BANG! Pop. Whizzzzzz… ‘Tis the season for fireworks! And while they may put us in a festive spirit, a terrified pooch can dampen the mood. Your pup may just sit by you and shiver, pace, pant, or look for a hiding place under a table or bed. But sometimes a pet can become destructive from fear, trying to chew his way out of a bedroom or kennel, having accidents on the carpet, or even injuring himself. The same thing can happen with thunderstorms, or a car backfiring, or someone dropping something loud. Some dogs are more sensitive to noises than others, and some learn the fear, particularly if something unpleasant happened about the same time as the noise they heard (a door slammed and their tail got caught in it).
So what can you do? First you need to identify what triggers fear in your pet. Is it just thunder, or is he also now afraid of the rain or wind that comes with the thunder? Once you identify all your pet’s triggers, there are several ways to address the problem, depending on the level of fear. You may be able to just avoid the situations that scare your pet if they happen infrequently. Obviously this isn’t always possible. If your pet just paces or pants or hides, and the behavior doesn’t seem to get worse with each exposure, you may be comfortable just living with your pet’s fear.
Ideally we would try to desensitize a fearful pet to the noises that set him off, and countercondition him to help him associate those noises with something good. This must be done delicately to avoid making the situation worse. Your veterinarian or a qualified trainer can help you with this. For more information go here: http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/virtual-pet-behaviorist/dog-behavior/fear-noises
Some pets are too fearful to think about doing anything other than get away from the scary noise. In these cases, a supplement or medication may be necessary to get your pet calm enough to work on desensitization and counterconditioning. You will want to talk to your vet about your pet’s level of anxiety to determine what might work best. These products can often greatly improve your pet’s quality of life, and usually they are not meant to be used long term. Adaptil is a synthetic dog pheromone that has a calming effect on dogs. It can be plugged into a wall or worn as a collar, and may be enough to take the edge off your pet’s anxiety. There are many other options available as well.
If your own attempts aren’t working, you may need to find a trainer or veterinary behaviorist that can work with you and your pet one-on-one to try and reduce your pet’s anxiety.
