My dog is afraid of loud noises. How can I help with noise anxiety?

Hi and thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Sorry to hear about Archie. There is a fairly new drug out for noise/sound phobias but it is actually a medicine that we have used for years to sedation and anesthetize dogs and cats. The drug company has now packaged it in an oral gel form and very small doses of the drug are very effective at curbing the fear that dogs experience. The drug in the United States is called Sileo (dexmedetomidine oromucosal gel). I would advise asking your veterinarian and find out if this preparation of the drug is available in the UK. The other thing you can do is behavior modification, or in this case hyposensitization to loud noises that cause him anxiety. Find recordings of thunder and loud noises but play it very softly at first when starting the medication if you can get it. You can then incrementally raise the volume of the recording to start lessening his response to the noises that bother him. I hope this helps and I hope this drug is available in this form in the UK. Good luck with Archie.

Hello. Much depends on what is the underlying cause of your pets anxiety. Noise phobias can sometimes respond to gradual conditioning to that noise. Training & training tools & toys can sometimes help with separation anxiety. Often, we turn to pharmaceuticals & supplements. I always recommend OTC products like Zylkene or Composure. These are natural supplements that contain ingredients that are not harsh or dangerous. CBD may help with anxiety, but you need to be sure the company you use has scientifically formulated their products to be sound. Canopy Growth seems to be one doing so for pets (https://canopy animal health.com ) & yes, this is the one associated with Martha Stewart. Prescription medications are often used, as needed or for help with behavior modification. Sileo, Trazodone, acepromazine & anti-anxiety medications like Prozac have all been utilized, but you will need to work with your veterinarian on these. Start with some of the supplements, like Zylkene & go from there until you find the right fit for your pet. Thanks for contacting PetCoach.

You can certainly try any of the over the counter calming supplements although they may not work well. There's also recordings available for purchase that play commonly scary sounds. There's one called Master's Voice that can help to condition Simon to the noises and then normalizes them. The vet will also have stronger anti-anxiety meds that may also help. I would recommend the noise conditioning + some type of medication. Its generally a combination approach. Best of luck with Simon.

I am sorry to hear about Maverick! There are a few over the counter products that can help with mild anxiety, including an Adaptil collar https://www.adaptil.com/us/Products/ADAPTIL-Calm-On-the-go-Collar , a thundershirt https://www.thundershirt.com/, and calming supplements such as Zylken or Composure. IF these do not help, then your veterinarian can prescribe other medications that are a bit stronger and can help with anxiety.

I would recommend anti-anxiety supplements and calming supplements such as those recommended below. If there is no improvement, you may need to seek behavioral training or see a veterinarian about anti-anxiety prescription drugs. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any further questions / concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further. 1. Adaptil calming collar and diffuser 2. NaturVet Quiet Moments calm chews with melatonin

I hate to hear Whiskey is having this issue. Behavior modification, exercise and medication are the three pillars of treatment with the best success rates. These link should help: https://www.petcoach.co/article/separation-anxiety/ https://www.petcoach.co/article/top-5-ways-to-reduce-separation-anxiety-in-dogs/ https://www.petcoach.co/article/7-natural-treatments-for-dog-anxiety/ I hope this helps.

Poor Diesel! Fireworks and loud noises can be really scary for dogs. One important thing to do to when your dog acts scared is not to reassure him. We think we are comforting him when we do that, but it's actually reinforcing the behavior and telling him it's ok to be scared. I recommend getting him a thundershirt to wear when there are fireworks or loud noises. These have been reported to help dogs with anxiety. At home, you can put him in a dark quiet room by himself to self-soothe. You can also turn on the TV or music to block out the sound. Finally, you can consider get a pheromone diffuser called DAP that helps dogs with anxiety.