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Hello,

I know I have not posted anything about this yet so I will try and not leave anything out. I apologize in advance if it rambles on, I figure the more detail the better.

 

So back in early August I took leave and Yankee stayed with my sister (she lives with us so no real change except I was gone). She told me he was acting very clingy and was pacing around a lot not really wanting to play to much with either her or her dog. I later found out that sometime during those two weeks that a really loud bang shook the house (thinking a small earthquake but couldn't find anything). Anyway so when I returned home I expected him to be a bit clingy for a bit however I wasn't expecting the fear of loud noises (we live near base so a lot of jets, even the beach we go is at the end of the runway pretty much). At first he would run and jump into my lap and try and burrow into whatever I was wearing. I have hearing loss in my right hear so I usually at that point didn't even know what he was upset about.

 

Fast forward to now and it has progressed into something I do not even know how to handle (we are working with a trainer though, hoping to get an appointment in soon). Any small noise such as : cars driving by, people walking by the house, cars a few streets over, planes, a car door down the street... The big hitters right now seems to be low jets, the garbage truck, loud trucks and sirens. Some of the smaller ones on a less noisey day he sometimes handles fine, but if it has been noisey all day or the jets have been going all day anything small will set him off.

 

When he gets scared he goes to hide in his kennel, the fireplace or a closet. He will not come out for anything. On louder days he just seems so wound up and completely restless. If there are cars in the morning he will not eat. We started trying to desensitized but it would seem we are going no where since he shuts down when a car drives by or someone walks by the house.

 

Another thing is that is seems to only affect him when he is in 'off switch' mode, so inside the house or on walks. If we are herding, at agility class or playing a game of fetch or doing a beach run he seems like he could care less.

 

He has actually only shut down on one walk, after a string of emergency vehicles passed us. He continued after that but with every passing car he got worse until he just laid down and I had to carry a 40lb dog the better portion of a few miles home.

 

We have a thunder shirt but I think it may be more of me hoping that it helps, then it actually helping. He will still spend a good portion of his day in his kennel even with it on.

 

I was looking into any calming aid and books that may help. I have already tried chamomile tea, seemed to have no effect on him besides making him more reluctant to eat. I did mention it to the vet and they simple suggested a DAP collars and desensitizing.

 

I was trying to play car noises off my phone, but hes too smart and realizes the noise is inside and not outside. He will gladly take treats though until a actual car comes by.

 

I just do not get how he was doing so well, never even really had a fear stage and now this. He is still doing extremely well in both herding and agility, I just wish he could relax at home.

 

Any input or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Amber

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Melatonin is something else that may help. 3 mg., and you can go to 6 mg.when things are really bad. Make sure it's pure melatonin and not a product with something else added for sleep.

 

If the fear is that generalized, desensitization is going to be pretty hard. You might want to talk to your vet about medications if the DAP collar, L-theanine or melatonin don't work. You might ask the vet about the safety and efficacy of combining some of these things, including Bach's Rescue Remedy. If you vet isn't familiar enough with these things, consult one who is, perhaps a holistic vet for the supplements, and possibly a vet behaviorist for meds.

 

I'm so sorry he's going through this. I once fostered a dog who was afraid of the traffic noises at my house. It's definitely not an easy thing. I, at least, was able to transfer him to another, quieter, foster home.

 

Good luck.

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Have you discussed hypothyroidism with your vet? Might be worth testing and ruling out. Below is an article describing some of the age related symptoms. Best of luck.

 

http://www.dogs4dogs.com/JR_Articles/dog-thyroid-and-behavior.htm

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I'm sorry to hear that you are going through this. It's really tough.

 

Meds might be in order. You might want to talk to your vet. My noise-o-phobe is on clomipramine and it has made a big difference for him. Some noises still trigger the phobia, but now he has the ability to recover and he has made a lot of progress.

 

There is a yahoo group called shy-k9's. I recommend going there and reading their archives. There is a lot of great info there.

 

I wish you the best. It can get better, but it does take a lot of patience and a lot of work.

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Thank you for all the advise. We have not tried the DAP, decided to see if the thunder shirt made a difference first. Will probably try either the DAP collar or melatonin next. I think the next step will depend on what our trainer recommends. Our vet doesn't seem very keen to discuss the subject, I was told to desensitize and try DAP and that young dogs can go through phases and he may just grow out of it. Yankee just turned one the end of September so maybe it is a phase, however it effects his everyday (and even hourly) life.

 

I would like to hopefully work through this without any drugs but everyday that looks more and more slim. Today I moved his kennel to a spare room, not entirely sure if it was a great idea but at least he is settling in the house now instead of staying in there all day. It actually seemed to make him handle the smaller noises much better and we played fetch during some mild noises today. I think not having a his kennel to hide in all day is helping him to come out of his shell again :)

 

For a few very loud cars today he went I the closet, but actually seemed to recover from it much faster then if he would have had his kennel.

 

I will look into the L-thyemine if melatonin and the DAP do not help. I am also going to try and post update to this thread :) hopefully we have everything under control by December (I deploy).

 

Thank you again!

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Sorry I realized I didn't address everyone. The hypothyroidism article is very interesting, I had no idea those symptoms could be linked with noise sensitivity.

 

I will look into the yahoo group, it is good to hear someone is having success with this issue! Gives me hope :)

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Does your vet realize that you're deploying in December and won't be here to help your dog?

 

December is only a few short weeks away, and issues like this usually take quite a bit of time to resolve when people are actively and consistently working with them. Even if you see improvement before you leave again, there's a risk of regression that someone's going to have to deal with. You're leaving could even trigger regression.

 

If this were my dog, I'd be making sure that whomever will be the dogs caretaker while I'm gone is fully on board and familiar with whatever you're doing with him, and ideally a participant even before you leave so that it's a smooth transition. Together you should have a plan for what to do if he regresses, and how to proceed if he improves.

 

And, again if this were my dog, I'd seriously be considering consulting a veterinary behaviorist, or a the very least another vet who's willing to discuss and consider meds with you, soon! For some dogs it makes a huge difference in their quality of life, and with your deploying your dog's got some additional obstacles to face in what already seems to be a pretty severe situation.

 

Good luck.

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Just want to point out that DAP is very much worth trying. If it helps him relax a bit then the combo of DAP and desensitization may solve the issue. There is no one size fits all formula for this but your vet's advice for trying that combination for the first step was sound advice. Most likely it's going to take a combination of something to first relieve his anxiety since you can't totally remove him from it ( DAP, L-theanine, drugs) and desensitization.

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It was mentioned that I will be leaving, still the suggestion was the same. I am waiting to hear back from a behaviorist in Seattle, it'll be quite a drive but if it helps it'll be worth it. He will be staying with my sister during deployment so she will be more than willing to help since she already works with him while I am at work.

 

I did pick up a DAP collar today. I am not sure if there is a time frame for when it starts to work but so far no change really. He still quit on his walk today. He however did great during his herding lesson, now if I could just keep a sheep in my living room I am sure he wouldn't pay any attention to noises.

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