Fright and Nervous Dogs
Some pets such as a dog tends to feel nervous and frighten when they hear thunderstorm or firecrackers being let off. Others are fearful when left alone. Again another will feel the anxiety of being confine in a constraint space or crate and will whine and whimper. Each type of dog has its temperaments and will react differently to different kind of stimuli. The anxiety that builds up in your pet is bad for its health and psychology.
We know that some dogs are bold and bark back at whatever sound that is disturbing the surroundings but some will run and hide under chairs, cupboard or any confine space for comfort. This is a pitiful sight as you can see it is in fear and frightful. Then the question is what we can do to help them overcome or what we should have done during their tender years to help them build up their confidence.
Many experts in this field have come out to say that socializing at a young age is important to build their confidence. It is understood that the critical period of development for a dog to be bold and confident is from birth right up to 4 months. This is the development period where they learn, explore and find out what is dangerous or harmful and what is not. Exposure to new experiences at this period is of utmost important and a good owner needs to nurture and encourage the dog so that when it grows up, it will have the confidence to face the world.
Owners can start by training their dogs to overcome this fear by taking a small step at a time. The need here is patience. You need to have patience as you have to keep repeating the same scenario like a sketch over and over again. Say if your dog is afraid of thunderstorm. You play the sound a very soft volume at the beginning. After a number of repetition when your dog is comfortable with it and do not react erratically to it, then you advance to another level of sound. Repeat this until you reached the normal loudness or decibel of the natural thunderstorm. When you have reach this stage and your dog is not affected by the sound, you have succeeded. Congratulate yourself and celebrate with your dog.
Usually when you do not have the time to train your dog to overcome this persistent issue, you can send it to a dog training academy to get your dog overcome this phobia.
Another way of helping your dog to get through this is to consult your veterinarian on prescribing anti-anxiety medicine. The effectiveness of the medicine is to be taken by your dog one or two days before the popping of the fireworks. However you still need to monitor your pet during this duration.
Another recommendation is to purchase those specially designed cozy tight comfortably fitting jackets as it comforts the dog with those pressure applying around its body. Whatever method you are going to use, the most important rule of thumb is to ensure that your dog is feeling comfortable.