Noise phobia

R

ruckusluvr

Forums Enthusiast
Ruckus was diagnosed last year with some sort of chemical imbalance/anxiety disorder. He is on Elivil and it has really worked wonders.

However he seems to have sets of days when his noise phobia is horrid! It makes him hard to even take on a walk because anything, just a car door shutting will make him completely freak out. And then the next time we go walking and he gets to where that noised happened yesterday he freezes up, and then starts to pull to the car.

after a few days of sever noise phobia he is back to normal and act like a normal dog.

Do you think that I need to consult my vet and maybe he needs something tweeked with his meds? I HATE to give him more meds than he is on, but I want him to have the best quality of life that he can. Is there anything training wise I can do when he is having his noise phobia days? How should I react when he starts freaking out? I have been just ignoring him, but it doesnt work.

If you look back to my old post you will realize that it has been behavior issues one after the other with him. Trainers, vets, etc! I have even had one behaviorist suggest me putting him down!
 
With noise fear, the best thing to do is to tape sounds of noises he is afraid of and play it back with the volumne way down. Click and treat him everytime Ruckus hears the noise and doesn't get upset. Gradually increase the volume on the tape until it is much louder than outside.

I read the post "Bad Day for Ruckus". I have tried to let people know that the most important thing about buying a puppy, is that they need to be well socialized before you get them. If they are not well socialized at 16 weeks, it means a life time of training for some of them.

The place I like to socialize Buddy best, is the Music in the Park on Wednesday night here. There is a live band (pretty loud), babies to Great-Grandparents, food booths, face painting, and balloons made into hats, bicycles and skateboarding, kids and dogs running around. You might want to go to one of them and tape record it and bring it home. Eventually, maybe you could take Ruckus to one.

The real key to socialization is to keeping Ruckus going out as often as possible, so that he gets used to it. If you can't muzzle him or get control of him, then you may need to make him a "House only" dog. When you have company, put him in a closed room so he won't hurt anybody, and never let him around people. I don't know how well those fake grass pads work, but at least you could still keep Ruckus.

As far as what to do when when he freaks out--get him away from that situation as fast as you can, then start to coax him gently closer to what he's afraid of with clicks and treats.

I know this must be awful for you, I've been through this myself. Ruckus and you will be in my prayers.
 
that makes me feel better. I feel hopeless tonight. I get so frustrated.... and wonder
where did I mess up with this dog. I socialized him, got him from an okay breeder (byb who used to show, her dogs are home raised, very very loved, but no Champions for at least 3 generations, and she didnt health test tho)

I know the vets think he was born with it, or whatever
But I still feel like its my fault. He is such a good boy, and I feel like I have failed him. Its one of the worst feelings I have ever had.

Ruckus has been doing great with since the "Bad day with Ruckus" post. I swear he has came so far on his medication. But for some reason we just cannot kick the sever noise phobia.

I know about desensitizing him, but when its only about %30 of the time and 100's of things he is afraid of I have no idea how. Sometimes its gunshots to gravel grinding under my shoes! and for only maybe 3-5 days a month. I guess I should start writing on a calender when he is having his bad days and maybe there is a pattern.

I need to try to look on the bright side. He isnt being nearly as fearful or aggressive to people anymore (with only 3 exceptions now). I have really gotten the hang of reading his body language and that has helped us alot.

here is more of my story if you are new and dont know.

http://www.sheltieforums.com/showthread.php?t=575&highlight=fearful+ruckus
http://www.sheltieforums.com/showthread.php?t=1217&highlight=ruckus
http://www.sheltieforums.com/showthread.php?t=729&highlight=ruckus
http://www.sheltieforums.com/showthread.php?t=888&highlight=ruckus

I feel like over the past year I have bombarded you all with questions about Ruckus. I feel bad, and I am sorry. But everyone here has helped me so much! I am greatful for any advice.
The only behaviorist within reasonable driving distance wants to put Ruckus down. So I just dont know who else to turn to other than my sheltie friends.
 
Ruckus and my Deska must be cut from the same cloth - car chasing and noise sensitive.

I find I have to regularly reinforce his sound responses otherwise he keeps slipping back into being jumpy. On Monday we had thunderstorms so he is still jumpy.

The main thing I do is keep up the noise levels at home when he is jumpy. I leave the tv on when I go to work (on the kid's tv station because it has lots of different noises). I also put the Edinburgh Military Tattoo on repeat - all those different noises seem to help.

When Deska jumps at something when we are out I whistle a tune. Then he focuses on me and is too distracted by my whistling to think about the noise he just heard. Maybe consider teaching him an alternative response when he is startled. I sometimes let Deska bark at whatever startles him - but a controlled bark so he has to wait and then I say "okay" and he is allowed to bark or growl. We do this at home as well with appliances, and with airplanes and it turns it into a game.

How long has Ruckus been on the elivil? An anti anxiety will not take away the sound sensitivity but it will help with how easily he calms down after ward and with his startle response. It probably is a good idea to have the vet look at the meds if you are seeing a good response and little side effects.
 
*Caro, thank you so much. I would love to try that whistling thing, but I cant whistle!

Ruckus has been on Elivil (amitriptyline) for about 6 months now.

What is this Edinburgh Military Tattoo? And where can I get it?

I usually leave the TV on because Ruckus actually watches sponge bob, and its on a whole lot.

What about turning the TV volume down and putting it on a war movie where there are pops and booms? Do you think getting him used to gun like sounds would help with everything? Like car doors, hammering, etc?
His noise phobia is better. Before I couldnt say any words that started with the letter "v", pop a soda can top, set a glass down on the table, etc. And now he mainly freaks out on walks and when it storms.
 
What a shame you dont whistle. My little Tully loves whistling so much she will only come when I whistle now.

The Tattoo has all the bagpipe and military bands from around the world. But a war movie might be okay - esp as it will have periods of talking in between the banging sounds. But I would stick around just to make sure he doesn't get too anxious with the noises. I use the Tattoo because it has banging noises and yet doesn't startle Deska. You could also just try some classical music with percussion.

Good old sponge bob - he's a good choice. I put on the telly tubbies when I leave and I'm glad to get out as they drive me nuts.
 
Hello. My input isn't related to behavior, but the medication Elavil.

I took it for a short time because another medication I took caused insomnia.

My Dr. told me not to take it with calcium because it might affect absorption. Also, it makes humans sensitive to sunlight and sunburn so I didn't go out for any extended periods of time.

Does Ruckus get his medication at the same time every day? Elavil has a long list of side effects and I don't know how dogs might be affected. I always took it at night on an empty stomach and then went to bed so I really didn't have any issues with it except a little grogginess in the morning. The time of day it's taken and whether its with/without food and the type of food may have an effect on how it's working. Just a thought.......
 
ruckusluvr said:
I feel like over the past year I have bombarded you all with questions about Ruckus. I feel bad, and I am sorry. But everyone here has helped me so much! I am greatful for any advice.
The only behaviorist within reasonable driving distance wants to put Ruckus down. So I just dont know who else to turn to other than my sheltie friends.
Click to expand...

Don't ever feel bad about asking questions on the forum, that's what its here for. Everyone is more than happy to offer up suggestions and to give support when its needed.

I don't really have any experience with the behavioral issues you're going through. Just keep trying to socialize him as was suggested. A good place to start might be a place like Petsmart or similar store allowes pets and that has a lot of new noises and smells. When he's comfortable there bring him somewhere noisier, like the place Crystal1 suggested.

Sadie doesn't have the noise phobia that Ruckus has, but she can be spooky occasionally all the same. When something spooks her (usually a nearby sound in the dark or a strange looking object), once she's calmed down I'll usually coax her up to whatever spooked her and encourage her to sniff it. She was very hesitant at first but has gradually learned to trust that if I'm encouraging her to sniff it, that its probably not going to kill her. Once she's sniffed it she's ok to walk past whats frightened her and never thinks twice about walking past that particular spot again.

Ariel made a good point also, about the medication you mentioned. It might be worth it for you to talk to the vet about when the medication should be administered to ensure that Ruckus is receiving its full effectiveness.
 
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