Posted by Linn Radsted posted on November 23, 2018
Why do some dogs develop noise anxiety while others don't? It's a question that opens up a lot of speculation, but we know for sure that there are several factors at play.
Genetic and hereditary factors An exciting research study on Rhesus monkeys reveals that as much as 35% of variations in fear behavior could be explained by the genes inherited from their mother and father.
They found that three brain centers in particular (orbitofrontal cortex, amygdala, limbic system) were much more active than normal. It was as if some parts of the brain had gone from being able to handle normal threats to becoming super-critical.
So that the individuals responded to mild threats as very large and acute threats. Their conclusion was that this brain overactivity had been inherited from the parent animals. This makes the individual more vulnerable to developing higher anxiety and fear behaviors later in life.
A study from the University of Oslo showed that herding dog breeds, or mixes thereof, developed noise anxiety more frequently than other breeds. And that most dogs with noise anxiety only started showing signs around the age of 1 year.
How can this be? A possible explanation for this could be that some hormones are only kick-started when the brain is more mature and the individual has accumulated the amount of stress required, this could be the explanation for why some types of anxiety only develop later in life.
Hormonal factors The same study also showed that bitches had a 30% higher tendency to develop noise anxiety than males, and that a full 72% of neutered (sterilized/castrated) dogs had a greater risk of developing noise anxiety than intact dogs.
Which strongly indicates that there are also hormonal factors at play. This is worth considering before neutering your dog.
Illness and pain Many studies over the years have shown that most behavioral problems are related to illness and pain.
A brand new study from this year also shows that there are major connections between musculoskeletal pain and sound sensitivity.
This can be due to injuries, blows or overloading of joints, bones, bone plates, tendons, muscles, nervous system and connective tissue functions. The injuries can be caused by, for example, a tug on the leash, an accident due to a fall, a broken leg, blows to muscles caused by a collision or a fall, violent play with other dogs or overloading of muscles and joints due to physical activity.
The pain is exacerbated by loud noises, which cause the dog to tense up and therefore put extra stress on both muscles or joints that may already be irritated and inflamed, causing further pain. The pain then becomes associated with the loud and frightening noises, which in turn leads to extra sound sensitivity.
Researchers therefore advise veterinarians to ALWAYS examine a dog for hidden diseases and pain. However, as owners, you should be extra aware of this and therefore always ask the veterinarian for examinations and contact an animal chiropractor for an assessment.
Traumatic experiences
A dog's history affects sensitivity to sounds. Perhaps you once dropped a lid on the floor right next to your dog and it was terrified, or a truck drove too close to your dog on a walk. Such a sudden startle can become negatively conditioned, as the sudden and loud noises have now become associated with the feeling of fear.
It is therefore important that when training counterconditioning (read in mini-guide 2) you combine it with systematic desensitization, otherwise you can easily exceed the dog's stress limit and thereby achieve increased fear. This is called flooding.
Conditional calm, astrongsignal
An incredibly effective and simple training method that has great significance in fear and anxiety behavior is conditioned calm.
In just a few steps, you can condition calmness by connecting a signal that automatically causes the dog to relax immediately.
How to do it:
Prepare your training in an environment where your dog will usually relax quickly, either on his blanket, in bed or on the sofa.
Pet your dog quietly and continue until he relaxes more and more. Make soft and calm massage circles along the way. Maybe he lies on his back with his legs in the air, that's perfect so we know that the muscles are completely relaxed.
When your dog is completely relaxed, apply your desired signal, for example “soooooooo” or “goodnight.” You just say that, preferably a few times in a row.
Repeat it many times….
Gradually you test your signal, Try it in a quiet moment when nothing is happening. Say your signal “calm down” or “goodnight” and see if your dog automatically lies down and relaxes.
If you succeed, you test in more and more active situations inside, while still continuing to strengthen your signal via the first steps in the conditioning process.
If that doesn't work, continue strengthening your signal through the first steps of the conditioning process until you test it again.
NB: It is important that you do not use this signal multiple times, such as the “go and lie down” signal, as in that case it will not become conditioned (connected) with the muscle relaxation state.
This exercise is very easy to start with, it's only when you test it that it gets trickier. This is where you find out if your conditioning works. It should work automatically so that you can use it when there is thunder or fireworks outside.
Conditioned calm has been shown to be very effective for dogs with noise anxiety as well as dogs with high stress levels.
Video: Here you can see a small sequence on how you can start a conditioning process.
Video: Below is a classic example of when conditional calm works :)
Betina Sabinsky, professional behaviorist & animal instructor.
On a daily basis, she drivesDogWiseand has been helping dogs and their owners with behavioral treatment, counseling and training for the past 15 years. Betina is a BAT expert and also regularly gives a number of popular lectures on noise anxiety, home alone, BAT, etc.
Mini guide part 3 - Dog's noise anxiety
Why do some dogs develop noise anxiety while others don't?
It's a question that opens up a lot of speculation, but we know for sure that there are several factors at play.
Genetic and hereditary factors
An exciting research study on Rhesus monkeys reveals that as much as 35% of variations in fear behavior could be explained by the genes inherited from their mother and father.
They found that three brain centers in particular (orbitofrontal cortex, amygdala, limbic system) were much more active than normal. It was as if some parts of the brain had gone from being able to handle normal threats to becoming super-critical.
So that the individuals responded to mild threats as very large and acute threats. Their conclusion was that this brain overactivity had been inherited from the parent animals. This makes the individual more vulnerable to developing higher anxiety and fear behaviors later in life.
A study from the University of Oslo showed that herding dog breeds, or mixes thereof, developed noise anxiety more frequently than other breeds. And that most dogs with noise anxiety only started showing signs around the age of 1 year.
How can this be? A possible explanation for this could be that some hormones are only kick-started when the brain is more mature and the individual has accumulated the amount of stress required, this could be the explanation for why some types of anxiety only develop later in life.
Hormonal factors
The same study also showed that bitches had a 30% higher tendency to develop noise anxiety than males, and that a full 72% of neutered (sterilized/castrated) dogs had a greater risk of developing noise anxiety than intact dogs.
Which strongly indicates that there are also hormonal factors at play. This is worth considering before neutering your dog.
Illness and pain
Many studies over the years have shown that most behavioral problems are related to illness and pain.
A brand new study from this year also shows that there are major connections between musculoskeletal pain and sound sensitivity.
This can be due to injuries, blows or overloading of joints, bones, bone plates, tendons, muscles, nervous system and connective tissue functions. The injuries can be caused by, for example, a tug on the leash, an accident due to a fall, a broken leg, blows to muscles caused by a collision or a fall, violent play with other dogs or overloading of muscles and joints due to physical activity.
The pain is exacerbated by loud noises, which cause the dog to tense up and therefore put extra stress on both muscles or joints that may already be irritated and inflamed, causing further pain. The pain then becomes associated with the loud and frightening noises, which in turn leads to extra sound sensitivity.
Researchers therefore advise veterinarians to ALWAYS examine a dog for hidden diseases and pain. However, as owners, you should be extra aware of this and therefore always ask the veterinarian for examinations and contact an animal chiropractor for an assessment.
Traumatic experiences
A dog's history affects sensitivity to sounds. Perhaps you once dropped a lid on the floor right next to your dog and it was terrified, or a truck drove too close to your dog on a walk.
Such a sudden startle can become negatively conditioned, as the sudden and loud noises have now become associated with the feeling of fear.
It is therefore important that when training counterconditioning (read in mini-guide 2) you combine it with systematic desensitization, otherwise you can easily exceed the dog's stress limit and thereby achieve increased fear.
This is called flooding.
Conditional calm, a strong signal
An incredibly effective and simple training method that has great significance in fear and anxiety behavior is conditioned calm.
In just a few steps, you can condition calmness by connecting a signal that automatically causes the dog to relax immediately.
How to do it:
either on his blanket, in bed or on the sofa.
Repeat it many times….
Try it in a quiet moment when nothing is happening. Say your signal “calm down” or “goodnight” and see if your dog automatically lies down and relaxes.
If you succeed, you test in more and more active situations inside, while still continuing to strengthen your signal via the first steps in the conditioning process.
If that doesn't work, continue strengthening your signal through the first steps of the conditioning process until you test it again.
NB: It is important that you do not use this signal multiple times, such as the “go and lie down” signal, as in that case it will not become conditioned (connected) with the muscle relaxation state.
This exercise is very easy to start with, it's only when you test it that it gets trickier. This is where you find out if your conditioning works. It should work automatically so that you can use it when there is thunder or fireworks outside.
Conditioned calm has been shown to be very effective for dogs with noise anxiety as well as dogs with high stress levels.
Video:
Here you can see a small sequence on how you can start a conditioning process.
Video:
Below is a classic example of when conditional calm works :)
References:
https://youtu.be/Xh7sAKw78J0
https://www.livescience.com/51477-anxious-brains-are-inherited.html
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/canine-corner/201509/the-nature-and-consequences-noise-sensitivity-in-dogs
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/03/180320100719.htm
Karolina Westlund, PhD
ILLIS ABC
This guide is made by
Betina Sabinsky, professional behaviorist & animal instructor.
On a daily basis, she drives DogWise and has been helping dogs and their owners with behavioral treatment, counseling and training for the past 15 years.
Betina is a BAT expert and also regularly gives a number of popular lectures on noise anxiety, home alone, BAT, etc.