Due to an unfortunate incident our 13 month GR is now very frightened of fireworks and I no longer walk him after dark as it seems to be open season for fireworks from now until the New Year.

In the day time he is walked in the woods but we have  now come across the problem of it being the season for shooting game birds. Prior to the firework incident he was absolutely fine with gun shots (and fireworks as a pup) but today a particularly large bang sent him running. I called him back and he came to within twenty feet or so but was too frightened to come any closer to the spot where he was when the shot happened. I made him sit and wait so I could go and put him on his lead and he did as he was told but was very nervous - looking all round and poised ready for flight again. Once on his lead he was still very nervous but walked very close to me and was still looking behind him and starting at small noises that normally he wouldn't take any notice of - a stick snapping, a bird taking off through the trees.

Obviously I can't just give up walking him from now until March so I need some ideas on how to help de-sensitise him to his fear. I was very kindly sent a CD that has fireworks and gun shots on it and have played it at increasing volume indoors and he is not bothered at all. It is only when outdoors that these loud bangs scare him.

I would really appreciate any ideas on how to deal with this problem. I can sometimes walk him in other areas away from the woods but it is not possible to do this on a regular basis and think I really have to get him over this problem somehow rather than just try to avoid it.

My GR is pretty sensitive to some noises; you should see him when a street sweeper goes by. However, a 300 decibel bomb could go off and not bother him if the noise came from the TV. Noises coming out of that box are normal. I just bought a sound CD but I'm going to get a portable player so I can hide it around the house, outside, anywhere unexpected. I getting the player tomorrow so I can tell you if he reacts differently to the sounds in other places. He totally ignored it in the DVD player.

To be honest, you are on a losing wicket if you intend to walk him in the woods on a daily basis as you can't de sensitise him in this way, it is more like "flooding" which is going to make him worse  :(

Desensitising and counterconditioning (ie getting the dog to associate horrible things with nice things) can take some time unfortunately, and any programme can be put back if the dog keeps hearing loud bangs that cannot be controlled. Is this the dog who was frightened before, and who ran out of the garden?

In your case I'd consider reputable behavioural advice - if he is insured you may find the cost is covered...try www.apbc.org.uk 

My dog was frightened in exactly the same way. She was brought up by her breeder to fireworks tapes and was very confident, however these unexpected loud bangs are the very devil and can really frighten some dogs. I remember the collie some years ago who bolted from his garden and was never found after a loud firework went off nearby :(

I was able to use a DAP diffuser (kept on all the time and refilled each month) plus watching my own behaviour (ie not overcomforting, just being normal and not stressed), and when hearing a bang out on walks (not loud bangs, there are alwys in the distance) I immediately got out her fav. toy and we  had a game, even now she will respond to a small bang on a walk by looking at me expectantly.

Final thought: if the bang in the woods was close by, is it safe to be walking in them?  I must admit I'd be wary myself :P :)

Good luck!

Hth
Lindsay
x

Thanks for your reply Lindsay.

The shooting is on adjacent farmland - it might even be a birdscarer rather than guns but not sure if they are used at this time of the year - so today I walked in the same woods but not so close to the fields. We had 4 bangs go off, fairly loud but not so close as yesterday. On the first bang he started to run, went about twenty yards away and then stopped and turned to look for me. I ignored him until I was within speaking distance of him and then just spoke quietly to him along hte lines of "alright old fella" and as I walked past him I just stroked the top of his head in passing and then carried on.

He did jump and run with the other bangs but not so far away each time and I treated him in the same manner each time. Later on in the walk when the bangs were very much in the distance I sat down on the ground to pick the burrs out of his coat and two more bangs went off and although he jumped he didn't try and run. As a young pup he had no fear at all of these sounds which we heard on a regular basis - from him being 10 weeks old - and the fear only came from the firework incident when he was then missing all night and when found the next day ( we spent the whole night out searching for him) he had fallen into a stream and was very cold, wet and terrified.

I know that pups can go through a second "fear" stage and was wondering if I should treat this particular fear as I did when he was a pup and unsure of other things such as loud traffic etc.  ie as a stage he is going through or if this should be treated differently as in a specific fear that he has acquired through a specific incident. He is 13 months old and a Golden retriever.

I obviously don't want to make it worse but am unsure if I am dealing with the situation in  the right manner.

I'd be careful about letting him off if there's a chance he'll run off scared - around November time I have to very careful with Remy on walks as evening approaches, I know I can't let him off as he will bolt.  Just last week he almost tore my shoulder up trying to get home - unfortunately we got caught out in a storm, and the lightning was hitting my town so we had a lot of close, extremely loud cracks.  Very frustrating as he was getting better - I've been reacting in much the same way as you, when the fireworks are going off at home, just acting normally, with the odd bit of praise when he was distracted from the noises by something else and calmed down briefly.  It's taken a long time though - he developed his fear back in 2003 on his first firework night, and only last New Year's did I feel he was calm enough to cope with it well.  I think my reactions to him also helped him get over a period of being gunshy last summer - he bolted the first time, but this summer I was able to take him to a game fair with clay pigeon shooting nearby without any problems.  The last time we heard gunshots and birdscarers he was fine - though I'll admit to trepidation for next time, since that storm.

Incidentally, last winter - start of this year I think - we were on a town walk, and had just got the end of my road on the way back; some idiot started letting off loud fireworks nearby, and Remy freaked.  I stayed very calm, and started walking slower; at the same time I was watching his every move, and whenever he seemed to calm down for a second he was praised and fed treats.  It did the trick - although my arm was still hurting (and several muscles pulled...) when we reached the house, he was much, much better with the noises and was listening to me if I gave him commands.  It wasn't a response I'd planned on a "what if" scenario - we were caught out, it was something I had to do to prevent dislocation of my shoulder, but it did work!!

Chin up, Harley will get there!

Thanks Nikita

The gunshots are slightly different to the fireworks - he ran with the gunshots but did stop whereas the fireworks was a blind panic bolt, my daughter managed to grab his collar but he was just too strong and pulled her over ( she was just coming through the front door as the firework went off one summer night). If it is dark and he hears a firework he runs into whatever room he can get into and whines and paces. He won't go out into the garden at all  and I have to put him on his lead and take him out for a wee before bedtime or else he will not go out the back door. On the lead he is reluctant but can be coaxed out but is very nervous until we go back in again.

I think the big difference between the two noises is that the fireworks happen when it is dark and when he was missing all night it was dark when he ran off - I don't take him out at all this time of year once evening comes as you never can tell when someone will set a firework off. With the gunshots it's more a "what the heck was that" run and he does stop when called but is still very wary.

He will react to thunder during the day in a lesser way in that he will jump but doesn't run whereas at night he will get up and move out of the kitchen/conservatory to a room which has drawn curtains.

It is so frustrating as prior to the incident he wasn't bothered at all by loud bangs - he was born at the end of August so was just a wee one when he experienced his first fireworks and he didn't turn a hair. I was originally hoping  to try some gun dog training with him as he is great at working through the thickest of undergrowth and loves water but I think that won't be happening now.

Don't necessarily discount doing some gundog training with him.

Fireworks, thunder, bird scarers and gunshot sound superficially alike to humans but can provoke very different reactions in dogs. I've certainly come across gundogs that are terrified of fireworks and thunder but perfectly happy with gunshot. The random nature (to your dog) of these bangs is giving him no chance to acclimatise, or give him any indication that they may indicate anything other than a bad experience.

By carefully introducing him to gunshot (gundog training style) by gradually decreasing the distance from the shot and increasing the volume a more gradual acclimatisation can occur. Link this in with an association with a potential retrieve (which ought to be the best possible reward for a retriever) and the dog starts to link the shot sound with something positive. You really need someone to help with this process to fire the starter or gun a distance away from you and the dog. 

You can do most elements of gundog training without gunshot, so even if you dont take him shooting you can make his training sessions much more rewarding for him.

If you're going to continue taking him to the same places with random shots going off I'd be inclined to take some kind of super-reward with you to give him as soon as he hears the noise (and only then) a bit like acclimatising to a clicker.It might be worth keeping him on a long line for a little while if you feel there is a risk of him bolting.

Yes, he might still very well make an excellent gundog.  Our ESS came to us already trained so can't help you with that part.  But it may be encouraging to hear that while she was terrified of thunder and fireworks the problem with gunshots was that she would run TOWARD them, no doubt hoping to pick up a bird.