I remember walking home from my girlfriends with my dogs this past July 4th. It was still early, not quite dark, perhaps 8:30 or 8:45 in the evening, but there were plenty of fireworks surrounding us. As I approached my house, I saw in the distance a dog running towards us. The dog was running at top speed, and obviously in total panic. I tried to call the dog, since I had my dogs, I thought he would be interested in us. The dog was oblivious and showing total fear. I won't ever know what happened to the dog or if he even lived, since there are many major roads in the neighborhood. I really felt the need to address this issue for new puppy owners.
This is especially sad because bringing your puppy up correctly helps develop a well adjusted dog.
As soon as you get your puppy, try to notice what his favorite toys are. Is your pup food motivated, toy motivated or both? I find that toy motivated works the best. You want your puppy to associate loud noises, (thunderstorms or fireworks, even loud cars or trucks going by) with fun!
Begin with not so loud noises, look at your dog and say-in a silly voice-"What was that?" Act silly and funny and get your puppy to focus on you, not the noise. You know you are on the right track when your pup hears something loud and then looks at you. It really does not matter what you do, but you want your pup to think "noise equals silly and fun!" Don't coddle the puppy or try to protect your puppy from these noises because they will be a normal part of his life. You want your puppy to think noise is normal.
When the first thunderstorm hits, get your puppies favorite toy and play! Run away from you puppy, chase your puppy, throw the toy, play tug of war with the toy. Even throw in small pieces of liverwurst. Make it silly, fun, and keep your dogs interest on you! You can only do that by offering more to your puppy than what the storm is offering. Fun to a puppy or dog is playtime!
Do the same thing with July 4th- start with small noises work up to bigger noises....when a dog brings you a toy at the first rumble of thunder, or the first firework, then you are on the right track!
Take the breed into consideration. One client with a sheltie puppy forgot all about thunder and fireworks when the owner kicked a ball around. Another client with a retriever thrived when a toy was tossed and the puppy had to go get it and bring it back.
Some puppies love tug of war. Get the long, unstuffed animals and tug away!
Some puppies are lazy and not into playing or running. Get small bits of liverwurst or cheese and announce "What is that noise?" and when your pup looks at you, give a treat. Save these special treats for noises only.
Remember that training is ongoing! Keep up the good work, just because a puppy grows up does not mean you should stop playing! If you let up on the training a phobia could develop.
Now, all puppies are not the same. With some very insecure or nervous pups you might need to build their confidence first. Older rescue dogs might already have a noise phobia. In that case, I find a calming collar works very well ( SentryPetCare.com ), and I love the Thundershirt ( www.thundershirt.com ). One client's dog would go to the owner while vacuuming so the owner could put on her Thundershirt.
Again, not all methods work with every dog. Then you have to think outside the box!
by Mary Kay Krupinski of Do As I Say - Dog Training by Mary Kay
Wantagh NY
