Easing Your Dog’s Fear of Loud Noises

Fear of Noises in Dogs

Canine fear of noise is common in dogs. These fears can quickly become phobias, which are defined as persistent, excessive, and irrational fear responses. Fear of noise can manifest in dogs and cause the dog to exhibit outward signs of fearful behavior, including anxiety, attempts to escape, nervousness, panting, whining, and howling.

What Causes the Fear?

• Dog Breed

There are many reasons why dogs develop a fear of noise. The two main reasons are breed and learned fear. Certain dog breeds, such as collies and collies, are genetically more predisposed to develop a fear of noise.

• Bad Experience

Also, regardless of breed, noise phobia can stem from a bad experience a dog had involving a certain barking. In almost all cases, the fear of noise and thunderstorms escalated and worsened as the number of exposures increased.

• Types of Noise Phobias

Noise phobias include fear of thunderstorms, firecrackers, doorbells, and car alarms. Every dog is unique, so every dog responds differently to everyday stimuli.

How to Ease Your Dog’s Noise Fear

• Stay Calm

Petting or comforting your dog when he reacts with fear to noise is a positive reinforcement of his unwanted fear behavior. It is best that you do not show any reaction when the noise occurs, this will send the message to your dog that there is nothing to fear, thus negating the anxiety-inducing effect of the noise.

• Consider a Product to Aid Fear

There are products that can help comfort your dog when he suffers from noise phobia. The Thunderbolt shirt, for example, is remarkably soothing to dogs the first time it is used. The Thunderbolt shirt is a Velcro vest that provides constant gentle pressure on the dog’s torso. By wrapping his nervous system, the vest had a calming effect. This is the most commonly used method to help dogs overcome their fear of noise.

• Desensitize Your Dog

Start slowly exposing your dog to the noise, making sure to have positive associations with the noise while desensitizing it. Over time, positive connections are being made and you can begin to bring him closer to the noisy vacuum environment. This is the best way to help him cure his fear permanently instead of just treating it temporarily!