In collaboration with Tanja Benn and Johnny Bastian from SearchHouse, DogCoach has created this little mini-guide to help you understand and accustom your dog to sounds in the best possible way, prior to, for example, New Year's Eve.
The guide is in 2 parts. The first part deals with what fear of lightning actually is, and what you can do to prevent your dog from becoming afraid of loud noises (thunder, fireworks, noise, etc.).
What is phonophobia and how can we best prevent it?
For many dogs, New Year's Eve is synonymous with fear and anxiety. Sudden loud noises from fireworks, flashes of light, and smoke cause many dogs to develop a fear of noise.
It is completely natural for our dogs to be sensitive to loud noises, and if we as dog owners do not help the dog learn that loud noises are not dangerous, then we risk our dog developing noise anxiety. It becomes hypersensitive to loud noises
If our dog has already developed noise anxiety, it will not get better on its own. Quite the opposite. From here we risk it escalating. Then suddenly it is not just fireworks, but also thunder, the garbage truck, the vacuum cleaner, etc. Then we are suddenly faced with a problem all year round and a dog that may have anxiety attacks all year round. And then we have to go through a longer, lifelong training and treatment.
Noise anxiety can affect all dogs of all ages. This means that even if you have a dog that didn't react to fireworks last year, they may be at risk of doing so this year. We can never be 100% sure.
That's why preventive and maintenance efforts are incredibly important, and one of the most important courses we at SearchHouse offer to dogs and their owners every year. The more we can do to teach our dog that sounds are not dangerous, the better. And throughout the dog's life, we maintain the training, so we equip the dog to be able to cope with the unpredictable sounds.
Watch a video from a course at Search House here ! The level in the video is incredibly high, and the work is done with a dog that is far along in the process.
There are several different ways we can prevent this, one of which is to combine a search exercise with gradual familiarization with fireworks sounds. This is also the method we use in our sound training as preparation in SearchHouse.
First of all, it is about gradually accustoming the dog to sounds. This must be done very controlled and gently. What is important in preventive training is that we never see a reaction to the sounds from the dog. If we see that the dog becomes insecure, we have gone too far.
Create a safe base for the dog to practice, and combine it with having the dog search for food or treats while doing so. This could be a sniffing mat, balls in a cardboard box, or something else where the dog spends some time sniffing for the food. Once the dog is familiar with the sniffing exercise, you can start introducing the sound.
Start by playing fireworks sounds (you can download the sounds to your phone from YouTube, for example) at the lowest level while the dog searches.
Find examples of fireworks sounds here
If your dog is comfortable and okay with this sound level, you can turn it up a little later in the day or the next day. The training should last a maximum of 10 minutes.
Do the exercise every day, possibly in connection with meals. Keep track of the volume level you are playing at, so that you don't turn it up too much. It is advisable to write it down so that you remember it. Gradually increase the intensity of the sound over many days.
You can also watch a video with a puppy here ! The puppy starts out slowly so as not to create any bad experiences.
We have made a playlist here where you can see how the dogs are trained at Search House.
About Searchhouse
SearchHouse is Denmark's first dog training center that specializes in special search and environmental training of dogs.
The place is located in Mørkøv and is run daily by Tanja Benn and Johnny Bastian, who have many years of experience with education and training of special search dogs used by, for example, the police and the correctional service.
The unique environmental training hall offers ongoing courses and education for all types of dog owners within search work and environmental training.
See more at www.searchhouse.dk
Mini guide: Acoustic Anxiety – Part 1
In collaboration with Tanja Benn and Johnny Bastian from SearchHouse, DogCoach has created this little mini-guide to help you understand and accustom your dog to sounds in the best possible way, prior to, for example, New Year's Eve.
The guide is in 2 parts. The first part deals with what fear of lightning actually is, and what you can do to prevent your dog from becoming afraid of loud noises (thunder, fireworks, noise, etc.).
What is phonophobia and how can we best prevent it?
For many dogs, New Year's Eve is synonymous with fear and anxiety. Sudden loud noises from fireworks, flashes of light, and smoke cause many dogs to develop a fear of noise.
It is completely natural for our dogs to be sensitive to loud noises, and if we as dog owners do not help the dog learn that loud noises are not dangerous, then we risk our dog developing noise anxiety. It becomes hypersensitive to loud noises
If our dog has already developed noise anxiety, it will not get better on its own. Quite the opposite. From here we risk it escalating. Then suddenly it is not just fireworks, but also thunder, the garbage truck, the vacuum cleaner, etc. Then we are suddenly faced with a problem all year round and a dog that may have anxiety attacks all year round. And then we have to go through a longer, lifelong training and treatment.
Noise anxiety can affect all dogs of all ages. This means that even if you have a dog that didn't react to fireworks last year, they may be at risk of doing so this year. We can never be 100% sure.
That's why preventive and maintenance efforts are incredibly important, and one of the most important courses we at SearchHouse offer to dogs and their owners every year. The more we can do to teach our dog that sounds are not dangerous, the better. And throughout the dog's life, we maintain the training, so we equip the dog to be able to cope with the unpredictable sounds.
Watch a video from a course at Search House here ! The level in the video is incredibly high, and the work is done with a dog that is far along in the process.
There are several different ways we can prevent this, one of which is to combine a search exercise with gradual familiarization with fireworks sounds. This is also the method we use in our sound training as preparation in SearchHouse.
First of all, it is about gradually accustoming the dog to sounds. This must be done very controlled and gently. What is important in preventive training is that we never see a reaction to the sounds from the dog. If we see that the dog becomes insecure, we have gone too far.
Create a safe base for the dog to practice, and combine it with having the dog search for food or treats while doing so. This could be a sniffing mat, balls in a cardboard box, or something else where the dog spends some time sniffing for the food. Once the dog is familiar with the sniffing exercise, you can start introducing the sound.
Start by playing fireworks sounds (you can download the sounds to your phone from YouTube, for example) at the lowest level while the dog searches.
Find examples of fireworks sounds here
If your dog is comfortable and okay with this sound level, you can turn it up a little later in the day or the next day. The training should last a maximum of 10 minutes.
Do the exercise every day, possibly in connection with meals. Keep track of the volume level you are playing at, so that you don't turn it up too much. It is advisable to write it down so that you remember it. Gradually increase the intensity of the sound over many days.
You can also watch a video with a puppy here ! The puppy starts out slowly so as not to create any bad experiences.
We have made a playlist here where you can see how the dogs are trained at Search House.
About Searchhouse
SearchHouse is Denmark's first dog training center that specializes in special search and environmental training of dogs.
The place is located in Mørkøv and is run daily by Tanja Benn and Johnny Bastian, who have many years of experience with education and training of special search dogs used by, for example, the police and the correctional service.
The unique environmental training hall offers ongoing courses and education for all types of dog owners within search work and environmental training.
See more at www.searchhouse.dk