as she is petrified of fireworks too so I'll have to get into properly using that over a significant period of time.

I did manage to get her walking today. There were other dogs on the beach so I encouraged her to go and meet them and I think that took her mind off it a good bit and then I praised her like crazy It was still tough going though.

dvet

Lucyx wrote: »

I actually do have that CD as she is petrified of fireworks too so I'll have to get into properly using that over a significant period of time.

I did manage to get her walking today. There were other dogs on the beach so I encouraged her to go and meet them and I think that took her mind off it a good bit and then I praised her like crazy It was still tough going though.

Oh that's good - does your CD just cover fireworks, or does it have a couple of different noises on it? The thing is to try to figure out what particular noise is scaring your dog, and desensitise them to that specifically.

The training only works for the particular sound that you are playing e.g. even if she learns that fireworks are not scary, she may still be scared of gunshot noises/thunderstorms/etc.

P.S. is there any alternative places you can bring her for walks while you train her? Because the idea of the CD's is to gradually build up the scary noises in a 'safe' environment, so it may not work so well if she's still being exposed to full-on scary noises on her walks...if you know what I mean!

Lucyx

dvet wrote: »

Oh that's good - does your CD just cover fireworks, or does it have a couple of different noises on it? The thing is to try to figure out what particular noise is scaring your dog, and desensitise them to that specifically.

The training only works for the particular sound that you are playing e.g. even if she learns that fireworks are not scary, she may still be scared of gunshot noises/thunderstorms/etc.

P.S. is there any alternative places you can bring her for walks while you train her? Because the idea of the CD's is to gradually build up the scary noises in a 'safe' environment, so it may not work so well if she's still being exposed to full-on scary noises on her walks...if you know what I mean!

The CD has every sound imaginable, fireworks, cars, lightning, gunshots, you name it!!

I know what you're saying about trying to train her into the sounds yet still exposing her to those sounds in super stereo. It would be a tad counterproductive Those noises are in the whole area though so its hard to escape. I'll have to get her an iPod

sionnaic

You could try using a DAP (Dog Appeasing Pheromone) collar on her? It gives off a synthetic version of the pheromone a mother dog produces when she's got puppies, it has a calming, reassuring effect.

Our vet recommended it for our nervy little collie cross and while it's not a silver bullet I think it does make a difference (based on observations made while he was both wearing and not wearing it). It won't fix the entire problem but it might help when used in conjunction when you're doing your desensitisation work.

Jesus Wept

Thread made me sad. :-/
Hope your dog feels better soon.

Lucyx

sionnaic wrote: »

You could try using a DAP (Dog Appeasing Pheromone) collar on her? It gives off a synthetic version of the pheromone a mother dog produces when she's got puppies, it has a calming, reassuring effect.

Our vet recommended it for our nervy little collie cross and while it's not a silver bullet I think it does make a difference (based on observations made while he was both wearing and not wearing it). It won't fix the entire problem but it might help when used in conjunction when you're doing your desensitisation work.

I have the DAP plug in at home and I know that makes a difference. We've moved recently so I'm using it to help her settle in and shes ultra chilled out at home so I'm very pleased with that

The collar is a good idea. I'll check that out too.

Whispered

I have a dog who's nervous too. He shakes etc when he sees the lead. It's been 2 years and we've tried everything. We made a bit of progress today though, we had the lead ready but hidden, got him really excited, one of us opened the door, the other clipped on the lead and ran. Dog had no idea he was going for a walk until he was well out on the street. We continued running and just did a lap of a local area, then let him off to chase the ball for 20 mins and home. With no stopping. He was out and back without a chance to get nervous. Not ideal, but I'm hoping if I can get him out a few times without the shakes I might be able to break the fear he has for the lead. Fingers crossed.