noise phobic dog....help?

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b_cos_1_can
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noise phobic dog....help?

Post by b_cos_1_can »

just had to rush over to my mums to rescue poor sydney.

hes not too good with thunderstrorms, gunfire and fireworks!
hes 11 yrs old, he has a skin problem of some sort that the vet and dermatologists cant sort out (hes balding around his chest and legs and thinning on top!) mum is the 5th home for him. battersea dogs home were gonna put him to sleep as they thought he would never get rehomed because of his age, baldness and huge 'mental' problems (by mental i mean fear of anything that moves and im not over reacting) but they gave hime to my mum for free as a last chance effort to help him. (they had seen the great work mum did with ellie)

he cant make up his mind what to do and gets soooooo distressed its horrid. he paces around, goes weak at the knees and doesnt seem able to walk properly. he collapses in a panicky heap and gets up again to pace. and collapses and paces and its horrid!

we feel so helpless when he gets so worked up like this :( we cant distract him with food, we turn the tv up really loud but that dont work. hes on all sorts of tablets for spondilitus and blood pressure and panick attacks.

he is the most loving gentle protective trustworthy dog around. he wouldnt hurt a fly (he would run from it) and his quality of life has improved so much since being with my mum.

but we are at a complete loss as to what to do with his noise phobia. hes even seen a dog behaviourist who said she couldnt help and charged my mum ove £300 pound for 2 sessions of trying!

if mum is at work and its my day off ill go and get him if the thunder starts (only a mile apart) like i did today! hes on his bed shaking by my feet with the other dogs who are fine! oh and we have a dap diffuser in to try help him a bit.

and we have tried the cds with lots of noise on them!

what else can we try? help anyone?
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Emmamoo
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Post by Emmamoo »

Awww the poor fella! That must be so awful.

I had a quick scout about on good old google and came across this website, I don't know if it will help you but it's worth a shot.

http://www.dogbasics.co.uk/articles/noise.html
****Emma****

...Ever the optimist!
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b_cos_1_can
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Post by b_cos_1_can »

thats really good emma ta

we have tried all of the stuff mentioned on the site but none seems to work for him. at least it reassures us that we have been doing the right thinngs i spose!

as it says in the article about ignoring the anxious behavoiur.....this is soooooo hard! all we wanna do is wrap the poor soul up and cuddle him but we just cant cos it will make him worse! we turn the tv up really loud (have had neighbours knocking b 4) and pretend like everything is ok.....just that we are a bit deaf have to shout in conversations to hear each other and we dont mention any of the dogs names. we call them by their initails.....ET, GT, ST!!

and as i said the others are fine.....just think we r mad! :oops: :shock:
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wendy
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Post by wendy »

Hi Kat.
Have you tried Bach's rescue remedy. It sometimes works.
As he is a rescue he obviously has been comforted [reassured nothing to worry about] for being frightened. This has just reinforced the behaviour. As the people think they are 'reassuring' the dog thinks he is being rewarded for the behaviour, and any behaviour that is rewarded will be repeated.
I am sure your behaviourist has said to totally ignore the behaviour, although very hard to do. Certainly giving treats will be thought of as a reward to the dog. Acting in a jolly and not worried manner will help him, but as I said if he has been comforted for some time you may never get him out of it.
If you think that one of the skittiest animals around are deer and antelope, and yet a storm comes along and they don't worry. Reason for why is that the little fawn jumps up frightened out of it's life, looks around and all the others in the group are still eating like nothing has happened. Then he thinks, well there can't be a problem 'cos no one else is worrying and carrys on as normal. They don't think like that obviously but that is the effect.
You could get onto the BBC or someone and get a DVD of the sounds he doesn't like. Start by playing it so quietly that you cannot hear it, while he is eating and playing....something pleasurable and slowly over the weeks bring the sound up very little at a time. So as to desensitise him to the sound.
Worth a try, but as he is an older dog there is no guarantee.
Wendy
http://www.busheyk9.co.uk

If you can't be a good example........
you will just have to be a horrible warning
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b_cos_1_can
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Post by b_cos_1_can »

hey,
ive got my little one singing along to her usual collection of 'grease', 'oliver', 'mary poppins' and shes dancing all over the place. this is what the dogs are used to at my house so seemed the 'normal' thing put on at this tmie!!
we do try so hard to pretend that all is normal and he has got slightly better over the past couple of years but i think it will be with him for the rest of his life! we dont give him treats anymore during these times like the behaviourist suggested cos it doesnt take his mind off it at all.
we do 'normal' stuff like watch tv (loudly) i swear my mum is deaf anyway!, cook the dinner, do the laundry, chat about the weather etc
just wandered if there was anything that we hadnt tried.
i think we have put the small improvement down to ignoring unwanted behaviour and rewarding good!
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melons
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poor poochie

Post by melons »

We live in a village where fireworks are manufactured, it's a nightmare, our old cats used to be horrendous, we used to put them in the kitchen with the telly on full blast, with the washing machine on spin, & a feliway plugged into the wall, that used to do the trick, otherwise they used to associate the noise coming for the house & used to go out....wrong :oops:
Try the Bachs rescue remedy, some people have really good results with it.
I was in the vets with the rat last night & they had another nervous pet remedy, can't remember the name. Here's their number if you want to give them a call & ask what it was.
01480 210310
Warning .... the receptionist is very loud, albeit a poppet.
Good luck he sounds sweet.
Cheers
mel x
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T_Steadman
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Post by T_Steadman »

Hi Kat

I have a rescue/retired greyhound who is afraid of loud noises. She doesn't try to walk during thunderstorms or fireworks, (unless she is trying to get onto her bed!) but she curls up into a tight ball and shakes. It's horrific to watch because there's nothing you can do about it, I know.

We were told to use a herbal calming remedy called "Kali Phos". She's to have one tablet every 15 minutes for an hour and a half. It really does relax her. We do also turn the TV up, but she knows that this isn;t normal for us so gets even more worried.

Of course, if your dog doesn't take talets on their own (mine doesn't) you have to disguise them, which is then in effect like giving her a treat!!

Kali Phos really works for us. It takes about half an hour to kick in, but it's brilliant.

Hope this helps.
Toni
xxxx
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b_cos_1_can
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Post by b_cos_1_can »

hi toni

sidney does take tablets when theyre wrapped in ham but he wont eat a thing when hes all worked up.

he has loads of tablets on a dailey basis so is used to them in ham but its different when hes worked up.

its so good to hear of someone else going through a similar thing with their dog! but obviously not forr the poor animals!

ill mention that to my mum (its her dog) and shee what she says!

thanks

kat x
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