My male lab gets panic striken at loud noises such as fireworks and thunder. What can I do to help him?

Question

I have sedatives, for occasions like the 4th of July and New Years Eve, when I know there will be fireworks etc. But thunder and the occasional car backfiring are unpredictable, I can't just keep him drugged all the time. Any ideas you have will be appreciated

Answer 1

Do it more.
Desensitize him to the noise. Bang pots and pans, turn up the TV or radio suddenly. Have an entire conversation at the top of your lungs. What ever scares him the most, do unexpectedly and often.
He will learn that there is nothing to fear.
The key is not to torment him. Don't chase him around the house banging the pots and pans. Just bang it a few times while the entire family goes about it's business like nothing has happened.
NO DRAMA!!
The more low key you are, the faster he will realize that there is nothing to fear.

Answer 2

what you should do is try to let the dog know that there is nothing to be afraid of but do not pet it or comfort it by letting it stay behind you, under your legs or hide in a corner or a room. that will just promote the dogs fear.

try playing with the dog firstly in a room for 5 minutes than get someone in the same room to drop a metal tin or a pan to make a loud noise, you can even get one of them toy guns which make a bang. let the dog know where the sound came from though and imediatly put the object on the floor for the dog to see.
do not talk to or pet the dog during this time as it needs to realise for its self that the noise is not a threat. you should keep the play session active still by waving the toy around .

it may go and sniff the object or it may cower in a corner eventually the dog will come out of the frightened sate of mind and either get the courage to sniff and have a look at the object which made the noise or even come back and play
with you.

the important thing is for your dog to get the feeling that you are not bothered by this noise and you are calm about it. the dog will pick up on that. but it is a gentle process and may take time

Answer 3

Yeah, get a recording of thunder. You can buy this. Or make a recording of firecracker noises.
Now play this at a very low volume so the dog is not frightened by it. After a while, increase the volume a little. Keep replaying it and increasing the volume a little at a time. You can feed the dog or play with him if you like. Eventually you will be able to play the recording very loud, and the dog won't be upset because he is used to it.
That should do the trick.
Play it once in a while after this, just to remind him that loud noises are still okay.

Answer 4

I know someone who has a dog just like yours. What they do is put it in the garage if it's outside or the kitchen if it's inside and turn on the radio to drowned the noise out. At first turn on the radio and stay by him to make him feel safe. Then slowly spend less time with him during the loud noises until you don't even hav to be there. But keep the radio on.

Answer 5

I have a dog with the same problem. It is a very hard problem to resolve because it is an irrational fear. There are currently 3 main choices:

1. Tranquilizers. You've tried this already.

2. Desensitization techniques.

3. Distraction techniques.

Ask your vet about these. I am trying the first and third ones with my dog. Good luck. Let me know if you hear about anything new.

Answer 6

I know how it is. My dog used to do it all the time. Whenever there was fireworks, or t-storms, he would hide under my bed! There's really not much you can do besides let your dog hide, but you could try to get it used to the sound. Or whenever the dog does it, stay by him and try to comfort him. Say its ok and encourage him to come out of hiding.

Answer 7

u might want to try turning ur stereo on loud enuf but not that loud that it will hurt his ears, also in the summer and round' the 4th, we run our a.c. on high this will help filter out some of that loud noise that so hurts his ears definitely a better alternative than drugs all the time

Answer 8

Question
What can I do to help him?
Answer
Training!
Your dog is a Lab, remember, as in Retriever

First I don't believe in making loud noises around pups when they are young during feeding time. I cringe when people take there dawgs to the trap shooting range, or tie dogs up and just start shooting. Gun shyness is man made, some dogs are more timid then others, and my method is designed to fit each individual dog. I have used this method to cure gun shy dogs. I want dogs to *understand* gun fire and to love it.

What do we want our dogs to love most? Thats birds!! Get the dog to LOVE birds first, start by properly introducing the dog to birds. I start with a live pigeon and clip one wings flight feathers. This way the bird can still fly but only for a short distance. I will take the pup and get them excited about the bird, I will allow the pup to chase as the bird is in my hand, and I will let the bird go. The pup should chase the bird until it hits the ground. I will let the dog catch the bird, I will take the bird before it gets beat up to bad. I will end the session as the pup wants more. I will repeat sessions until I am confident that the dog loves birds. I will then take a freshly killed pigeon and have the dog start retrieving that, I then will go to a frozen pigeon, and then to a fresh killed duck, to a frozen duck. After I have the dog retrieving frozen ducks in training, and loving it its time for intro to gun fire.

You will need two people to help you, one person will shoot the gun, and the other is a bird boy. Now its important that you have been using bird boys in training long before you start introducing gun fire. The only new thing I want the dog to experience is gun fire. I always start with 22 pistol with blanks. I will have the dog at heal, I will have the bird boy in front of me about 30 to 40 yards, and the gun man behind about 40 to 50 yards. I will signal for the bird boy to throw the bird, I will send the dog for the retrieve, and as the dog is running I will signal for the gun man to shoot. Its important for the gun to fire before the dog reaches the bird. Its the dog handler to watch his dog. If the dog shows no sign of being bothered by the gun fire, I will signal for the gun man to move closer, If the dog seems nervous I will move the gun man farther back. When the dog comes back with the bird give tons of praise. If the dog is not bothered I will have the gun man move up 15 yards, and do it again. I will slowly have the gun man move closer until he is standing right behind us. If the dog does not seemed bothered I will have the bird boy shoot the gun and throw the bird. This would conclude this session. I will come back the next day with 22 live rounds, and do the same thing. I will come back the third day with 4-10 shotgun, fourth day with a 20 gauge, and then a 12 gauge. I will train for a couple of days having the bird boy shooting a shot gun and then throwing the bird. After I am confident that the dog loves the shot from the shot gun because he knows he is going to get a bird. I have the gun man come with a second shotgun and do the same thing again. The bird boy will shoot a shotgun and as the dog is running for the mark the gunman will shoot a second shotgun. I will keep working on this until the gun man is shooting right behind the dog. I do this because I have gotten dogs in that the owners swear that in training the dog was just fine with the shot gun in training, but the first day in the duck boat or blind 4 guys got up to shoot and the dog is hiding. Dogs need also to understand multiple gun fire. I know my method is alot of work, but I have never had a gun shy dog using this method. I have cured gun shy dogs with this method. Good luck everyone!!!!!!!!!!

I am not saying that you have to follow a specific time line, I used the 1st 2nd third day as a example. Each dog is different and some go faster through the program and some slower. If you have a gun shy dog it can take months, But there is no excuse for a dog remaining sensitive to noise. Trained dogs are TRAINED, not born. Instead of shielding the dog from noise, make it fun!!!!!! We take our dogs to the fireworks displays with us, instead of giving them a sedative and locking them in a closet.

5 week old puppy's going through Introductions.
http://www.hunt101.com/img/439232.jpg

Answer 9

Give him a place where he can go and "hide", to feel safe. A closet, a room far away from the noise. Sit in there with him and keep him comfortable.

Answer 10

Just let him be close to you, they feel comfort and safe, my dog is the same way, their is nothing you can do to change this.