Hi! I'm new here and found this board in an internet search. I am at my wits end with my 3.5 year old lab/golden mix. On New Years Eve, she destroyed her crate when fireworks went off in the neighborhood. She did this in a matter of minutes. When I found her, her mouth was bleeding and her crate was so damaged that I could not open the door. She has never been so terrified or destructive. I have known for a while that she was scared of gun shots, but I've never seen her react so violently to fireworks. Since NYE, she had been terrified of every little noise she hears outside. She stays outside the majority of the time. We've had two thunderstorms since NYE, and during both she has made attempts to tear down the house trying to get in. She has finally calmed down tonight, but she has been wound up for hours now, just the flash of lightening thru the blinds has sent her into a tailspin. I do not know how to handle her behavior. Should I satisfy her by letting her in the house whenever she cries at the door, leave her until she becomes destructive, scold her? I would appreciate any advice! Thanks in advance!
My dog is terrified of everything!!!
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Is she really terrified of everything or just thunder,fireworks, loud noises. Is she afraid of people, dogs, new situations, etc? If so, she may need more help than you can give her, she needs a behaviorist. Check with your vet. Have you had her from a puppy or did you just get her as an adult?
Please do not leave her outside; labs and goldens are people dogs. They are happy when they can be close to their humans. If she is only afraid of loud noises like thunder, let her find a place in the house to hide (basement, closet, under something) but do not coddle her.
Please do not leave her outside; labs and goldens are people dogs. They are happy when they can be close to their humans. If she is only afraid of loud noises like thunder, let her find a place in the house to hide (basement, closet, under something) but do not coddle her.
She has been inside, only out when I thought it was "safe", since the fireworks several nights ago. I'm taking her to the vet today to make sure there is nothing physically wrong with her. I've had her since she was a puppy, she was even born at my parents house. She has never been in a situation where she was abused or anything, or had anything done to her to make her scared. She isn't afraid of people, etc. as far as I know, but we haven't been around anyone other than family in the last few days. I'm just having a hard time deciding what the best course of action is when she does get so scared. It took her 3 hours last night to calm down from the storm even though she was inside and next to me the entire time. I'm hoping that the vet can give me some insight today.
I hate to hear that she is so miserable.Thanks for all the advice. A side note, re-reading my original message, I see that it may have been misunderstood that she is in a crate outside full time. That is not the case. I have a fenced in backyard that she stays in the majority of the time and is perfectly happy. She is only crated on certain occasions, and always has the option of getting in her dog house. Generally in the evenings she comes inside, but wants to go back out after a few hours.
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You have a noise fearful dog who has now experienced trauma because she was "trapped" in her crate during the fireworks. She really needs professional help immediately in conjunction with a program of behavior modification.
I don't think anyone believed that you crated your dog outdoors. In our collective opinion, housing labs/goldens outdoors primarily is not desireable. They need company.
I don't think anyone believed that you crated your dog outdoors. In our collective opinion, housing labs/goldens outdoors primarily is not desireable. They need company.
at very least, next storm that comes up, make sure it's a really super fun play time with a high value toy(one that is NOT left out, or better yet, buy a NEW toy but don't bring it out till the storm so it's brand spankin new to her), with lots of tasty treats.
don't act nervous or tense yourself during the storm. Completely ignore the thunder. They will read your cues on the situation.
don't act nervous or tense yourself during the storm. Completely ignore the thunder. They will read your cues on the situation.
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Good luck and let us know what the vet says.
thanks
thanks
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I really doubt that you will be able to distract this dog as above until she is medicated. The behavior mod program for an extremely noise fearful dog is a very lengthy one which cannot be corrected by calmness of the owner and distraction alone. By all means, ignore her fretting when she reacts to noise - but she may need to be in a quiet dark room or a closet to feel safe.DFWLab said:
To let those interested know. I took her to the vet yesterday. The vet put her on an anti-anxiety medication that she is to take everyday. We're going to try that for a few weeks and see how it works. Last night she was very calm and caused no disturbance. I'm hoping that the meds will just help her relax and so far it seems to be working.
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Thanks for the update. I hope she will be able to cope w/o meds soon.
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Great news! The next step is to get a behaviorist involved and initiate a program of desensitization to noises. This is done very slowly with controlled exposure to noise (recorded) with incremental increases in loudness. Eventually (if successful) she should be exposed to real noises - again slowly and at a distance then becoming closer/louder. If you want her to eventually be med free, you need to do this.aucivil06 said:
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