Fears & Phobias: Noises & Places

Why is my dog so frightened of loud noises such as thunder,
firecrackers and loud vehicles?

Phobias can develop from a single experience (one event
learning) or from continued exposure to the fearful stimulus.
Although some dogs react with a mild fear response of panting
and pacing, others get extremely agitated and may become
destructive or panicked. These dogs are experiencing a phobic
response to the stimulus. These phobias may develop because of
an inherent sensitivity to the stimulus (i.e. a genetic
predisposition) or exposure to a highly traumatic experience
associated with the stimulus (e.g. a carport collapsing on the
pet in a windstorm). With multiple exposures to a fearful event
a dog may become more intensely reactive if it is reinforced by
receiving attention or affection by well meaning owners who are
merely trying to calm the pet down.

What can I do if my dog is phobic in those situations?

Dogs that experience phobias often need professional
intervention by a veterinary or applied animal behaviorist.
These pets are usually at risk of harming themselves or property
when faced with the stimulus especially if their owners are not
home. If the dog will be left alone in a situation where it may
encounter the phobic stimulus, drug therapy may be needed to
prevent injury and destruction.

Is there any way I can treat my dog myself?

First, identify the stimuli that evoke the behavior. For
gunshots, fireworks or a car backfiring the stimulus might be
quite obvious. However, for thunder-storms, it may be the
darkening of the sky, a drop in the barometric pressure, or high
winds all of which occur prior to the storm. Naturally, the
storm itself and the rain, wind, lightening, and thunder can be
the stimulus for the behavior. Some dogs even become phobic of
going outdoors because of certain sights or sounds that you will
need to identify.

In order to set up an effective retraining program you will need
to be able to reproduce the noise. Finding a means of
reproducing and controlling the stimulus is one of the most
difficult aspects of the retraining program. A recording or
video might work for thunderstorms. Unfortunately, as discussed,
many dogs are afraid of other components of a storm that are
difficult to recreate. Therefore it may be possible to treat
some, but not all aspects of the phobic response. Recordings may
be useful for desensitizing dogs to the sound of fireworks, and
the visual stimuli can be minimized by confining the dog to a
brightly lit room with light proof shutters or shades.

For gunshots, recordings of a starter pistol set inside 4 or 5
nested cardboard boxes might be a way to reduce and control the
stimulus. Sometimes, increasing the distance from the stimulus
or finding some relatively sound-proofed room to do the training
might work.

If a recording is used, you will first need to ensure that it
does indeed reproduce the fear. Then, to begin to desensitize
the pet you will need to begin retraining with the recording at
a low enough level that it does not evoke the response and the
dog is rewarded lavishly for good (non-fearful) behavior.
Retraining should focus on the use of rewards and training the
dog to lie quietly in a favorite resting area to receive these
rewards. The resting area should help to comfort and provide
security for the dog, and the rewards are intended to teach the
dog to associate nothing but positives with the low levels of
the stimulus. Gradually, the volume is increased so that the dog
learns to tolerate the “storm”.

Another reason that it is extremely difficult to overcome fears
and phobias, is that while you are attempting to desensitize and
counter-condition the dog to the noises, the dog is likely to be
exposed to a recurrence of the actual event (e.g. a
thunderstorm). During these times, do not reinforce the fearful
and phobic responses with petting and reassuring vocal
intonation. This would serve as reinforcement for the behavior
and make it continue. For some dogs, placing them in their
favored resting area in a room or area that has been
sound-proofed and playing some calming music may help to
decrease the dog’s reaction. Drug therapy may also be useful in
some cases.

Why would my dog become frightened of certain places?

Lack of early exposure to the sights, sounds or perhaps odors of
a particular location, or one or more traumatic experiences
associated with that location could lead to fear. The fear is
aggravated by an owner who tries to calm the dog down with
affection or verbal intonations. This only reinforces the
fearful behavior. For example, dogs may be frightened of
traveling in the car because they become car sick or because the
car ride is always followed by an unpleasant experience (such as
boarding or a veterinary visit). Your dog may also become
fearful of the veterinary hospital if it is always associated
with unpleasant experiences, or of a particular room or area of
the house (such as a basement or a cage) if an unpleasant event
has occurred in that area. Some dogs even become frightened of
the outdoors, because of unpleasant experiences that have
occurred there.

How can I treat my dog’s fear of places?

It is necessary to place the stimuli along a gradient, as well
as carefully observing what the dog does. For example, the dog
may walk into the garage okay, but begins to get agitated when
approaching the car. Or, the dog may be okay approaching the car
and only upset when forced to get in.

Desensitization and counter-conditioning are used to retrain the
dog. Begin with good responses to obedience commands such as
‘sit’ and ‘stay’ for favored rewards. Then train and reward the
dog in situations where the fear is very mild. With a fear of
car rides, the dog might first be rewarded for not showing fear
when it is 8 feet from the car, then 7 feet and so on until the
dog can approach the car without showing signs of fear.
Eventually the dog should learn to take rewards when it enters
the car, and at further sessions the dog should learn to relax
in the car with the door closed, and then when the motor is
turned on. In much the same way it could take a few more
sessions until the dog learns to take rewards in a moving car.

For the dog that is fearful of the veterinary office you might
begin by taking the dog to the veterinarian’s parking lot and
doing some training exercises for food rewards, and progressing
to the front walkway or into the waiting room. It may take many
visits to train the dog to enter the examining room for rewards,
be greeted by the staff or sit on the examining table. Similarly
a dog that is fearful of a cage or particular room, may need to
be taught to lie in the doorway for food and rewards. Then
proceed a step or two into the room, or a little farther into
the cage, to receive the reward at each subsequent training
session.

In treating fears you must have sufficient control of the pet so
that there is no chance of injury, the pet cannot run away or
escape from the stimulus, and the pet will calm down and accept
that the stimulus will cause no harm.

Obedience training for rewards is a positive way to ensure that
you gain control. Begin in situations where the stimulus is not
present, because if your dog will not respect your control and
take rewards in non-threatening situations, you will not be able
to control and settle your dog in problem situations.

Often a leash and head collar is the best way to maintain
control and ensure that your dog will perform the desired
behavior in the presence of the stimulus. The leash and halter
prevents escape from the stimulus; helps build the dog’s
confidence; controls the head and nose so as to get the desired
behavior (e.g. sit, heel); allows the owner to redirect the head
away from the stimulus and toward the owner; prevents the
possibility of a bite or injury; and provides a reward or
release for each proper response. It is also necessary to
control the stimulus because it must not be removed until your
dog calms down and realizes that it will cause no harm.

The above is general veterinary information. Do not begin
any course of treatment without consulting your regular
veterinarian. All animals should be examined at least once every
12 months.