Article From SubmitYOURArticle.com: The Secret To Teaching Your Dog Not To Be Afraid Of Loud Noises

Dogs are well known to have a problem with loud
noises. Everyone's heard the stories of dogs
hiding under beds during a thunderstorm or
becoming terrified when fireworks are being shot
off. Dogs don't have any way to know that such
noises are harmless. In their world, a loud noise
spells danger - immediate and deadly. Some dogs
simply react with irritation and annoyance,
barking and carrying on, but other dogs have be
sent shivering to the vet or succumbed to heart
attacks.

If you own a dog that is prone to phobias or
suffers from terror when presented with loud
noises, then you are well aware of exactly how
traumatic such events are - both for you and for
your pet. Terrified dogs, just like frightened
humans, may give in to destructive behavior such
as peeing on the carpet, chewing on things,
barking franticly, or even attacking anything
that moves. And such behavior is even worse if
their owner isn't home when they become
frightened.

People forget that dogs aren't little people -
they are animals with alien minds who doing think
like humans do. This disconnect causes people to
treat their dog like they would a child - holding
the dog as if it were a baby, stroking its fur,
talking to it in a soothing tone of voice. For a
child, such things are comforting but for a dog,
those actions are a reward. Those are the exact
same things the owner would do if the dog did
something good, after all. So the message that is
sent to the dog is "Good boy (or girl) for acting
afraid. Good dog. Peeing on the carpet is good."
Which is exactly the wrong message to send. This
teaches the dog to repeat whatever it was he did
while genuinely frightened - except that now
he'll be peeing, chewing or barking in order to
get rewarded again.

The hardest thing to do, but the absolutely BEST
thing to do, for dogs that don't like loud noises
but that aren't terrified of them is to totally
ignore the dog when he s frightened. Keep an eye
on your pet and make sure that he doesn't get
hurt but that's all. leave the dog alone. He is
capable of dealing with the situation on his own
no matter how back you might want to help, so
allow him to do so. Ensure that your dog can't
get under anything and get stuck. You never know
when loud noises are going to happen.

If your dog is terrified of loud noises however,
then get used to confining him to a small room or
a crate. Humans tend to think of crates and small
confinement areas as punishments but dogs aren't
humans. They think of such things as warm, cozy
dens. Curled up in a den, protected from the loud
noise and its cause will make the dog feel safe
and secure.

You will also want to try to desensitize the dog
- which is a fancy way of saying get him used to
noises in small doses. For example, you might
record thunder or buy a tape of a thunderstorm.
Then when the dog is relaxed, play the tape back
on low volume. Let him get curious. Raise the
volume a bit and allow the dog to become used to
it then raise it a bit more. Over time he'll get
used to the idea that it's nothing bad and begin
to ignore it. Keep working with this until you
can plan the tape at full volume without the dog
reacting.

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Take a few minutes to do something good for your
dog today. Visit
http://www.secretsofdogobedience.com/ and learn
how to communicate with your best friend. Your
dog and your neighbors will thank you.

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