Good Idea/Bad Idea

kylith

So Finn has been here just over a week and in the house he's practically perfect. On the street, however, it's a different story. He pulls, but that isn't so bad most of the time. The problem comes when he panics, and he panics frequently. Everything scares him: cars, buses, lorries, billboards, passersby. The Luas is its own special terror.

I'm wondering if it would be a good idea to get a YouTube video of road noise and play it in the hope it might desensitise him. What do ye think?

Knine

kylith wrote: »

So Finn has been here just over a week and in the house he's practically perfect. On the street, however, it's a different story. He pulls, but that isn't so bad most of the time. The problem comes when he panics, and he panics frequently. Everything scares him: cars, buses, lorries, billboards, passersby. The Luas is its own special terror.

I'm wondering if it would be a good idea to get a YouTube video of road noise and play it in the hope it might desensitise him. What do ye think?

I think it is a great idea. I have just started using a similar CD for my daughter. She has huge sensory issues. Certain noises really bother her.

DBB

It wouldn't hurt, but you need to do this armed with a sack full of deliciousness! Start off with the sound down really low, and sit with him, feeding nyom treats as the noises play. This needs to be done to the point where he is utterly bored and beyond, with the noises.
Now you ramp up the noise a wee bit, and again, treats. You need to try to control his exposure to noises as much as possible for now, so that you never push him beyond what he's capable of. This is going to mean controlling his exposure to traffic too, so walkies need to be aimed only at spending time near a busy road, but far enough away from it that he won't worry... he might glance at the traffic, but if he does any more than this, you need to find somewhere that you can increase the distance whilst you chuck treats into him. This means that any proper walks need to be in open places where he won't have to worry about traffic, just enjoy his walk.
As he gets more and more blase about traffic/noises, then you can up the pressure a wee bit at a time.
I'd also strongly suggest an anxiety wrap for him (search on YouTube), and if this works at some level, a Thundershirt would be a good investment. You may also be able to consider ways to dampen the noise of traffic, there are hoods you can get, whilst loosely placing some cotton wool in the ears, that do this job.

Knine

As crazy as it sounds the advice above works for children too. Along with help from the Occupational Therapist. I use deep pressure vests. I don't chuck treats at her though.

When my puppies are very small I play all sorts of noises for them. Aong with having a mad house it really helps bombproof them for their new homes.

tk123

I've used YouTube videos of fireworks for Bailey but he copped quickly enough that they were coming from the laptop/tablet so not scary enough for him to be bothered - it worked much better when I streamed to the TV! He's still afraid but not as panicked.

For traffic he was bad as a puppy and got better but after his first leg operation he was worse than ever - not good when he was panicking and had a leg that was still healing and pinned together. A thundershirt(we've since switched to a karma wrap) helped along with cheese when something scary was coming BUT there's still stuff he doesn't like so I have to keep an eye/ear out for anything that might be too much in case he needs to move in from the path to the inside and slow our pace or just wait until it passes. Bin day is one to watch out for or rush hour when there's lots of busses, blue flashing lights mean a noisy ambulance or fire engine is about to come through the junction and may turn on its sirens so best to move into the wall and stop..we know what time the 2 JCBs will pass in the morning so go the other way..try not to pass big church at 6:00pm when the bells will ring so slow down a little before get to it - tbey have real bells compared to the recording they have in the church beside is which can be scary. Etc etc etc you'll learn the area's comings and goings lol

Does he have any issues with his back/hips/kness? The worst times for Bailey are when he's sore or injured. I know from doing t-touch that noise sensitivity is worse when they're carrying tension in their back and it's definitely the case with Bailey! He was sore over Christmas and on more than one occasion I made it as far as the gate when something frightened him on the road and he was crying and standing up at the front door to go back in - which is fine - if it's too scary we won't enjoy the walk anyways so best to stay in and play a game instead.

kylith

Excellent, I'll give that a try so. Plus I'd love to hear any suggestions for ways to build up his confidence (I've ordered some tuggy toys so we can play and he can win a bit). In the meantime I'm taking him around quiet streets, but it's not easy in the city.

He really is a very good dog, and totally non-destructive. So non destructive, in fact, that I've spent part of tonight pretending to chew a bone so that he'd get the message that it was ok for him to eat it. But it pains me to see him so frightened, especially since he's so excited to go for a walk in the first place.

Knine

How is he with other dogs? Do you have any friends with a bombproof friendly dog who you could go walking with? I have one here & the young babies go walking with her. It helps them a lot. I don't let them get too dependent on her though either.

kylith

He's good with other dogs. At the moment he just wants to sniff them and say hi, then go on. I did have a friend with the perfect dog, but he had to rehome it to a family member because his new landlord wouldn't allow pets. It's a shame because the dog would have been perfect; calm, friendly, and pretty bomb-proof. My dog-mad neighbour does have a fairly solid dog, but her dog isn't great with other dogs. I've joined a couple of dog groups on Meetup but no walks are upcoming.

muddypaws

I've found doing body conditioning work is great for confidence, also builds a bond between you. You don't need to buy expensive equipment, you can use books, yoga bricks, steps that kids have for using the toilet, lots of different things. Just teaching the dog to put their front paws up on things, move along, put their back paws on them has really helped my very nervous dog, Bear with confidence. Then we moved onto wobbly things, I bought an exercise ball and peanut from Lidl, and a wobble board from there as well, but you can use an airbed, even pillows, just something that is a bit unsteady under their paws.

Knine

kylith wrote: »

He's good with other dogs. At the moment he just wants to sniff them and say hi, then go on. I did have a friend with the perfect dog, but he had to rehome it to a family member because his new landlord wouldn't allow pets. It's a shame because the dog would have been perfect; calm, friendly, and pretty bomb-proof. My dog-mad neighbour does have a fairly solid dog, but her dog isn't great with other dogs. I've joined a couple of dog groups on Meetup but no walks are upcoming.

I'm probably a bit away from you or I could do it.

tk123

muddypaws wrote: »

I've found doing body conditioning work is great for confidence, also builds a bond between you. You don't need to buy expensive equipment, you can use books, yoga bricks, steps that kids have for using the toilet, lots of different things. Just teaching the dog to put their front paws up on things, move along, put their back paws on them has really helped my very nervous dog, Bear with confidence. Then we moved onto wobbly things, I bought an exercise ball and peanut from Lidl, and a wobble board from there as well, but you can use an airbed, even pillows, just something that is a bit unsteady under their paws.

Can you use 'human' peanut?! What size is he? The dog ones are so expensive!

Back on topic training helped a lot with Bailey - obedience, trucks and even just free shaping with the clicker. Scentwork is brilliant too - my two are trained to find vanilla lol!

muddypaws

tk123 wrote: »

Can you use 'human' peanut?! What size is he? The dog ones are so expensive!

Back on topic training helped a lot with Bailey - obedience, trucks and even just free shaping with the clicker. Scentwork is brilliant too - my two are trained to find vanilla lol!

Yeah, I just bought the human peanut, Lidl only had one size, so thats what I got. Bear is a husky cross, so he's smaller than some of the other dogs, its fine for him, but possibly wouldn't be suitable for a GR. Their backs need to be able to be straight when they're standing on it, if they have to be scrunched up, its too small. But I have found that an airbed (and I got one for £10 from Asda in Enniskillen) is just as good, you can decide how much air you put in it or not.

kylith

Thanks folks. I've been meaning to get my hands on a clicker. He has the basic commands but there's no reason not to teach him more!