Fear of certain noises?

Hello there,

My dog Fenris has always been a little bit of a big baby but these past few months he has started to develop a fear of the garbage truck. It comes once a week to collect the bins and this means that once every week he ends up a shivering mess.

He skulks around, hides, shakes and pants like mad. He is worse in the morning right before they come, during and some time after. Even in the evening he is not quite himself.

I have tried so many things. From dog massage, ignoring it, taking him outside to see the bin truck, telling him to man up, playing with him and distraction. I even have tried different musics to see if this will help calm him.

The issue is this hissing noise the truck makes. When he was younger he used to bite (not friendly puppy biting) and this took a lot of work to curb. We found a spray bottle that made a hiss noise that used to snap him out of his bad behaviour. Well he associates this noise with BAD now.

Sorry for the long post. I just want to try anything to help him relax a little bit. Its not bin day today and he is on my pillow next to me shaking (and he's not a 'close' dog usually). The garbage truck noise was on the news in the background and not real :/

How do I help him calm down on bin day and ignore the noise from outside?

Hello Nat

You weren't to know about the side effects of using aversive but that is one reason I dislike them so much .
I have had experience of dogs associating certain sounds with similar sounds which have caused them fear in the past without ever using aversive.

I had a problem with a Mini and arch file boxes , I think the snapping noise they made reminded her of an elastic band which she was once teased with by girls at work (I used to take her with me). I had Arch files on the floor at home for a couple of weeks with treats on top and Amy got over her fear , That was a much simpler problem to solve that the one you have though.


One think I would not do is to try to force the dog to face the fear, this can lead to even more unwanted behaviours.

As the situation has become so bad it might be a good idea to seek the help of a good behaviourist. You vet should be able to refer you to one and if you have your dog insured the cost may be covered in your insurance.

I would want someone who belongs to an organisation with a code of conduct like the APBC.
There is information and list on this site..
http://www.apbc.org.uk/apbc/memberlist

That is not to say there aren't other good behaviourists out there but I would choose one with care.

What methods would I try, distraction and avoidance which I think you have already tried .
This involves moving the dog away from the noise/disguising the sound/playing with the dog /remaining 'up beat' and not appearing to anticipate the dogs fear which could reinforce the fear.

The other method is to desensitise your dog to the sound gradually with the use of reward but this is not easy because the problem has become so bad you have no control over the noise which is causing the fear.

It must be horrible for your little dog to be so scared, I hope you manage to resolve the problem .

Thank you so much for replying I really appreciate it! My family and I never put any thought into the 'training' we were using to help stop him biting having any bad side effects. Which is silly really, cannot open a bottle of fizzy drink without him looking sheepish (due to the fizz sound).

I think he was more fearful today due to hearing the garbage truck noise on TV as he was not expecting it. BUT I threw a blanket over him and he settled down and went to sleep. He's actually quite relaxed now thankfully.

I have taken him to meet the bin men and he was totally fine. Not bothered at all! Was actually pretty uninterested, smelling the hedge and trying to coax me towards the park! Just seems to be when he is in the house.

I will look into getting professional help for him as I do love him to bits and want him to be a happy relaxed fellow. He's often anxious and always has been. Cannot tell his brother off without him hiding under the kitchen table in fear.

Hi Nat The noise may sound different in the house or it may be that when there it has more of an association with a previous experience and the restriction of his flight response.

It is quite unusual for a Mini to be so scared , I have had them for almost 50 years and worked with many and they are usually quite bold little dogs

My little dog, Yoyo, he struts around, bossing other dogs, ignoring us telling him off, plays with everything and acts like a naughty bones all the time. Fenris however is so jumpy! He is not a mini (he's more, medium large?) and has a cross with, we were told, Shi tzu (don't ask me how that happened!). Though even those little dogs are not exactly shy and retiring.

I agree it may be because he feels trapped in the house when he hears the noise. Yoyo gets under the bed (has a little cubby hole in there) and loves to sleep the day away in his 'den'. Fenris does not have anywhere like that and I really think he would benefit from having his own 'cave' to go into to feel more secure.

Though, does anyone else has experience with this? I might see about making somewhere for him to go...

(I just realised but even in my profile pic he is smiling up from under the kitchen table!)

Hi Nat Fenris may like a crate then some dogs do, if he is not destructive the canvas ones are good though a little pricey.
My dog Chloe has one to protect her from the Grandchildren , I can zip the flaps down if I need too...

Aww that is a lovely picture! Schnauzers are such beautiful dogs c:
Thank you so much! I will have a look at those crates. I think it would be a decent investment if it makes him feel safe and secure.

Hi Nat thank you.
I did lots of research before buying, some crates were just too expensive for me but I have been delighted with the one I got which folds flat. it is not recommended for chewers..

http://www.testedonanimals.biz/

What is he like with trucks when you are walking with him out and about?

Minihaha - Well thankfully none of my chaps are chewers ^^


maxine - He is fine with trucks when I walk him out and about. He does not pay any attention to them at all.