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For some dog owners, Fourth of July might signal a stressful day of fireworks, crowds, and fearful canine companions. If your pup is afraid of loud noises, he’s certainly not alone. There are plenty of steps you can take to help your dog deal with his fears and phobias. AKC Chief Veterinary Officer Dr. Jerry Klein walks us through some of the most common ones and how to help relieve them.
“It is a common problem for dogs to be fearful,” says Dr. Klein. “Fear is a defense mechanism and isn’t something we have to eliminate entirely. Wolves and other wild canids rely on fear to keep them alive, but when fearful behavior poses dangers to the dog or other family members, we have to intervene.”
Dogs express fear in several ways. They may shake, pace, whine, bark, cower, hide, or even exhibit signs of fear reactivity, which is often confused with aggression. So, how do you know when your dog’s fear has become a phobia?
According to Dr. Klein, a phobia is an “intense and persistent fear that occurs when a dog is confronted with something that might feel threatening, such as a thunderstorm. Some dogs can even anticipate it.” As with people who have phobias, this fear goes beyond a rational response.
Phobias are the result of a previous experience. Sometimes they are the result of repeated experiences, but for dogs, it just takes one experience to solidify a fearful response into a phobia. “Animals don’t understand what thunder is, and we can’t explain it to them,” says Dr. Klein. “Humans, however, can have phobias, even though they understand things. Phobias are irrational and take on a life of their own.”
Dr. Klein notes that there are four basic categories of fears/phobias commonly seen in veterinary practices:
Sound Phobias
Many dogs have sound phobias to loud noises like fireworks, thunderstorms, gunshots, and firecrackers. There is even research that suggests noise phobias can be inherited. According to Dr. Klein, herding breeds are particularly sensitive to noise phobias, perhaps because they are so attuned to their environment.
Blood Injection Phobias
Many people have blood injection phobias, commonly referred to as a fear of needles. Some dogs experience a similar phobia when visiting the veterinarian. Dogs do not understand that veterinary visits are in their best interest, and many of the circumstances around these visits, such as feeling sick, pain, car rides, new locations, strangers, and the presence of other stressed animals can compound this fear into a phobia.
Situational Phobias
Separation anxiety is the most common example of a situational phobia. Dogs with separation anxiety do not seem to understand that their owners will return, and may exhibit destructive behaviors like chewing, relieving themselves in the house, and barking.
Fear of Strangers
Some dogs develop a fear of strangers, particularly men, after a negative experience. Dogs rescued from abusive homes often suffer from this fear, which can lead to reactive behavior. This phobia can also include a fear of people wearing hats or bulky clothing, and fear of other dogs.
Living with a fearful dog can be stressful and frustrating. Treating phobias takes patience, time, and consistency. This can feel impossible, especially when excessive barking angers neighbors and landlords. Perhaps the most stressful component is the risk of an accidental dog bite from a fearful dog or a dog that may jump or run through a window or into the street.
Luckily, there are steps pet owners can take to help their dogs deal with phobias, beginning with a visit to their veterinarian as soon as possible. According to Dr. Klein, phobias may worsen with time, and they rarely resolve on their own. In some cases, they can even lead to new phobias, so the sooner you take action the better.
Veterinarians and board-certified veterinary behaviorists recommend behavior modification techniques as a first line of defense. These techniques, such as desensitization, help dogs manage their fearful behavior. There are medications available to relieve distress, however, most drug therapies work best in conjunction with behavior modification and are not an instant cure.
Behavior modification encompasses dog behavior and owner behavior, too. Owners often contribute unintentionally to their dog’s phobias, reinforcing undesirable behaviors or even instigating them. Retraining yourself and your dog to new behavior patterns takes time and patience, and is best done with the help of a veterinarian or veterinary specialist.
“One of the things I see people do all the time is say things like ‘good boy’ during stressful situations. This can actually reinforce the fearful behavior, as the owner is rewarding the dog for acting fearful,” says Dr. Klein. Some dogs even learn to anticipate a stressful situation when they hear words like “it’s okay,” as they have come to associate those words with a stressful event, like going to the veterinarian.
Basic obedience training builds confidence in fearful dogs. It is also a useful tool for redirecting undesirable behavior, like asking a dog to sit, stay, or touch during a potentially triggering situation. Dr. Klein also points out that a constant pressure, like the presence of a Thundershirt or simply putting a hand on your dog, is better than patting, as this calms dogs down.
Planning ahead is an essential part of behavior modification. Most phobias are predictable, which means you can treat them as a training opportunity. The Fourth of July, for instance, is the same day every year and should not come as a surprise. Owners of dogs with a fear of thunderstorms should check the weather forecast during warmer months, and dogs with a fear of other animals may be exposed to their fear every time they go for a walk.
Some dogs learn to manage their phobias through behavior modification alone. Others may need the help of drug therapies, like antianxiety medications or room sprays that mimic calming therapies.
Always speak with your veterinarian before administering any medication to your dog, and while there are several categories of drugs that can relieve stress in canines, Dr. Klein cautions that the point of these drugs is to minimize the phobia to a fear, not sedate the animal. It is tempting to think that we can solve our dogs’ anxieties through medication alone, but just like with people, coping with fear in dogs is complicated. Every dog is unique. What works for one dog may not work for another, and it often takes some experimentation to figure out what plan of action will work best for your pup.
“The important thing to remember is that there is hope,” Dr. Klein says. “Fearful behavior is very common, and you are not alone in dealing with it.” https://www.akc.org/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php Get Your Free AKC eBook
Recognizing Noise Phobias in Dogs
The following behaviors may be displayed in noise phobic dogs when they hear sounds that scare them:
More subtle dog body language that pet parents should look out for includes pinned back ears, stiffened body position and dilated pupils.
In dogs with severe cases of noise phobias, they may cause severe harm to their teeth, nails, and other body parts when attempting to escape the noise.
Knowing which noises commonly scare dogs can help you manage your pup’s fear. Here are some noises that may frighten your dog:
Thunder noise is one of the most common scary sounds for dogs. But besides the loud booms that are caused by thunderstorms, changes in barometric pressure, the smell of rain, and the appearance of storm clouds may all be involved in causing the fear that is induced by storms.
Fireworks are likely the most common loud noises that scare dogs. Why is this? Likely because fireworks are really loud and their sounds are random and unpredictable.
Gun shots are very loud to human ears, which is why hearing protection is recommended at a shooting range. For dogs, who hear things at higher intensity, gun shots are extremely bothersome.
Dogs probably hate the sounds of these vehicles because they are loud but they also create a variety of high pitched noises such as beeping and screeching.
Some dogs cower when pet parents go to clean their carpets. Vacuum cleaners are really loud but they also move around your dog’s territory, likely adding to the fear they cause.
Skateboards can frighten dogs not only because they are loud but because they make erratic noises as they pass over bumps and as the skateboarder performs jumps and other tricks. A skateboard passing a dog may also initiate the dog’s chase instinct and cause the dog to run and bark after the skateboarder.
A wailing infant can sure produce loud and often high pitched noises that some dogs hate.
Jack hammers thwacking, tractors beeping as they move in reverse and hammers banging away make construction zones especially scary for dogs with noise phobias.
Car alarms are so loud that they often cause windows and door frames to rattle and may rattle your pup into a frenzy as well.
The loud and oscillating high pitched noises caused by sirens from fire trucks, ambulances, and police cars are frightening to many dogs.
If you live close to an airport you may notice that your dog behaves fearfully every time a plane flies overhead. This may be especially true if your dog was in a rural area as a puppy and never conditioned to hearing this loud scary noise.
The sound of an air conditioner or furnace turning on can send some dogs jumping. This is likely due to the sudden nature of this sound, causing them to startle.
Certain noises may have the opposite effect on dogs and may help to calm or soothe them when scary noises are going on around them.
Classical music has been shown to ease anxiety symptoms in dogs in loud shelter environments (3). Playing a sound machine with the sounds of waterfalls or white noise can also help to drown out fireworks or thunder. Pet parents can also find CDs or playlists online that were specifically developed to produce calming effects in dogs.
In dogs showing symptoms of fear and anxiety, people speaking around them should speak in low and slow tones.
Your dog is full of curiosity and fun, but they might be frightened of things too – after all, every dog has a different personality. Some dogs are fearful by nature, and some scared dogs are more predisposed to it than others.
Dogs are naturally curious and inquisitive so they generally interact enthusiastically with the world around them but they may be times or situations where they become wary or frightened.
Every dog has a different personality depending on their breed, type, past experiences and their individual nature. Each dog is different – just like us – and while there are some real canine extroverts out there, there can also be dogs who are more worried about things around them or that they may encounter.
The more we take time to understand our dog’s unique personality, the better we can predict when they may behave fearfully, and know how to support them.
Most behaviour problems have their roots in fear – even aggression. It’s not the only cause but it is a major one and if you think of the common canine issues, often you will find that the original cause is the dog feeling worried, scared or frightened.
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How can you tell if a dog is afraid? Knowing the signs and symptoms of a fearful dog can help you address his fears and phobias before they escalate. It may also help you avoid a dog bite or attack. Familiarize yourself with the signs of fear in dogs so you can pick up on hints that a dog is anxious and stressed about something in his environment.