How do I cure my puppy's firework fear?

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How do I cure my puppy's firework fear?

One dog was cured by flooding its senses and using food as a diversion.

Thursday, 05 April 2007

I have a 20-month-old bitch that was coming on well in her training until neighbours set off fireworks. The bitch has become terrified of the noise and as soon as she hears a bang she collapses. What can I do?

A:

During a puppy's early training I make sure it has been desensitised to any noise.

Your problem may be attributable to fireworks, but she should have been made confident about noise during training to the point where the sound, or even sight, of a gun becomes a cue for pleasure not fear.

I have cured several adult dogs which showed fear of bangs through a careful desensitisation process.

I cured another dog, a six-year-old labrador bitch, which was terrified of fireworks, by flooding its senses and using food as a diversion.

I stood about 500 yards from a large public firework display and during an hour of unrelenting noise she consumed her evening meal by being fed a nugget of food every time there was a loud bang.

The result was remarkable and her fear vanished for good. Before starting any retraining programme, it would be worth having her ears checked by a vet to make sure there is no infection that could cause pain when loud noises are heard.

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Comments

vera williams

Fri, 17th Jul 2009 13:00:17

Hi our 5yr old border collie called Skye has some sort of fits every 2months and she might have 3 fits in 3hrs or like last night she had 1 fit and then this morning she had 2 fits in 2hrs also she messes while having these fits,this has been going on for a year thats how long we have had Skye,cause we adopted her from a couple whom emigrated to Australia so they could'nt take,but they did tell us that Skye had fits but they never told us how often since they had her from a pup,they said they did'nt know wether it was fireworks that triggered them of or what,but she seems a very nervy frigid dog but she is so cute shes really no bother its just a shame she has these fits,I know i sound cruel but i can't cope with this anymore and its very upsetting to see Skye like this,i said to my partner he should'nt of got her in the first place especialy suffering fits,i think he felt sorry for her and she is very cute bless,my partner never told me that he was going to this couples house to look at a dog it was sort of a surprise,but if i had been there i would of said no due to the fits,we have been looking for a home or a place where they take dogs in,but they are either full or because she has these fits,the vet said we can take her for a blood test to see if anything shows up but 90percent results does'nt show anything,so we really don't know what to,the last resort is to have her put down which sounds awful i know,we live in coventry and we have phoned a few places but no success.

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