# Fear of loud noises



## Wiganrugby (Apr 4, 2015)

Hi. We have a 2 year old bitch who since fireworks night 2014 has a major fear of loud bangs. 

She is fine if we walk her away from bangs and noises but we live in a rural area with a few bird scarers around. She never wants to go for a walk and spends the walk shaking and her tail is tucked completely under her body. If she hears a noise whilst off the lead she runs under the nearest bush and starts to dig and hide. She seems to have developed a nervous nature. 

She is great anywhere else we go if there are no bangs and perfectly happy off the lead but we can't avoid bangs where we live and need to deal with the problem. 

Please help if you can. 

It is heart breaking to see her like this


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## Vizsla Baby (Nov 4, 2011)

Some of these beautiful dogs do develop fears. 

My female has a minor fear of bees ever since she was stung in the face last year (I can't blame her!). Whenever she sees or hears one she runs & hides. I try to ignore it as much as I can (i.e. no sympathy). I start heading in another direction and call her out of her hiding place. Once she's on the move again she's back to normal. With Spring time here, the bees are active so this has happened about 4-5 times already this season. 

My male on the other hand is fearless. Absolutely nothing scares him. Totally different personalities. 

If it's not too hot where you live, you can use a thunder shirt to help. Also, when you know there will be fireworks (New Years, 4th of July if you are in the USA), you should probably get a mild sedative from your vet for your V so she isn't so stressed by them. 

I wish you luck, I wish I could help more, I'm sure someone on here can.


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

The good, and bad about the breed is they remember everything. Some dogs can overcome their fears with a lot of conditioning, and others never do. Its been my experience if you start working right away to overcome it, you have better odds. If its had time to become a way of life for them, its harder to change their reaction to it. Know that your going to be taking small steps, and there is no over night fix. Is there a way to take her daily where the bangs are a good distance away. You want it so she can barely make them out. You keep doing it until she is confident. Only after she has been confident for a couple of weeks, do you move a tiny bit closer. You just keep doing the process over and over, even at times going back to the longer distances before moving to the closer one. You also do things that take her attention off the noise. It doesn't matter what it is, as long as its something she's physically doing, other than tail down and scared. It could be chasing a ball, hunting for mice, it really doesn't matter.


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