Does Your Pooch Find Some Sounds Troubling?
My dogs hate the bleeping sound of the smoke alarm, they completely lose it.
Did you know:
1 out of 3 dogs find beeping sounds a trigger
Over 52% of dogs find thunder a trigger
During an initial assessment, I typically ask about how their dog responds to noises from: thunder, large vehicles like garbage trucks or buses, construction noises, appliances like vacuum, disposal or coffee grinder, phone sounds, gunshots, and of course fireworks; and whether there are any other noises that seem to cause a reaction.
Some dogs are rock solid or rock solid to certain sounds that they may have been exposed to; for example, fire engines and their sirens were second nature to our dogs as we lived next to a fire station. On the other hand, as I started out mentioning, smoke alarm bleeping will send them waaaaay over the edge.
A lot of pet parents recognize the sounds that their dogs and cats are sensitive to but I’d say fail to realize that these can be sources of duress that range from a mild fear response to an outright extreme phobic reaction. The latter may be a result of an individual traumatic encounter, perhaps during a developmentally critical stage or from recurrent exposure to a frightful sound. A fear response can be a normal behavior but for a sound sensitive or fearful dog, these responses can have a detrimental effect on their welfare. Responses can be a startle, sudden agitation, panting, pacing, and hiding like behind a toilet or under a bed. Radny and colleagues’ review (2023) highlight a number of physiological impacts of extreme fear responses including a weakened immune system, insulin resistance, cardiovascular illness and digestive issues, in addition to hearing loss.
I personally don’t watch scary movies when I’m alone and it’s late at night as I tend to start to think I’m hearing strange sounds that result in me getting jumpy and uneasy. Think of this response with your dog if they have repeated exposure to sounds that they find scary. As a human, I can do some self-talk and rationalize that the sounds that I think I might have heard in the darkness are just my imagination getting the best of me – your dog doesn’t have the capacity to explain through the scary sounds, they just have to try to cope with the anxiety-inducing sounds as best as they can. More in Part 2 of what we can do to support sound sensitive doggos.
Most sound sensitivities occur early with the majority of affected dogs showing signs in their first or second year of life; it’s uncommon for onset to occur with dogs over six years. However if an older dog suddenly develops a fear of noise(s), a pain issue should be explored which brings me to an interesting connection between sound sensitivities and pain. Researchers believe that a dog experiencing pain can have its situation exacerbated when a noise makes the dog tense which puts extra stress on muscles or joints may already be inflamed and thereby causing further pain. This association with the noise can lead to a sensitivity or avoidance of situations where they had the bad experience. Other research and clinical experiences have also shown that separation anxiety and noise aversions are often found together.
A lot of pet parents recognize that their dog may react to a noise. I think fewer pet parents are aware that their dog may be experiencing distress and that continued exposure can have physiological and or behavior impacts. My hope is that more of us will realize that our dogs will benefit if we take action to better manage the environment for them or work with a professional to reduce their fear and discomfort.
Cheers, Tracy
Lopes Fagundes AL, Hewison L, McPeake KJ, Zulch H, & Mills DS (2018). Noise Sensitivities in Dogs: An Exploration of Signs in Dogs with and without Musculoskeletal Pain Using Qualitative Content Analysis, Frontiers in Veterinary Science (5) https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/veterinary-science/articles/10.3389/fvets.2018.00017
Radhy R, Jacob N, & Tamizhkumaran J, (May, 2023). A Review on the Influence of Noise on the Welfare of Dogs, International Journal of Bio-resource and Stress Management, 14(5):789-795
https://ojs.pphouse.org/index.php/IJBSM/article/view/4415
