Pet Tips: How to Calm a Dog Which Suffers from Noise Phobia

For years my wife and I thought our white German shepherd/yellow Lab mix was just being a good, if somewhat overzealous, watchdog. Any little noise causes RiCA to start barking and heading towards the source of the sound. A neighbor next door pulls into his driveway and slams the car door as he gets out. Bark-bark-bark-bark. Children play in the cul-de-sac at the end of the block and one of them screams. Bark-bark-bark-bark. We lose power and the smoke detectors in our home give out a chirp. Bark-bark-bark-bark-BARK-BARK-BARK!

What we thought was RiCA's nearly obsessive devotion to her duties could instead be noise phobia. Nearly 20 percent of dogs of all breeds and ages suffer from fear of noises, some so severely that their owners seek professional help. Incessant barking is one way for a noise-phobic dog to respond; others turn to more destructive actions, like digging out of yards, breaking through windows, or tearing up walls, flooring, and furniture in an attempt to escape the sounds that terrify them.

All dogs are sensitive to sound, much more so than humans. In both species, loud or unexpected sounds activate something called the orienting response, an instinctive reaction where the brain instantly processes a sound to determine if it might signal danger. Those dogs who tend to be anxious or nervous are more likely to develop noise phobias.

Many dogs with noise phobia seem to react most strongly to thunderstorms. It's not surprising, as the animals are reacting not only to the sound of thunder, wind, and rain, but also to the changes in barometric pressure, light, and ionization that accompany such storms. For noise-phobic dogs, it's multisensory overload. And for those animals who have been frightened by a certain event, such as a fireworks show or a car backfiring, fear of the event increases over time as the sounds are repeated.

So how do you soothe a pet who is freaking out during a spring shower, or trying to break out of your home to escape the sound of your ice machine filling up? It's difficult to get an animal's attention while it is in panic mode, and yelling at the animal only escalates the sound levels and increases your pet's stress and negative reactions. Your best bet to calm your dog is to be proactive, taking steps to calm your dog before the noise begins.

Veterinary neurologist Susan Wagner teaches at Ohio State University Veterinary College and is the co-author of "Through a Dog's Ear: Using Sound to Improve the Health & Behavior of Your Canine Companion." She says that exposing a fearful dog to the noise of rain, thunder, or fireworks though sound CDs and gradually increasing the volume and duration of the sounds can help desensitize the dog's fearful responses to the sounds. Medication can also help the dog remain calm during the storm, usually a temporary remedy that can be removed as the dog's fears become more manageable. Curtis says her patients have also responded well to Dog Appeasing Pheromone products, designed to emit comforting and familiar scents to canines, and the Storm Defender Cape, a close-fitting wrap with a metallic lining that reduces a dog's sensitivity to the static charge buildup that occurs before a thunderstorm.

Wagner has studied the calming effects of music on dogs with noise phobias. In a study she conducted with her partner, psychoacoustic expert Joshua Leeds of San Francisco, she discovered that when classical music was simplified to have less instrumentation, tones were lowered, and the tempo was dropped, dogs relaxed. Music appears to affect behavior because sound is made of waves. When sound waves travel through the hearing nerve to the cerebral cortex, they influence brain waves. And when those sound waves are soothing to the listener, brain waves, heart rate, and breathing slow, and the animal becomes calmer.

If you have a puppy that you think is exhibiting signs of noise phobia, it's best to bring up the matter with your vet. She may be able to recommend ways to nip the problem in the bud before it worsens. Lore I. Haug, a veterinary behavorist who practices in Sugar Land, Texas, says that early exposure to loud or unexpected sounds help to inoculate a puppy against noise phobias. So does teaching the puppy that storms can be fun. "I have clients throw storm parties' so the dog learns that really special things happen when there's a storm," Curtis says. "A special toy comes out, a really yummy treat appears, the Storm Defender Cape is put on. This uses the technique of classical conditioning so the dog learns, ideally at a very young age, that storms mean something great." Even with older dogs, these methods can produce positive results.

But what about those unexpected sounds we can't prepare for ahead of time? The next time your dog goes ballistic when she hears your neighbor repeatedly rev his motorcycle, or she starts pacing and cowering during a sudden thunderburst, remain calm and comfort her, letting her know everything's all right. Offer her a treat she particularly likes, sit with her and pet her. If you can, take her for a walk to remove her from the source of her fear. Use medication only when necessary; drugs should never replace a long-term solution and should never be used without instructions from your vet.

Noise phobia can be a serious problem for dogs and their owners. Learning more about it and taking steps to minimize your animal's fears through desensitizing techniques puts your dog at ease and improves the bond between owner and pet--and that's definitely something worth working towards!