Loud noises

[lhaner]

How to get my dog to not freak out with fire cracker gun shots he runs to the house and he hears them from far away makes fourth of July and New year's eve hard on him he is a German shepherd a year old

[JMFS]

The very short story: Desensitization is going to be your friend here. You'll gradually introduce him to these sounds, perhaps beginning with a recording or a tv show, give him treats when he's calm with these noises. Increase the volume, treats when he's calm. Bit-by-bit you'll expose him to more intense versions until finally the real deal can be faced.

 

To get you started: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/behavior-training/barking/doorbells-knocks-on-doors/

[Adrienne Farricelli]

Greetings and welcome to the forums,

Rushing towards the house is a behavior that is highly reinforcing because the dog feels safe there and noises are muffled indoors. This avoidance behavior is based on negative reinforcement, in other words, the dog seeks shelter in hopes of making the sound go away along with the negative emotions. Fear of sounds is highly stressful to dogs and is difficult to fix unless we take steps in making the sound less frightening.

 

With firecrackers, things are a bit challenging because they only occur at certain times of the year, so we aren't left with much opportunities to work on it as compared to door knocks and other more common sounds. If you live in an area though frequented by hunters, you may be in luck, although the sounds occur unpredictably and at different distances when we instead we want systematic exposure. In hunting circles for example, owners of gun dogs get their puppies to not fear gun shots by shooting at a distance right when the dog is presented with his meal. This is done at every meal, until the puppy learns to associate the gun shot with something great.

 

Recordings may be a good starting point, although they may not be as effective as the real thing. The goal is to systematically use desensitization (exposing to low levels of the stimulus in a gradual, step-by-step approach along with counterconditioning (creating positive associations). You can find recordings of fireworks sold commercially for this specific purpose.

 

You can read about these methods here:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/desensitization/

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/counterconditioning/

 

Here are some samples of behavior modification for dogs with fear of noises:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/fear-noises/

 

This form of conditioning requires maintenance meaning that you have to hold refresher sessions or the fear of sounds may re-appear. Also, the real thing may be still frightening (real fireworks are much louder than recordings and may cause vibrations too) so you may still need to use calming aids to help your dog out. Calming aids commonly used for fear of fireworks include:

 

-Thundershirt/ Anxiety Wraps

-Pheromone plugins and pheromone collars

-Calming supplements for dogs like those containing L- theanine

-Calming music to buffer sounds

 

Dogs fearful of noises may benefit too from confidence building exercises and brain games:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/exercises-build-confidence-insecure-dogs/

 

Severe cases of noise phobias may need what are called "event drugs," basically prescription medications you can get from your veterinarian to help your dog cope with isolated events such as Fourth of July or the storm season.

 

On a side note, fortunately, lately more and more places are prohibiting the use of fireworks to protect pets and wild animals from these unnecessary fears. I still recall one day walking past an area where a big firework display was held the day prior and seeing poor dead birds on the ground. These poor souls must have suffered a heart attack. So sad!

 

Send pats to your wonderful German shepherd for me,

Best,

Adrienne

Edited January 22, 2020 by Adrienne Farricelli
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