Fear of loud noises is very common in our household pets. The Fourth of July and New Year's Eve in particular are especially problematic for most dogs. Every year, dogs become so fearful that they may escape their yard or house and run the risk of becoming lost, injured, or losing their life. Dogs do not develop these fears overnight, however, and there are techniques that we can use in the months before the event to reduce this fear.
The first step is to identify exactly what is making your dog fearful. Making sure you know the cause (is it the sound of the fireworks, the sight of them, or smell of gunpowder which is causing the fear for your particular dog?). Every dog is unique, and each separate issue would benefit best from different methods.
The first step to any confident, well behaved pet is to show leadership in his/her life. We want your dog to look to you for guidance, but we also want them to have the confidence to make good decisions in your absence. Basic training is essential for any dog in order to provide a safe and secure environment. Make sure your dog can “sit”, “come” and “settle” before any additional training is attempted.
To begin preparing for the Fourth of July holiday or any other situation in which you know your dog will be fearful, you must start training ahead of time. The techniques that we recommend are called “Counter conditioning and Desensitization.” Basically, your dog is currently conditioned to display a large, fearful response to a given stimulus (in this case, fireworks). Our plan is to undo this learned behavior and replace it with a more relaxed behavior. This is called Counter conditioning. We also want to expose the animal to the stimulus in a gradual and controlled manner which does not elicit the fearful behavior. This is called Desensitization.
Our Desensitization course covers these topics, but you will still have homework just like every other client! We teach your pet how to calm themselves around other stimulus, then teach them to use those skills to remain calm and accepting of new experiences, such as loud fireworks! This is a multi-step process, and may be aided by medication if necessary for the individual to succeed. There's no shame in making the first experience less scary!
As we have stated in ads, we can accept either a
course fee OR donations of items/supplies for our local animal shelters. Our goal is to do as much good as possible with these events, which is why we've made them our most accessible training option by far!
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