Dog with noise sensitivities?

[skittledoo]

So Cricket doesn't have a lot of vices honestly. She really is an all around amazing dog and pretty solid temperament.

She does have one thing though that she struggles with and I'm curious to know what might be a good way to approach this with her.

If she hears random noises she will bark and growl. I should tape it some time. She doesn't jump up and go crazy necessarily, but she will get a concerned look on her face from wherever she happens to be and start to bark and growl. Once she has heard a noise she ends up reacting to she ends up in this hyper sensitive mode for a little while where she is on full alert to every single noise around her and starts to growl low at every noise she hears.

For example. Our landlords live upstairs. They tend to walk with a heavy foot so if she hears them walking around she tends to get upset. If I walk outside of my room and open up say the bathroom door or something she will bark and growl from wherever she is... It's completely random noises. Tonight she could be reacting to some noise she heard from upstairs and tomorrow she could hear the same noise and not care. The following day she may hear it again and react again. It tends to be mainly noises that she can't actually see the source of where the noise is coming from.

I know I can't be the only one on here that deals with this so... what do you guys do to work on this sort of thing?

[Laurelin]

Mia is hyper-sensitive like that. She's very much a 'oh, something is weird/has changed/odd noise- ALERT!' kind of dog. I typically just tell her thank you calmly and go about my business. Once she figures out I'm aware of it and it's okay, she usually settles down.

[adojrts]

This is an excellent CD for noise sensitive dogs/pups.

http://www.cleanrun.com/index.cfm?fu...&ParentCat=180

[CreatureTeacher]

Is she a purebred? How old? And has she done this as long as you've had her?

[skittledoo]

Originally Posted by Laurelin

Mia is hyper-sensitive like that. She's very much a 'oh, something is weird/has changed/odd noise- ALERT!' kind of dog. I typically just tell her thank you calmly and go about my business. Once she figures out I'm aware of it and it's okay, she usually settles down.

I've tried that with Cricket and it doesn't seem to work with her. She will just stare at me while she grumbles and growls at the noise. Josh gets irritated and tells her to knock it off when she does it, but ya that
doesn't work either.

Originally Posted by adojrts

This is an excellent CD for noise sensitive dogs/pups.

http://www.cleanrun.com/index.cfm?fu...&ParentCat=180

thanks. I'm definitely going to check this out.

Originally Posted by CreatureTeacher

Is she a purebred? How old? And has she done this as long as you've had her?

She's two. Not a purebred. Rescued street dog from Mexico. When she was younger she would do it a little. When we used to live with my mom my brother would try to scare her with different noises or chase her dressed up in costumes and stuff. No matter how many times I yelled at him for it he would still do it because he got a kick out of her reaction. I really do think that is where this behavior started.

When we lived in our apartment she would do it if she heard people in the hallway but other than that it wasn't too bad. Right now we are living in someone's basement and they are loud upstairs. So... It's gotten much worse and she tends to do this behavior more often.

[milos_mommy]

Originally Posted by skittledoo

When we used to live with my mom my brother would try to scare her with different noises or chase her dressed up in costumes and stuff. No matter how many times I yelled at him for it he would still do it because he got a kick out of her reaction. I really do think that is where this behavior started.

Bingo.


Milo does this to (and so did my brother ). I think it usually either stems for improper handling/socialization during the "fear period" as a puppy, or something like you described.

Milo's gotten a bit better with the Prozac, and a little bit of training - if we hear a noise and he notices but doesn't react, we'll reward, or try to reward fast before the reaction. It's hard though...and if you can't do it mostly every time, it's kind of useless. He has improved, but it's definitely still very much there.

Mostly I just tell him it's okay, and will redirect him (ask him to sit, lie down, grab a toy).

I also think it's partially a protective thing - he is apparently much worse about it when with me or my mom than with other people, and he gets a lot worse if I'm sick, upset, or nervous.

[SizzleDog]

Talla will growl/baroo/yodel/wuff at noises too, even if she KNOWS the person coming through the door is my husband, or if she KNOWS the dog in the yard is one of our own. It doesn't matter if I get her attention when she does it... she'll look at me, but her ears will be tilted towards the sound and she'll still wuff/growl at it.

Honestly, I think it's a Mexidog thing in part. Cricket and Talla are from a feral population that has been feral for thousands of years. Their fight/flight is closer to the surface. They're really not like other dogs... I know everyone says that about their breed, but these guys are really quite primitive.

[Lyzelle]

Originally Posted by skittledoo

When we used to live with my mom my brother would try to scare her with different noises or chase her dressed up in costumes and stuff. No matter how many times I yelled at him for it he would still do it because he got a kick out of her reaction. I really do think that is where this behavior started.

Originally Posted by milos_mommy

Bingo.

Yep. Zander is the same way. If he were deaf, I think he actually might be a pretty okay-normal dog. Still unsure about people, but 90% normal. But he is scared of every single noise. The dryer buzzer. Moving tape. Dishwasher. People he can't see in hotels. Noises I can't even hear. It's like he is in a constant state of over-stimulation when he hears a new noise. And it escalates and escalates until he's in full blown panic or complete fixation on one object (like a door). His response is more flight than fight, when compared to Cricket. And yeah, he was tormented at my mom's house too. Same source, same-ish reaction.

I do a lot of this:

Originally Posted by milos_mommy

Mostly I just tell him it's okay, and will redirect him (ask him to sit, lie down, grab a toy).

I try to catch it as early as I can and redirect to fun things to help take his mind off of it. If I think he'll escalate too quickly, I pop him a Benedryl to help bring him down a notch.

But lots of fun, high value things. Cheese, bread, meat, raw meat, etc. Tricks and some play time. Then I give him a spot to be and I continue to redirect him to there. It helps if I have a bed or a mat, but once he has a place to go and chill, he's good. He'll still react to noises, but he'll default to his place and chill out there.

Originally Posted by SizzleDog

Honestly, I think it's a Mexidog thing in part. Cricket and Talla are from a feral population that has been feral for thousands of years. Their fight/flight is closer to the surface. They're really not like other dogs... I know everyone says that about their breed, but these guys are really quite primitive.

I agree with this too. You still meet labs and GSDs with these issues, but it seems more on an individual level or a line-based level. As opposed to the more primitive Northern breeds, the Mexidogs, other feral dogs or hybrids. It really does seem like the response is just that more prevalent and widespread in the population.

[SizzleDog]

Originally Posted by Lyzelle

I agree with this too. You still meet labs and GSDs with these issues, but it seems more on an individual level or a line-based level. As opposed to the more primitive Northern breeds, the Mexidogs, other feral dogs or hybrids. It really does seem like the response is just that more prevalent and widespread in the population.

It's definitely an adjustment, owning primitive dogs!

Talla has been socialized up the wazoo, but she's still not good in close-quarter public situations. When I take her to the vet, she acts like she's never been touched by human hands... initially it was embarrassing, but it's less so now since I realize that it's not my fault that she's squirrelly in that type of situation. It's just the breed.

[Lyzelle]

Originally Posted by SizzleDog

It's definitely an adjustment, owning primitive dogs!

Talla has been socialized up the wazoo, but she's still not good in close-quarter public situations. When I take her to the vet, she acts like she's never been touched by human hands... initially it was embarrassing, but it's less so now since I realize that it's not my fault that she's squirrelly in that type of situation. It's just the breed.

Yep, that's pretty much how Zander acts every time he meets someone new or he has to go to the vet. He acts like he's been running wild for the last 8 years and has no idea WTF is going on....even if we've done it a million times before. It is embarrassing, at first. Then nerve-wracking if you have a runner. Annoying when you deal with people who are super intrusive. But it gets to a point where you know it's not you, it's just how they are and you have to manage.

(Unless you are me...then you go and get a super popular breed from an awesome breeder and vow to never get a primitive or skittish(or any combo of the two) dog ever again ).