Before discussing noise phobia it is important to understand how hearing in dogs differs from man. Dogs can hear sounds up to 65,000 Hz (cycles per second). A human with normal hearing can hear sounds up to 20,000 Hz. To produce the highest pitch a person can hear, a piano would need to have an extra 28 keys (two and a third octaves) on the top end of the treble. To reach the highest note a dog can hear, would take 48 extra keys (a full four octaves). Dogs can distinguish between two notes an eighth of a tone apart. They can hear a sound at 80 metres that you cannot hear beyond 20 m. In just 0.06 of a second, a dog is able to adjust its ears and .pinpoint the direction a sound is coming from. Dogs with prick up ears have more sensitive hearing than dogs with floppy ears. Imagine how much louder “Big Bang“ fireworks must sound through your dog’s ears!

Dogs, like many other animals, have an instinctive fear of loud noises. This is probably nature’s way of helping the dog to avoid danger. Noise phobias in dogs usually involve loud percussive noises like fireworks, gun shots and naturally thunder. The most common cause of phobias developing is due to intense exposure to a loud noise. The events alter the dogs fear and flight thresholds by creating alarm-threat pathways in the brain, thus making the animal excessively reactive to a particular noise.

Some breeds of dogs are more genetically predisposed to react negatively to loud noises, for instance collie types, whereas gundog breeds will have higher noise tolerance levels. There are some dogs who react badly to thunderstorms but yet are less perturbed by other loud noises like firecrackers. The answer to this might well lie in the theory that some thunder-phobic dogs may be reacting to storm related electricity. As dogs have a higher salt content in their bodies they feel electric shocks more severely. The static in the air during an electric storm could cause small electric shocks to the dog. Ways that may help to reduce static build-up on the dog’s coat are misting the coat with water or rubbing it down with a sheet of fabric softener.

The best approach to managing phobia is to change the negative experience of a thunderstorm to a positive one. A way of achieving this is to positively reinforce every loud bang with a reward, and then gradually only reinforce calm responses to the loud bangs. The reward could also involve a tug or ball game. You can also buy remote treat dispensers and could release a treat every few seconds, and perhaps give a jackpot of treats during a particularly loud crash of thunder. The same treatment would apply to other noise phobias. Obviously if you start training a dog as a puppy you would have the best chance of success. There are also CDs available which have recordings of thunder, fireworks etc. These are useful for getting the dog used to the sounds at very low volumes at first and then gradually increasing the volume to realistic levels. Some dogs however are well aware that it is a fake copy (my Border collie looked with amusement at the Hi-Fi), and the conditioning may not be successful when confronted by the real thing. There are also ‘thunder coats’ available for dogs, which I gather follow the T-touch view of using a body wrap to calm down a stressed animal. Enclosing the dog in a small room with covered windows, to block out any lightning flashes, and playing classical music at a high volume, is another method you could try to calm the animal down.

Owners who attempt to calm the dog down by showing concern can be reinforcing the negative reactions of the dog. It is best to remain calm and act as though nothing is amiss.

Controlling the fear of thunder is very frustrating as it is prone to relapses. The thunder storm may well happen when you are away from home and unable to condition calm responses and the dog may revert back to its former reactive behaviour. Dogs that don’t respond to behaviour therapy need to be seen by a vet for medical therapy.

References: Handbook of Applied Dog Behaviour and Training by S. R. Lindsay, Dr Jeckyll and Mr Hyde by C. W. Meisterfield and The Truth About Dogs by S. Budiansky.