Poppy's noise phobia

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JacksDad
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Poppy's noise phobia

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Lovely Poppy is eight years old and has been with me for nearly two years. Despite her previous life as an assistance dog, Poppy has recently become far more nervous of noises such as thunder, fireworks and backfiring cars. My first Lab Sandy was terrified of the same things but only when they happened whereas Poppy remembers every place where these things happened and now refuses to go any further on her walks and has now reached the point where she lies down rather than continue walking and will not be persuaded. I am going to try a behaviourist I know but would like to hear from anyone who has had similar experiences. Although I've had Labs for 30 years I've never seen anything like this before, proof that you can never know all there is to know about Labradors.
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Re: Poppy's noise phobia

Post by Glenys »

Not much advice to offer but hope others have .

Best wishes


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Re: Poppy's noise phobia

Post by mollie »

We had a lab several years ago who was just the same as Sandy. Unfortunately can’t offer any advice but I’ll be interested to know what your behaviourist says.
Mr Bumpy, Jess and Tilly always in our hearts xx

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Re: Poppy's noise phobia

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Poppy's Uncle Brian the Behaviourist came to see us and as you would expect, instead of lying on the drive and refusing to go any further Poppy picked up her ball and was very happy to go for a walk. We were out for about an hour, an achievement in itself these days but as both Brian and I had brought chicken pieces with us that might have helped.
Brian thinks that noises aren't the only problem for Poppy and that some of her unwillingness to go for walks could be part of the ageing process and the need to lose some weight. There is a very helpful link on the Dogs Trust website dealing with noise sensitivity - dogstrust.org.uk/help-advice/dog-behaviour-health/sound-therapy-for-pets where there's access to audio tracks. Just tried "Whooshes and whistles" which I tried on Poppy at half volume, at first she was very aware of the sounds but at the end of the 15 minute track when I had increased the volume to 75% she was happily chewing a pigs ear so I'll be playing the noises every day now.
Poppy spends quite a lot of time chewing her paws and claws and Brian explained that this might be due to joint pain which Poppy can't reach and although she doesn't limp we all know our dogs don't like to show that they're in pain. Another factor might be my recently suffering a bout of anxiety and depression and I know from past experience our observant Pups can pick up on something like this and my son David reminded me of something that happened years ago with my first Lab Sandy. One day I just couldn't face going out so David put Sandy's lead but he wouldn't walk past the garden gate. David's solution was to wear my cap and coat and off they went to the park.
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Re: Poppy's noise phobia

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Going to try tempting her out with pieces of ham this afternoon after she didn't even want to go to one of her fav swimming places this morning. Ordered an Adaptil collar which should be here tomorrow.
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Re: Poppy's noise phobia

Post by jackie »

Sounds like you are on the way to finding some solutions to Poppy's noise phobia. I was going to mention pain as I found this out a few years ago that dogs who have pain are less tolerant of noise (bit like us really, we just like to lay somewhere quiet if we have pain). They definitely do pick up on our moods and how we are when out and about. They look to us as pack leader so if we are not on top form, happy and confident they will know and this will cause them some anxiety too.

Hope you get things sorted keep us posted.
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Re: Poppy's noise phobia

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I took Poppy to see the vet who believes that that her arthritis isn't far enough advanced to warrant anti inflammatories but she has put on 4 kilos which which doesn't help so I've cut her food down and am gradually introducing weight reduction dry food. The Adaptil collar has gone in the bin as it made no difference at all and Poppy now wears a Bio Flow collar in the hopes that both her stressful behaviour and arthritis might be helped. Of course the problem is that whatever I try has to be given a few weeks to work, I'm also giving her some drops similar to Rescue Remedy.
Originally I forgot to mention that Poppy had been bitten by another dog and I reckon this was enough to tip the balance of her behaviour. We've had a few good days where she would happily walk further but this morning, for no apparent reason she decided after about ten minutes that she wasn't going any further so when I turned back she pulled me home at top speed.
On Saturday we had a good walk as her best buddies Bridgette and Duke were with us. We didn't see the Behaviourist last week and so far he hasn't actually seen Poppy refusing to walk. On bad days she wants to return home as soon as she has relieved herself and I do wonder if this behaviour relates to her previous life as an assistance dog.
When Poppy's at home she welcomes visitors, plays with her toys and barks at passers by as any Labrador would.

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Re: Poppy's noise phobia

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I have to say that I don't think we're making much progress with Poppy's unwillingness to walk any distance. Last Friday Brian (Behaviourist) came to see us and then took us in his car to Reddish Vale where we had a good walk and Poppy had a swim. On Saturday we went for a good walk in the park with Bridgette, Duke and Alfie and Aunties Sam and Ann. Apart from Poppy stopping when she heard a motorbike in the distance she was fine but she carried her ball most of the time, whereas the others wanted theirs throwing.
On Sunday morning and up until now we've been on very short walks when Poppy just sits or lies down when she doesn't want to continue. She is still taking the calming drops but they don't seem to make any difference and neither does the BioFlow collar. If there's no change this week I might try Rescue Remedy but if that doesn't help I don't see that any other so-called calming remedies will either, and now it'll soon be fireworks.
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Re: Poppy's noise phobia

Post by mollie »

Hi Andrew,

John Weller is trainer who was always a supporter of Rescue, very helpful and a good friend of Glenys’.

I know you’ve had some help but would it be worth asking Glenys if she could put you in touch with John? Maybe get another opinion?
Mr Bumpy, Jess and Tilly always in our hearts xx

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Re: Poppy's noise phobia

Post by JacksDad »

Thank you, I could try that.
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