Hi All

My westie robbie who is nearly 3yrs old has suddenly started reacting to noises that never bothered him before, strange voices on the television spark him off growling and barking, motorbikes that he hears going past the house and even when out on a walk freak him out, and we had some fireworks go off the other night that he went mad about barking and generally freaked out, none of these noises have ever bothered him before and its only over the past couple of months he has been doing this, the only thing that has changed is that he has been on homeopathic remedies for his skin problem but the homepath doesn't think this would be connected.
Last year and every other year when fireworks have gone off he hasn't bothered with them until now which i cannot understand why things have now altered, i have never commented with him just ignored him when he plays up but not sure if i should change what i am doing, the main advert on the television at the moment that sets him off is the lottery advert where the whizz of the firework goes off each time he darts up to the television barking his head off, just hard to believe that all of a sudden he hates fireworks and noises, any ideas what might have caused this or whats the best action to take!!!

You could get his hearing and ears checked out perhaps, if he's perhaps picked up an ear infection it might make him more sensitive to noise?

I would agree with get his ears checked out.An infection,blockage could be affecting the delicate structures within the hearing system.

He has been having his ears checked as what with his skin the homeopathic vet has checked his ears each time he has been and there is no sign of infection there, can dogs suddenly get frightened of fireworks after 3 yrs? He has been brilliant the past years with noises and never flinched but now as soon as he hears a whizz noise he races off the settee and barks like crazy which i ignore and don't react to but just cannot understand why all of a sudden he is like this.

If he had a bad experience at the same time so he associated the noise with the experience - then yes :(

its possble he's reacting because hes feeling better in himself and hes just more alert to things than he was before.

Or its possible that His Boosters have given Him an acute Hypersensitivity to Noise.....???

That's what happened to Lottie...She went from being a Super Confident Girly....to a quivering nervous wreck following Her first Booster at One year old...(not vaccinated since)

She is three now....and it is only in the last couple of months that I am able to take Her out on the field without a lead on.....it has taken an inordinate amount of patience and understanding....to get this far....and My Heart swells with pride each time We manage to walk a little further up the path without Her bolting.....

After all that Robbie has been through its quite possible that His whole body is "zinging" as the drugs work their way out of his system....

Bach Flowers Rescue Remedy is very good for calming....and promoting a sense of well-being and reassurance....

One of my dogs started reacting to thunder and gun shots at around 4 years of age. Not sure what started it exactly but I think it was separation anxiety, as he was top dog in the pack and wanted everyone where he could protect them. He was fine if I was with him and not as bad if just my OH was at home.

Mine used to be fine with fireworks and thunder, even the gunshy labrador, until one New year's Night when a stray low-flying rocket exploded about 30 feet above the garden where they were out having their late-night wee. They never really got over it, with Piglet being the worst by even transferring his fear to the noise of heavy rain (he associated heavy rain with thunder).

War movies with the whistle of falling bombs, fireworks on TV etc are no longer options if he hasn't been wiped over with a DAP wipe about an hour beforehand, which has made him very much better.

So basically anything which startled him whilst he could hear a loud noise, even if the two were totally unconnected, may have triggered off this reaction. I agree that it's unlikely that the homeopathic remedies have caused it, but never say never.

Thanks for you replies, the homeopathic vet is looking into the remedy he has been on to see if this can cause these reactions but she doesn't think so, its just so weird that the past years he has not made any reaction but just lately he goes mad.
I ignore the panic behaviour but when he constantly barks not sure what i should do to tell him enough is enough as i have always been told talking to them makes them worse but then again you cannot let him bark bark bark, especially when he is out in the garden late at night as our neighbours moan about anything!!!
Where do you get the dap wipes from? Somebody has lent me a scarey sounds cd to play and see what he does but not sure if these are any good or not

I got the DAP wipes from the vet - I can't seem to find them on the 'net so it'd be worth asking yours.

The Sounds Scary CD is also well worth trying, but make sure you never play it so loud that Robbie's troubled by it. You need to start with it so quiet that you can't hear it; if you see him twitch his ears and look anxious then turn it down even more, making a note of what volume level he's happy with. After a few days at that level you should be able to turn up the volume a fraction, repeating the process over about 4 or 6 weeks, by which time he should be fine with it at a volume you can hear without difficulty.

Good luck - it's horrible to see them so upset.

I have had a spate of clients with dogs who have all been developing various behaviour issues that all in someform or other revolve around noise.It's very odd but I have cases in Manchester and Cheshire all in a 25mile radius. It's odd to have so many all developing in the last 3 weeks,dogs who have been excellent until now. I wonder if pollens etc in the air or some sort of seasonal change is behind all this? But I haven't noticed it in past years but will be checking. Anyone else noticed noise based changes resulting in any behaviour issues?

As for the westie I would defo be checking out the homopathic treatment as they can cause issues rarely, could have been something very trivial though that sparked it, even an exhaust back firing?! As with 1 of my clients. You may never find out what started it but use the cd can only help and as mentioned rescue remedy, wonderful thing!!!

Is it a case then now he is reacting to loud noises this will never stop, he has been great the past years when fireworks have been right over head he has just lifted his head up and gone back to sleep, its so much more relaxed when your dog doesn't react to fireworks our last dog absolutely hated them from a puppy and its was such a shame to see him like it.
I just hope that he will settle back down again, what would you do when he starts continually barking at a loud noise would you just leave him or tell him off if it gets too bad?

I think you're dog will more than likely settle back down again intime as it would be unusual for a dog to suddenly develop noise phobias at the dogs age, unless there were signs all long such as reacting to car exhausts, sudden bangs babies crying children screaming.Then I suggest it has flared but been there all along. Try the recue remedy or even try another vet to get the ears checked out again. another opinion can't hurt.

Use the scary sounds cd to desensitize the dog first no food involved at all. if the dog suddenly starts barking and is not stopping rather than tell the dog off etc i storm out of the room, but don't stareat the dog or talk to it. Just get up in a huff and leave the room, you could even slam the door so the dog knows that it's behaviour is not highly regarded. Should stop the barking instantly and means you have put any vocal cues in but expressed how you feel about it.   

The noise he reacts to mostly when he is indoors is if a motorbike goes past the house even with the windows shut he jumps off his bed looking at the window barking and growling, he has always reacted to motorbikes from a young age but never this badly he just used to look up as one passed the house, we have always ignored this behaviour so not sure why he has got worse with them i only thought the fear got worse if you commented on bad behaviour.

Welcome to the weird and wonderful world of dog behaviour!! A place where sometimes things just don't play by the rules!!

Had a sneaky feeling it had roots in other behaviour as most of my clients dogs have had noise issues when we've had a chat but why it flares at this time of year I have no answers for. But you have a start point now and it's a case of working through it slowly and steadily. Sometimes no matter how we plan things just happen and I reckon it's like snowboarding......you board, you fall, but it's how you recover that counts!! And if you're me that involves brandy!!

Trust yourself you're too busy doubting your abilities but you have got this far, this is just a hiccup and will pass! Or it's just a wobble on your board so you have 2 choices fall and cry, or fall, get up brush snow off and crack on!! Learning as you go!!