Helping your dog cope with 'noisy season'

Bonfire Night is the event people are most aware of impacting animals, especially dogs, but the “noisy season” kicks off with game shooting at the start of October, and doesn’t really finish until Chinese New Year celebrations have ended in February.

Noisy Season Calendar

• Shooting season: 1st October - 31st  January
• Halloween: 31st October
• Bonfire Night: 5th November
• Diwali: Around Halloween & Bonfire Night
• New Year’s Eve: 31st December
• Chinese New Year: January – February

Fear of loud noises, and being sensitive to noise, is very common, especially as animals hear things far more acutely than us: loud noises for us might be positively painful to a dog’s ears. It is natural for any of us to be alarmed by a loud noise – in nature, this is rarely the herald of something good. But this rational wariness can quickly develop into an anxiety disorder, or even a phobia.  

Irrational behaviour

Noise sensitivity anxiety can manifest itself as being jumpy, panting, drooling, trembling, widening their eyes, pacing, hiding, running around/away, or lying very still and refusing to move. Without intervention this response, or even anticipatory behaviour, is unlikely to improve, and more likely to make your pet’s life increasingly miserable.

Prevention

As with most things, prevention is better than cure, and the trick is to safeguard your puppy from developing a fear in the first place.  If you are rearing puppies, start as soon as they are alert from around 4-5 weeks old; if you have a new puppy, start within a couple of weeks of bringing them home. All puppies should be carefully exposed to lots of different sounds while they are still in their prime socialization phase.

Our partners Hearing Dogs for Deaf People or the Dogs Trust have some brilliant resources to help including step-by-step guides on how to safely introduce your dogs to new sounds, with useful sound clips.  And look at Agria’s guide on preparing your pets for fireworks.

The first encounter

Many puppies aren’t phased during their first ‘noisy season’ but issues often emerge the next time, when they are 1-2 years old. The key is to plan ahead and make preparations to try to avoid a traumatic experience for your dog, however old it is:

• If you’re expecting fireworks or shooting nearby, don’t leave your dog home alone.
• Create a safe space for them to hide, such as a covered crate or cupboard.
• Use background noise to mask the external sounds, classical music can be helpful.
• During fireworks keep the curtains closed.
• Use calming pheromone sprays and plug-ins in the run up to, & during, the season.
• Distract with toys, games and treats during noisy periods, so they associate the noise with fun.

What to do if your dog is afraid

Show them that you are not worried, smile and talk to them in a calm, reassuring, cheerful way, but don’t force them to be handled if they would rather be alone. Be available so they can come to you if they choose, and allow them access to the areas of the house where they feel safest. Muffle external sounds using music, white noise etc., and drawing the curtains. Understand your dog may need time to recover so don’t force them to go out last thing at night, or for a walk the next morning if they still seem anxious.

Desensitisation

If your dog has shown signs of being scared during the noisy season, it is important to start planning for next year early. Helping your dog to change how they feel about loud noises will take months, but wait until the loud bangs have finished for the year before you begin exposing them to sounds as training.  

If your dog shows mild discomfort, but is unaffected in their daily life, try using some of the online resources mentioned earlier to help them develop a more positive reaction when encountering this type of sound or display.

If your dog shows severe signs of fear and is very distressed during the noise event, or if their fear is lasting for more than 24hrs after, seek the professional help of your vet, who may refer you to a clinical animal behaviourist. Your vet may also suggest the use of medication to help them feel less scared, and prevent their fears getting worse, but you must try to remove their anxiety by addressing their behaviour, to improve things for next year. 

Suddenly becoming sound sensitive

If your adult dog has suddenly developed a fear of fireworks and loud noises, you might be able to trace it to an event, such as a bird-scarer unexpectedly going off close by, so follow the advice given above. However, if you are unaware of any reason, consult your vet about the possibility your dog may be in pain. Research shows a strong link between dogs with musculoskeletal pain (from arthritis, hip dysplasia, or back problems) and those who are scared by loud noise, possibly due to the pain experienced if your dog is startled and jumps at the noise.