My dog panics at loud noises. How can I help his worsening fear?

Question

My dog is sufferring from sound phobia and in the last two months it has got worse. When young fireworks were not a problem but sone years agi thunder storms and now fireworks he goes into a restless panting panic and nothing soothes him. One baby beethoven music track helps. my concern is of late street sounds are making him panic like motor bikes driving by and scaffolding blowing in the wind and electrical sounds. Also new as if a few weeks hes terrified if helicopter sounds. please advise. Pet's info: Dog | Parson Russell Terrier | Male | 10 years and 8 months old | 4 lbs

David Darvishian · Accepted Answer

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.

My dog panics at loud noises. How can I help his worsening fear?

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