Last night i went out for a walk around the streets with BOTH my dogs (shock horror - as most will know pesto is not good at walking).

Now Pesto has not walked at night or on streets for 6 months due to her noise phobia. We have been trying to desensitise her throught a drug program (v low dose) and changing her outlook of her walks ie food rewards for most steps.

Well last night i thought i would try her with the old walk we used to do - all going well for 15 mins (needed encouragement at the start but other than that she was as good as could be expected) until... yes you guessed it FIREWORKS aaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. So now I have to go right back to the start as she will not even come for me to put her lead on. This is 6months work (or more as she has had this problem 2 1/2 years) down the drain.

I really don't think i will ever get her over the problem.

Do people think it is just time to accept that she is as she is. As i really hate having her on the drugs.

Sorry just needed to rant as i am so annoyed.

Why are fireworks needed on the 29th july?

Thanks for listening

Sorry
Anna

i cant help you with your problem but there were fireworks near me last night too, jack my spaniel is petrified and spent the night at my feet, i use rescue remedy and a DAP difusser, but he isnt as nervous as yours

hope someone will be along soon to help

tanya

How strange we had fireworks too.  Only upsets one of our dogs and she is fine if she comes to bed with us.  But they seem to use them for any reason. Anna, I really don't know what to say on this - its a toughie.  I guess that you probably need to weigh up how much better she has been fireworks excepted.

Louise

Hi,
We also had fireworks quite late on. Must be a reason? Luckily we had already had our walk but Em could still hear them in the house. She doesn't bark though just snorts & paces. We had a lot of trouble at first with her also, not too bad now but she still can be very nervy. Also found out her hearing isn't too great which didn't help.
Sharon

Mine were just going to bed and we had fireworks.  My youngest goes on high alert with that shrill, hark hark bark. 

She was huffing and snorting with annoyance at the temerity of those loud bangs disturbing us. 

After one or two bangs the rest just ignore them, but she stays all wound up for ages, until she is sure they have stopped. 

Only thing I can do is shut windows and doors and put telly on louder.

Anyone any idea what the occasion may be?  Though we get them all year around here, day and night.

Barbara,
for your area I think it must be This

Now I didn't notice a thing last night.

Anna do you walk her in fields and such at other times? I rarely walk my dogs on or near streets,because of all the noise,traffic, pollution and you cant let them off lead,they dont enjoy it and neither do i.It is much better for them IMHO to be let off to run in a more natural surrounding such as fields and parks etc.
If it doesnt bother you that she doesnt want to walk on streets than i wouldnt push the point,she obviously is getting nothing out of it but stress,and there will always be some loud noise that will frighten her :(
In all of my years of owning dogs i have never walked them on or near roads,i cant think of any positives to doing this I honestly dont see the point of getting them used to traffic noises and such..why? Will it help them in the future when they move out on their own :D ;)

It makes you so mad doesnt it????? esp when you have been working  so hard trying to rebuild her confidence You ARE doing the right thing Anna and I am sure in time she will get there. Getting a dog to overcome its fears is hard work esp when they have a phobia againist noise.  For the past 2 weeks I have heard fireworks going off by us, some in broad daylight!!! CRAZY!!!! Chin up Anna!!!

Ktee ....Some people have NO choice and may have to walk streets to get to a park or field!!!! When Anna is trying  so hard to work on her dog, I find your comments  very negative

The point to get her used to noise is the fact that i live in london (the outskirts but still busy) and anywhere i go has traffic (even wimbledon common (which is as out of the way as i go due to not being very confident outside)).  It has got to the point where she wont even get her lead on and i have to carry her to the car (so glad she only weighs 10kg).  Even on really quiet places she can freak out for no reason (there is a reason to her but i don't know what it is).

I am at a loss as she is scared of so much and goes immediatelly in to panic for:
fireworks
thunder
motorbikes
cars
trains
china clinking together
metal together
doors slaming
ballooons
and much more which i can't remember.

I have tried using the cd but she couldn't care less - i have had it up full volume and she doesn't bat an eyelid :)

So really i am not sure what to do. Other than just except and make her life as good as possible around these things.

Oh and another thing i can't just ignore her as she really gets in to a state and hyperventilates (this can either lead to one of two things - fainting which will stop the hyperventilating or titany (sp?) which is where all their muscles go into spasm )
pesto goes into titany and therefore we have to get a paper bag over her mouth to stop this - this involves also talking to her calmly and is the only thing that helps.

Thanks for listening to my rant
Sorry

Hi Anna,

Take no heed of the patronising..those of us that see the bigger picture wish you well, and know your doing the best by Pesto :)
   My House is situated in the middle of nowhere, blissful rural setting but with the shooting season, and farming,combine harvesters it CAN be just as noisy as a road/pavement enviroment, pesto would experience just the same triggers here as where you are, so anyone to hint at you otherwise is more shortsighted than they *think*
  whilst I have he luxury of a rural setting My dogs are always taken to town enviroments for occassional walks I want well rounded dogs.
Do they hate it? am I dragging them down streets? ROFL!! with my two breeds?? they thrive on it being 'people' dogs.
Its not always soo black and white or negative you've your work cut out for you but your dedication and concern for Pesto should never be knocked :) xx

>I honestly dont see the point of getting them used to traffic noises and such..why?

Because unless you've been blessed with a better crystal ball than the rest of us, nobody can predict future changes in circumstances - or even eventualities such as your car breaking down in an area with no mobile reception (there are many around my area) and you having to walk with your dogs to a phone box or garage ...

If I didn't walk my dogs on the street how would I get to the park?  Also they would have to be confined to the house when in season.

I am rehabilitating my third rescue foster.  None of these had ever been on a lead and where initially terrified of traffic.  Within two weeks they were walking on a loose lead with only the odd start at the heaviest vehicles, tails still down at half mast (confident Elkhound has it's tail tightly curled over back) but getting there.

By six weeks they were enjoying the walks immensely.

Traffic is part of modern life and trying to shield a dog from it is not really doing it any favours as sooner or later it may well have to face it.

The trick is to have something about the walk that will be enjoyable, visiting doggy friends, a trip to the shopping precinct to get fussed over, or a walk in the park.

Now these poor unsocialised rescues did not want to interact with people any more than they had to, but with being exposed to it little by little, especially as my own dogs lap up attention, and there is no way they wanted to miss out on something the others enjoy, they got to finding it the highlight of their walk.

I have found that dogs who are inclined to avoid things they find uncomfortable need t be pushed a little, just to the stage of being uncomfortable, but not too scared.  As they gradually relax it builds their confidence and you can go a bit further each time.

You also need to always be very upbeat and positive in the situation they don't like.  If you have a bomb proof confident dog to share walks with all the better as they will note the other dogs lack of reaction and learn from it.

Just my opinion and experience of course

I have dogs who can go anywhere trains, planes, buses, cars. Lifts, crowds, quiet places, night or day all taken with equal equanimity.

there a cd on the market for dogs that have all different sounds.fireworks ect,i play this cd 24 hours for 8 weeks while the puppy are with us,

what you do is but cd on a low voloume then over the weeks rise the volume higher,to the levels to the human ear can stand the noise

Well last night i thought i would try her with the old walk we used to do - all going well for 15 mins (needed encouragement at the start but other than that she was as good as could be expected) until... yes you guessed it FIREWORKS aaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. So now I have to go right back to the start as she will not even come for me to put her lead on. This is 6months work (or more as she has had this problem 2 1/2 years) down the drain.
one of mine is very sound sensitive. He is okay with most noises in the city...he is also okay with gunshots, even been okay with cannon blasts! With anything really....  But not with fireworks.... fireworks are explosives..not only do the bang and whizz but they explode in huge fire balls in the sky and this light will blind the dog for a while until it's night vishion adjusts. Seeing a firework to a dog must be like the SAS seeing a brigh flash of light at night while wearing night vision equipment! Blinding! Added to thet their exceptional hearing and the quietness of night makes sounds clearer and louder. So what they see at night and hear is magnified so much more in intensity then what we pick up. So basically why should an animal be okay with these? The sad thing is many aren't. My dogs are trained the same, very very well socialised and yet one is sound/sight sensitive.  My other is sensitive to other things. As fireworks are not regulated or controlled and are now such massive explosives that explode all year round I just accept night walking is not really an option...it will be hard when the night are so long. :(

I think the CD sounds good but it is notable to offer the smells and sights feelings that go with the sounds which are combined together to scare the dog....nore the additional spounds like the rebound echos and so on....nor the fact that sudden sounds/sights can make us jump! We can be scared by these too... I know I hate these massive fireworks myself. 

Last week I was on the YKC camp in the countryside and it was the first time I could walk him at night without the risk of fireworks. It was lovely. He was like a different dog. Sadly that was a rare treat for a city dwelling dog.  I really feel for you and Pesto.

You have my sympathy Anna as we have the same problem with fireworks after a particularly close encounter and now my previously laid-back lad is terrified of them. Since the incident he is now also nervous of other loud noises that he can hear from our garden and I have noticed that night time is worse for him.

It is so annoying that all the effort put in to date can be ruined by one incident and I think your rant is totally justified. As we live close to the beach I am now wary about walking him there  as I think he would panic if the maroon for the life boat went off - happens quite frequently in the summer - and being such a big dog I wouldn't be able to hang on to him if he took off in fright.

I have stopped taking him out after dark now which, with this hot weather, means he misses out on one of his walks but this is preferable to running the risk of  losing him.

I wish you well with building her confidence up again and you should take full credit for the work you have done with her already. :)

How frustrating for you Anna! Poor girl. We've been having fireworks here too for some reason. My dog had a terrible time around traffic. It took months of hard work but now at 15 months he's fine unless street sweepers or fire engines go by at speed with the siren blaring. I only mention it because he recovers a lot quicker than he used to. So my hope for you is that you haven't lost 6 months of work, that she might get back to where she was before the incident faster than before. I wouldn't want to keep my dog on drugs so I am hoping for the best for you. I think she's a lucky girl to have someone who is willing to work so hard to make her comfortable in every situation.

Thanks all. I will start again near the beginning and see how quickley she gets back up to where she was (i won't push it tho). I have decided to take heroff the drugs as it has made her no different so there is no point.

It is just so sad when i see her not enjoying her walks - usually she would be out ahead of me but recently she jsut walks at my side with her tail between her legs. I then say "shall we go home" and she races ahead and wags her tail and can't get the lead on quick enough. It really upsets me.
As you all say it wouldn't be any different  in the country due to the gun shots and crow scarerers (sp?).

Her scaredness of traffic comes from her hearing a firework and bolting home from the local park (over a main road and many other roads ) to end up at my house. For the next few days she had very saw back leggs (wouldn't sit) so we think she was knocked by a car (her back hips have never been as good). It also happened when only i was there so she is much better at walking with my mum because she never seems to hear ffireworks when my mum takes her. This means she has also associated me with fireworks and seems to not love me as much as she used to :( this makes me upset which doesn't help either.

Oh i am in such a state as it seems all my animals have problems - pesto noise phobia, ziggi fear aggression, Izzy(cat) has never been the same since we got the dogs and does nothing but yell all the time. aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
but i am not one to get rid of animals when theya re difficult so hey will just have to put up with it and try my best to sort it. :(

Some day i wish it may all be resolved (fat chance)

Thanks again
Sorry

My lad is scared of birds...because a massive motar firework was set off too close and towards our house and went off just as we stepped out of our front door when my pup was 6 months old ... the next day when he saw birds he started to hide. He hides under benches or bushes if he sees birds flying when we are out..I think he knew someting in the air exploded and links that with birds.

Try to relax a little... it's not just the animals who can have problems..we expect so much from animls but just look at people and see how many issues we people have!  I only have to see a spider and I will scream the house down!   Just do your best...land think of all those animals stuck in bad homes! Yours are all so fortunate to have someone who really cares for them and trys so hard to work towards easing their stress. That's so lovely! They couldn't whish for a better home!