We have a 12 week old puppy. Have I missed the window of time to try and desensitize him to thunderstorms, fireworks etc? We have him 3 weeks now. During that time it has thundered on 3 occasions and fireworks over the New Year. He did OK but we gave him lots of treats and made it a fun time. I just bought some CDs with the noises and am wondering how often and how long to play them each day. One is Thunder storms and the other is Fireworks, should I alter them. Our previous collie developed SEVERE storm phobia at age 2 so we want to do everything we can to prevent that this time. It got to the point where even rain and dark clouds would start her panic attack.
Sounds like a good idea Jean It's ok to go slow tho - so gradually increase his exposure to things and you should be ok. Do plenty of general socialisation too, again take cues from the dog to see what he's comfortable with. This is one of our most read articles on Dogsey that you might find useful: Desensitizing shy or nervous dogs
Thanks, he's great with people. Have taken him to Lowes, PetSmart, all over the neighborhood to meet neighbors, delivery people etc. He does seem a bit nervous when he hears other dogs he can not see bark. He's OK when he meets them. Mostly noises we are worried about.
I think the CD's are a great idea. I have a friend who has desensitised her working trial dog to gun shots by using them, plus gradual exposure to the real thing. Agree with Azz to take it slowly, at present he is learning so much for his age. I also try and be a little noisier about the house, drop the odd item - unbreakable of course - and check his reaction. This will give you a clue how fast to proceed.
