Fear of certain sounds

[David]

Hi everybody. The other day my dog had a panic attack. It was caused by the sound of sime type of cart wtih those little wheels, I don't know how exatctly it's called in english, it was something like this. We were walking and everythig was alright, until that sound came from behind our back, and the dog panicked. I had some food with me, and tried to get him to push for it when we moved away form the sound, but he didn't, he didn't even look at the food. He wass just panicking and pulling me away form that place, and the only thing I could do is to take him home. He had shown fear of that type of sound before, but this time was deinitely the worse. I belive that if I could help him get over that, it would definitely help us in every other aspect. I have some luggage with wheels that makes similar sounds, and he is also afraid of that when we hears it, so it could be used for helping him get over that fear. So, if anybody could give some advice on how to do that, it would be great. Thanks

[Alec]

Check this out and see what you think.

fear of noises

[David]

Thanks Alec, that's what I had in mind, just wanted to be sure before we start. Hopefully we will be as sucessful as you and your dog.

[David]

Another question on this subject.
Today my dog had another panic attack. It was triggered by a sound of car trunk being closed. He panicked so I had to take him home. About three hours later we went out again to do some pushing, and again there was some sound that freaked him. I do not know which sound exactly because there was no particular sound that was louder than the others, just random sounds in the background. So he panicked again, not as much as before, but still wouldn't take any food, and he was just trying to get away so I had to take him home again. When we got home he was afraid to go out on the balcony even when I tried to lure him with food, and he usually loves the balcony. And in the days after the first attack he was not quite the same, he seemed a lot more nervous and attentive to sounds all around us.
I read somwhere on Kevin's page that as you do pushing, more and more puppy will emerge in the dog. When he was a puppy, he was afraid of some sounds, but as he got older it sort of went away to a certain extent. Some sounds would scare him, but he wouldn't panic. The question is, could this panic attacks that he is now having be a result of deeper layers of his emotional battery being uncovered by the pushing, so the fears that he had as a puppy are emerging? If that is the case, maybe it is a good thing because now there is a chance to resolve all of that, and make him a much more stable and happy dog. What do you think?

[Sang]

Originally Posted by David

Another question on this subject.
The question is, could this panic attacks that he is now having be a result of deeper layers of his emotional battery being uncovered by the pushing, so the fears that he had as a puppy are emerging? If that is the case, maybe it is a good thing because now there is a chance to resolve all of that, and make him a much more stable and happy dog. What do you think?

Absolutely. As the emotional valve is opened, all those old physical memories start to come to the surface. So this is a really good development, because it's giving you access to resolving this charge that was put in him as a puppy.

This is why it's so important to take great care in not exposing puppies to a world they aren't emotionally ready to handle. Sadly the current thinking about dogs is to expose them to MORE stimulation when they're puppies.

You can work in a safe area and try to duplicate the sound, and if he's not taking food or won't push, then have him fight to get up on a raised surface. This can help him feel like he conquered his fear on his own.

[David]

Do you mean like this?
Kevin Behan trims Cholula's nails.MP4 - YouTube

[Alec]

You may find this video even more helpful.

Dog going to the vet

[David]

Thanks! We will try that.

[Sang]

Yes, just like that.

[David]

We went to a quiet safe place today, and tried pushing, but the dog didn't seem interested. I didn't try to make any sounds that would scare him, just wanted to see if he would push. It was like we were starting all over again. He did push a couple of times, but he pushed very very weak, not even close to what he used to, didn't even get on his back legs. He seemed like he was avoiding me. He didn't even eat all his food, he didn't seem interested in food at all. Before his panic attacks and fear, he used to push quite hard, not with all his strenght, but quite hard, and he loved it, and now this. I guess we have to start over again, but even when we first started pushing he was much more into it than now. Is this normal?