How are you.

I have a problem with my dog, when my boyfriends 8yr old son goes out the back to kick his footy or soccor ball or even ride his skate board or roller blades my dog runs around the back yard barking. Its a very yappy and nervous bark, she is a very sensitive dog and she isnt scared of his son, she loves him and plays with him, its just that as soon as he starts making noises out the back she just freaks out. Even when she is inside with him outside she walks around anxiously. She is starting to bark as soon as he walks out the back now because she expects the noise. She gets so nervous she wont accept food and finds it impossible to sit still, and im not sure how to go about improving it when she is to focused on the noise to respond to anything else??

Any suggestions?

Thankyou
Kylie

Losing hair is a clear sign of stress which is very common sign when dogs (some “sensitive” ones) moved to new home and aren’t properly introduced to the new environment.

In Sabre case, he is highly stressed as he’s pre-traumatic experiences (old house) so when your new home introduced too many unfamiliar or unpleasant noises, he couldn’t cope that many at one go; not to add that these are compounding. His barking to any noise is sign of fear which he reckons are potential threats to him.

As to safety spot, it seems like he hasn’t found one that could “protect/shield” him from danger. One of the remedies is to get a good size crate and make it his safety spot. Crate training is of course needed.

You also might want to consider using alternative treatments, i.e. aromatherapy for dogs, for his hair loss and to desensitize his fears.

Hope this helps!

My mix Lab/Great Dane/King Shepherd has suffered from pretty traumatic loud noises. I’ll quickly describe them to you:

1) When our house burnt down, the sparks and sounds of flames were very loud and Sabre (my dog) had to be carried to get him to safety because he was frightened to the point of not moving.

2) When we moved into our new house, my grandfather was moving large items about the house causing, frequently, loud crashes of furniture and pots and pans.

3) Any unknown noise, whether it be someone going up the driveway, someone walking across the street or even someone going up the stairs (rarely), he tends to bark.

4) He’s made a bad connection: the loud noises by my grandfather were caused when my grandfather was around and Sabre of his presence. His association now causes him to be afraid of going near my grandfather in fear of more loud noises.

When it comes to Thunderstorms (not as frequent in Ottawa, Canada), he doesn’t do much, but on the bigger storms, he does try and hide.

You talked about a safety spot, when he becomes afraid and stressed, he doesn’t go to one spot, he tends to trot around with his tail near his legs and his ears down. He moves like lightning, so I generally know when he avoids contact, that he is afraid.

He is also starting to lose hair. His hair just seems to come off hair by hair with no effort when we pet him. Coincidentally, his hair loss began once we moved into the new house and were settled to an extent (after the loud noises). I logically assumed, because of the absence of any skin infections of signs of flees on his butt (where the fur comes out easiest), is directly proportional to the amount of loud noises he’s been exposed to.

Thank you for ANY insights.

Mathieu

That comfort (safety) spot has to be the dog’s choice; it shouldn’t be picked by us. What we think it is a comfy spot may not be so for the dog. Usually this comfort spot is under a coffee table, bed, chair, or at a “deserted” corner like behind TV console or between tiny space of two bookshelves.

If your dog is already used to her crate and has been spending many resting hours there, that’ll be her comfy spot. Just make sure her crate is within close range during thunderstorm so that she can make quick “get away.”

Some dogs have two or three comfort spots and they will go to different comfort spot according to the intensity of the noise. The greater the fear, the no. 1 comfort spot will be used. So you have more areas than you can offer her. Just make sure you’ve dog proofed your home.

Avoid putting her in the crate or anywhere else when she is in the state of fear. Doing so, will only reinforcing her fear and she may associate fear with her crate. Gradually, that crate will no longer be her comfort spot.

Hope this helps.