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My dog hides and trembles when a baby screams. Is she stressed?

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Mixed Breed | Female | spayed | 9 years and 9 months old | 4 lbs

My family babysits a 6 month old baby who constantly screams for no reason. Today she screamed more than usual. I noticed when she screams it makes Precious either pace around the room, tremble, try to hide under the bed , & also wanting to be held. The screaming bothers my anxiety so I was wondering if it’s making Precious nervous too? when she isn’t here Precious is extremely playful

2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

Answered By Dr. Melanie, BVSc MS

Veterinarian

Published on October 21st, 2018

Yes, I would suspect that this baby is stressing Precious out, leading her to hide. When the baby is over, I would put Precious in her own room or in a crate so she has a safe space of her own. You can also get a DAP, which is a pheromone diffuser that helps dogs with anxiety. You can pair that with a Sentry calming collar which also releases calming pheromones when in contact with her skin. I hope this helps!

1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

Related Answers from Veterinarians

Answered By Makenzie Kurth, DVM
Veterinarian
Published on October 25th, 2018
Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. This sounds exactly like anxiety. Specifially noise phobia, which can be related to any type of noise- especially those that the pet is not accustomed to.

Recommendations
- talk to your vet about anti-anxiety medication. My favorite is trazodone because it can be used as needed. It can make a HUGE, and immediate difference.

- thunder shirts/compression shirts- actually do have scientific support, though it takes about 5 uses during the trigger noise to see results

- avoidance measures
If it’s feasible, keep Precious in another room with a TV or radio going when the baby comes over. It sounds simplistic but can make a huge difference. There are actually specially made “headphones” for dogs to minimize sound- though not all dogs tolerate them.

If it becomes severe enough, you may want to talk to a behaviorist about the problem as they can give you detailed instructions for desensitization and counterconditioning- basically retraining the brain not to be scared of the baby/crying.

Best wishes to you and Precious!
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

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