You can prevent normal startle reactions from escalating into panic by desensitizing your pup to scary sounds. This involves supporting your pup emotionally while helping change its reaction from fear of the sound to tolerance and acceptance.
Feed and play with your pup in the presence of potentially scary sounds. You might start off by playing a radio or television quietly in the background, so the pup hears strange voices and lots of different noises. Gradually increase the volume as your pup gets used to it.
If your pup reacts fearfully, don’t try to calm it by stroking and cooing, as that’s apt to make it more afraid. If you whimper, “It’s alright, don’t be scared,” your pup may think you are afraid too. It may seem like you are asking for reassurance, not offering it. A better way to handle the situation is to stay relaxed and upbeat while the scary noise is happening. Your cheerful, casual attitude will demonstrate that you’re not worried or afraid. This alone can be a big comfort to a nervous pup, but there’s more you can do as well.
Thunder is a common fear-provoker in dogs. When it thunders, the windows rattle and the floor may shake. No wonder it scares pups! Obviously, you can’t use words to comfort or explain that your pup needn’t fear the big noise. However, you can convey this reassuring message with your behavior.
When thunder rolls, break out a generous supply of your pup’s favorite treats and celebrate the storm. When lightning flashes, you’ll know that in a few seconds there will be a clap of thunder. When you see the lightening, start acting in a happy and expectant way, like something fun is about to happen. In the seconds before the thunder, tell your pup something like this: “Oh good, here comes the boombah. Woohoo! Ready? Boombah…boombah… Boombah! Yippee!” Then toss a handful of extra-yummy treats on the floor around your pup and let it eat while you celebrate the thunder.
At first, your pup may be too worried about the noise to join in your party or eat the food. Don’t urge or cajole, just keep acting like you think thunder is fun. This will eventually get through to your pup, and its overreaction to thunder will gradually lessen.
You can use this same technique for other scary sounds – such as fireworks, vacuum cleaners, blenders, loud trucks and so on. Any noise that at first startles or frightens your pup can be turned into a party sound by pairing it with happy excitement and delicious treats.
Tapes and CDs are available with a variety of sound effects, including sirens, barking and children’s voices. Nature tapes can be helpful with desensitizing a pup-s fear of thunder. At first, play the tapes in the background while you go about ordinary daily activity. As your pup gets used to the noise, gradually increase the volume until the sound approximates the real thing.