Noise Phobia Treatment Recommendations

Treatment Recommendations for Dogs with Noise Phobia

50% of dogs suffer from some sort of noise phobia or noise aversion, meaning they have a fear response to sounds. This can be really loud sounds like fireworks or thunderstorms, but it could also be less obvious noises like construction work, traffic noises, electronic noise, loud music, etc. 

Dogs with noise phobia will often show 1 or more of the following signs:

Reluctance to go outside/refusal to go on walks

Fear of walking outside and hypervigilance when on walks

Leash reactivity- acting aggressive toward people, dogs, cars, moving objects, noises, etc

House soiling

Hiding in the house

Separation anxiety

Noise phobia gets WORSE with age; dogs will not outgrow noise phobia. The chronic stress of being afraid of these noises builds over time and can become overwhelming, eventually leading to a poor quality of life for you and your pet.

Early treatment at the first signs of fear or anxiety is key to slowing or stopping the progression of noise phobia. If your dog is showing any of the following early signs, we need to start treatment now:

Lip smacking             Trembling                 Refusing to Eat                Excessive clinginess

Pacing                       Cowering                 Freezing/immobility

Panting                      Hiding                      Brow furrowed/Flattened ears

Yawning                    Hypervigilance         Whining, barking, or growling at sounds

Environmental Modification can be 70% effective at decreasing stress

• Create Safe Zone for your dog

  • Safe Zones reduce acute and chronic stress

  • Your dog must have FREE ACCESS to the Safe Zone

  • Pick an Interior room- ideally with  no windows (like a bathroom, office, closet)

  • A covered crate with the door left open can work if an interior room is not an option

  • Use rooms previously preferred by your dog

  • Prepare the Safe Zone ahead of time

• Have food toys/treats like kongs or snuffle mats available in the Safe Zone as soon as your dog is fearful, but realistically they should be present in the environment before the dog is fearful

• Play music, white noise, or have DogTV on in the background

• Close blinds or drapes to cover the windows

Behavior Modification can be 70% effective at decreasing stress

• Use Real-Time Counter Conditioning with High Value Food/Treats or Toys to decrease fear and anxiety:

Real-Time Counter Conditioning:

Use high value treats and a mat/bed (or just let your dog stand) while you give treats when the noise is happening. 

• Increase the frequency of treats if barking or signs of fear continues

• Once signs of fear start to decrease, decrease the frequency between treats

• Eventually start to move position of your dog closer and closer to origin of noise (if possible), while still giving treats

• Give treats until your dog no longer responds to noise stimulus and is able to relax even while close to origin of noise

  • If your dog is not overly food motivated in general, you may need to up the ante and find a higher value treat

  • If your dog normally eats well but does not take treats/food during storms/loud noises, your dog is really stressed and should be on anti-anxiety medication while continuing these environmental and behavioral modifications

• Real-Time counter conditioning can be done with food or toys, depending on what they are most motivated by.

  • You can also keep your dog less stimulated by noises once you’ve done counter conditioning by giving your dogs kongs filled with food/treats or using a snuffle mat

• You can also teach Relaxation techniques to your dog- the aim of this is to get your dog to relax on cue.

Relaxation:

• Use a mat large enough to fit your dog’s entire body on it

•  The mat only comes out when working; it stays put up otherwise

• You are teaching your dog to self soothe, so try to appear disengaged during the exercise. You can have the mat down and the dog work as you watch a movie, look at your phone, or read a book.

• Stage 1: Drive to the Mat- Goal= get your dog to go to mat as soon as it is put down

  • Put the mat down and as soon as your dog goes to the mat, reward him

  • Do not lure your dog to the mat, only reward your dog when they decide to go the mat on their own

  • Repeat until your dog runs to the mat as soon as you put it down

• Stage 2: Duration- Goal= work to build up to 60 seconds between giving treats with your dog laying on mat

  • Start by giving treats every 1-2 seconds

  • Once your dog has done this for 3 successful consecutive repetitions at that interval, increase the time between giving treats by 2 seconds

  • Work up to 3 minutes on the mat and only giving 3 treats (1 treat/60 seconds)

• Stage 3- Relaxed Body Language- Goal= have your dog offer a relaxed body position for a reward

  • When your dog is waiting for 60 seconds between treats, your dog will start to display a relaxed body postures (shifting onto a hip, disengagement from owner, putting his head down)

  • Reward your dog when you see any signs of relaxation until your dog begins to offer relaxation signs frequently

• Stage 4- Relaxed Body Language with Duration- Goal= have your dog maintain a relaxed body posture

  • Require your dog to maintain a relaxed body posture that was treated before for extended periods of time

  • We want the head to go down, and to stay down

  • Proceed in 2 second increments, adding 2 seconds for every 3 consecutive, successful repetitions

• Relaxation on cue can take ~6 weeks to fully learn, but is ~70% effective at decreasing signs of stress and anxiety once your dog has mastered it

Neurochemical Modulation 

• Targeted calming supplements like Solliquin, Anxitane, adaptil, calm diet, etc are ~30% effective at reducing stress and anxiety.

• Anti-anxiety medications in general are 70% effective at reducing stress and anxiety 

  • It may take a few tries to find the exact right medication that works best for your dog and the perfect dose

  • Many anti-anxiety medications have a wide dose range to work within, so we have room to adjust dosages and change medications if your dog does not respond as well as we’d like to one particular medication

Consider Calmer Canine Treatment- initially designed for dogs with separation anxiety, but may help with other forms of anxiety.