can someone help me with my dog?

Question

ok well his name is Willam he's a half german shepard and sheep dog i think and he's veeery shy and gets scared so easily. like any bang noises or water bottles, bubble gum popping etc. my younger brother gets firecrackers and little banger things mabye one or twice a year and William reeally hates it, he just goes under the bed or behind the washing machine. i thought if i make lots of popping noises he would get used to it and not be so scared but it just gets worse. like today william was lying on the floor in the kitchen and i got a pack chips and opened them and he walked off with his tail between his legs because of the noise it made when i opend it??? wtf i dont know whats his problem. i know his previous owner was kind of mean to him.. but we had him for like 7 years now. he's probobly 7 1/2 years old

what do you think i should do. it seems like he's sad all the time but i give him lots of attention

Answer 1

Have your brother or someone in the room with you. You kneel down to the dogs level and kinda corner him, talk to him tell him hes a good boy, don't let him focus on your brother, and just reassure him hes a great dog. Then have your brother pop bubble gum or something that makes a loud noise but not a huge noise. Do this periodicly and gently, and also try making him sit and stay in the room when your brother or another person is making these noises but bribe your dog with a treat. Eventually he should learn to associate these noises with love instead of fear.
p.s. I wouldn't try keeping him away from these noises because life is full of loud noises, instead teach him to associate them with a different feeling. And pay more attention to him, I had a dog just like him, but play with him, and find things that he LOVES to do, like a walk, or a favorite food, play with a special toy, anything, and whenever he seems sad try to get him to do something else so he doesn't get the time to think about it.

Answer 2

Somewhere he made a bad association between popping noises and pain either physical or mental.

Firecrackers are one thing as they are really loud, sharp and even scare people. Popping or rustling noises like such as opening a bag or popping gum is another thing.

You can wait until he is good and hungry and then associate a gentle popping noise, like gum, with a bit of food or a good treat. Make a popping noise and feed him food immediately afterwards. Repeat with other mild, popping noises gradually moving on to louder noises.

If he reacts badly just ignore him and try again later. If there is a big popping noise, just yawn, treat it as if it is totally boring and inconsequential. You don't want to baby him because that will just encourage his behavior.

Aside from making these kinds of new associations, any kind of obedience training or learning of new tricks can boost his confidence. If he can learn to down-stay or sit-stay it can give him an alternate behavior from going and hiding under the bed.

If you can get him out walking, meeting friendly new people and well behaved dogs that can help his confidence as well.

Answer 3

He probably is scared of all of the loud noises because of his last owner. Maybe he was abused by something like a board that the guy would hit against something and it would make loud noises. when he gets scared don't just leave him alone. reassure him that you are still there and that it is okay. We have a german sheperd mix puppy that was also afraid of loud noises and we don't know why we got her when she was 9 weeks old. and she was at that young of an age. The older she gets the better off she is..
You could always call your local Vet and ask them they might have excercises that you and your dog can try together to make him less scared of loud noises.

Answer 4

Some dogs never adjust to loud noises. For instance, my grandparents used to have a Saint Bernard that they had to chain when a thunderstorm started threatening because he would destroy the porch screen trying to get in.

Let him see you treating these popping noises like they're no big deal. Don't look at him or fuss over him because then he'll think he has a reason to be worried. He should eventually start taking his cues from you.

If he doesn't, your little brother will have to take his firecrackers away from the house when he gets them. And you might want tranquilizers for William.

Good luck!

Answer 5

I have a dog exactly like him, he's 10 and I have never found a way to relieve his fears
My impression is that it's just the dogs make-up. He seems to be afraid of everything, sometimes even the sound the house makes when it settles.
Thunderstorms, Forth of July, sometimes even care doors scare him and he too always looks sad.
It must be terrible to be afraid all the time.

That is what I do is give him lots of love and attention, still hoping that someday he will forget the beginnings, where he came from and what they did to him (those people bred him for food)

I think you are doing all you can as best as you can.

If you find something that alleviates his problems please let me know, mine could use some anti-fear therapy also.

Regardless I love him.

Answer 6

When he was a pup he was sadly abused obviously. What they go thru while young stays with them for life. If he was beat you could get him to the point where he wouldn't shy away from your hand when you go to pet him but things like noises is something that will always be with him. Just do everything you can to keep your household quiet. Give him a area that he may feel comfortable in like a crate with a blanket over it. Crates are considered to dogs as dens. They feel comfort in the den so make him a hide away.

Answer 7

Put a dog house in one room of your house (or rearrange some furniture to make a den, I moved my desk away from the wall and put my bookcase next to it with a big enough hole for my Lab to get in to the space). This is a safe place for your dog to go when he feels threatened. It will make him feel better to know that he has somewhere that he can go where he is protected. My Lab was scared all her life of fireworks and thunderstorms. She shook violently and freaked out! But, in her last few years, after she figured out that she always had a safe place to go, she began to tremble less when these things were going on and would even eat if we brought her food into her den.

Answer 8

Ohh welll first you need to accept that your dog is a bit challenged but he still needs the same love as any normal dog, or maybe even more! =]
Second, you should just probably keep him away from those noises because it's becoming evident that he doesn't want anything to do with them.
Third, and last, maybe take him to a vet and they can prescribe him something or teach you some excercises you can do with them to make him accept these noises.

Answer 9

This is common in dogs. I had a dog that was scared to death of grocery bags. A local trainer told me to love him and while petting him, have someone in another room gently shake a bag. We did this and gradually, the person with the bag would move closer. Brittian finally got used to the noises and they did not bother him anymore. He was 6 years old when it started.

Answer 10

Lots of dogs are scared of fireworks & loud noises; which includes thundering & lightning. I usually just hug mine up & tell them that it's o.k., & make sure they keep right by me. You may not ever be able to cure him of that fear, but doing the above, will help him to know that he'll be o.k. Noone should let off fireworks around any pet, either.