# FEAR OF LOUD NOISES



## Paco's Mum (Sep 7, 2020)

Hello, My GSD is 11 months old and we recently moved into a new home where there is a construction site across the street. He is so afraid of the cement trucks, the banging and overall the loud nosey area and i will include public buses. He is so afraid he will cry out jump on me and try to run back to the house. We have him on a prong collar for leash training and he is usually a very good pup. Never pulls unless there are loud noises. We have tried to correct the jumping/pulling with the collar but is doesn't seem to work he just barks and doesn't focus. He does sit and just barks or cries out. When he sits i try to give him a treat or ball but he is not interested at all. How can make him more secure and not fearful of all this construction noises? Help!


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## David Winners (Apr 30, 2012)

The short answer is that you can't replace genetics with training.

You can however desensitize him to these things. You need to stay far enough away that he will take a treat, and then hang out and treat when he behaves well.

Look into BAT and LAT training. I'm tired so you will have to look them up yourself.


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## Paco's Mum (Sep 7, 2020)

David Winners said:


> The short answer is that you can't replace genetics with training.
> 
> You can however desensitize him to these things. You need to stay far enough away that he will take a treat, and then hang out and treat when he behaves well.
> 
> Look into BAT and LAT training. I'm tired so you will have to look them up yourself.


Thank you!!. I will look into BAT and LAT training for sure!. Get rest hope you have a great weekend.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

Noise issues are tough. You can try to work him in drive around noises and build up the level of noise.


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## IllinoisNative (Feb 2, 2010)

I have family members who have noise phobic dogs. It’s rough. One swears by the thunder shirt. My 16 year old dog developed fear of thunder/firecrackers at 8 years old. Maybe his age contributed to it? Now he’s mostly deaf so it no longer bothers him. When he was fearful, there was not much I could do to calm him when he was panting heavily and wouldn’t settle.

My current GSD has no sound sensitivity at all. Unless you’re opening any food packaging. 😂


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## Bearshandler (Aug 29, 2019)

It is easier if the sounds are constant. If that’s the case I would hangout with some distance between us and the source and wait for the dig to settle. Once he relaxes I would begin rewarding him for being calm. As he got better and quicker about relaxing I would move closer. One off sounds or sounds that aren’t consistent are harder. If you could get him to take a treat, just treat him whenever the sound occurs. You have to be quick to make the association though.


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## Paco's Mum (Sep 7, 2020)

IllinoisNative said:


> I have family members who have noise phobic dogs. It’s rough. One swears by the thunder shirt. My 16 year old dog developed fear of thunder/firecrackers at 8 years old. Maybe his age contributed to it? Now he’s mostly deaf so it no longer bothers him. When he was fearful, there was not much I could do to calm him when he was panting heavily and wouldn’t settle.
> 
> My current GSD has no sound sensitivity at all. Unless you’re opening any food packaging. 😂





Bearshandler said:


> It is easier if the sounds are constant. If that’s the case I would hangout with some distance between us and the source and wait for the dig to settle. Once he relaxes I would begin rewarding him for being calm. As he got better and quicker about relaxing I would move closer. One off sounds or sounds that aren’t consistent are harder. If you could get him to take a treat, just treat him whenever the sound occurs. You have to be quick to make the association though.


THANK YOU I WILL TRY DOING THIS!


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