I have been having an issue with Charley lately and that is she freaks out at any loud noises, such as motorcycles, backfires (especially) and construction sites that have machinery going.

I’m becoming quite worried now that the 4th of July is upon us.

It’s becoming an issue as we live in the city and I can’t quite know where this came from because she has been living amongst all these noises since she was a puppy 3 1/2 years ago.

She will immediately go into the flight reaction, where her ears go back, she shrinks to the ground, and starts pulling me in an extremely strong way. I find it hard to reign her back in once this happens, for she seems absolutely terrified. I don’t know if I should let her pull me frantically, or hold her back. I don’t want her to be so freaked out but I also don’t know how to convey to her that she is ok, and that I wouldn’t let anything happen to her, and that it’s just obnoxious noise. I don’t want to submit to her being the leader by pulling me along, nor do I want her to have to submit to her fear. It’s a double edged issue I’ve got going on here.

I had to look up “noise pollution and dogs” to find out that 1/3 of the dog population is affected, and that even one single incident, or repeated incidents, can cause a fear reaction and result into phobic reactions.

I think she’s reached an almost phobic reaction to these loud noises.

There is one suggestion that makes somewhat sense to me and that is called “counter conditioning” I believe. It’s where I am to reward her every time we hear one of those loud noises BEFORE she freaks out. I don’t quite know how that is going to happen because I don’t want to be too late in the reward where she thinks I’m rewarding her for getting freaked out by a sound. I have to catch it right before it happens so she affiliates the loud noise with something good. Such as a treat or play.

The only thing is Charley is not treat oriented at all. But give her a ball and it’s a done deal.

She was at first (treat oriented) when she was a real young puppy, but then she realized ( I think) that she was being trained and stopped taking the treats and would just give me eyes that said, “You’ve got to be kidding me.” I swear, she’s super scary smart being an Australian Shepard/Border Collie. She’s got no time for treats. I’m not saying all those breeds are like that, it just is what I’ve come to learn from her personality.

I’m thinking the one treat she may not be able to turn away from is something high end such as bacon. Or steak. Maybe I’m going to have to cook up some bacon and steak and use those as a re-conditioning tools. Bacon is not the best thing for her I realize, but I do get some results from using that in other training exercises. It’s just so messy and I tend to eat a lot of it if it’s in front of me. Not a good thing for both.

The other thing I read is medication from the vet. She was prescribed trazadone to be given to her before she came into the vet, but once again she knew when I was giving it to her and I had to be especially tricky in putting it in her food. Plus I felt guilty drugging my dog. Yes, she becomes mellow, but I just don’t feel right about it.

I’ve heard about hemp treats for dogs, but I haven’t heard too much about them. Plus, they are a bit spendy.

I don’t quite know what is the appropriate action to take in this matter.

Do they make dog earplugs? Or maybe just look into moving out of the city. I don’t know. Hopefully we will be able to find a solution to this issue.