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 Pet Central
Q&A
Q: Our 6-year-old
toy poodle is a nervous wreck. He’s afraid of all sorts of noises. Every
time the TV goes on or someone rattles papers, he runs into my lap and
sits there shaking. I’ve tried to comfort him but that doesn’t help. In
fact, his fears worsen as he gets older. How can I help him? -- Z.A.,
Emmalena, Ky.
A: First off, when
your dog jumps into your lap, calmly get up, then call the dog to you
in another part of the house. For the time being, offer a chewy (such
as rawhide or a Kong toy stuffed with treats or moist food) in that other
part of the house so your poor pooch can get his mind off his troubles.
Marge Gibbs, a Riverwoods, Ill. trainer with special interest in behavior,
points out that by coddling the dog you’re probably reinforcing his fears.
But this still doesn’t tell you how to get your dog over those noisy horrors.
Tape record a full
15 minutes of the sounds of the TV going on and off, rattling papers,
and whatever else the pooch doesn’t like hearing. Begin playing the tape
at a low volume while you nonchalantly do something else that makes at
least a little noise, like washing dishes. Over several sessions, pump
up the volume. If your pooch looks anxious, you’ve gone too loud too fast.
When your poodle contentedly snoozes while the tape plays, reward him
with an enthusiastic "good boy," or by playing his favorite
game. Actually, if you can play while the tape is playing, great. The
dog will learn to associate the noise with something he likes. And definitely
play the tape as "dinner music." Depending on the dog and how
often you play the tape, this entire effort could take days, weeks or
months; there’s no predicting.
However, the densitization
tape may not be totally effective in cases where other factors are involved
in the sound sensitivity. For example, dogs afraid of thunder often associate
the lightning, electrical currents in the air and even falling barometric
pressures with their fears. If your dog associates the electrical current
he senses from the TV with the sound of thunder, the tapes may only slightly
improve his attitude.
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