We have an 8 year old yellow lab named Dodger. When Dodger was a couple of years old, a neighbor boy thought it would be funny to throw various fireworks at him while he was tied up outside and we were away from home. We believe this may have happened numerous times. Consequently, Dodger is very frightened of popping noises; this is especially true around the 4th of July.
We currently live close to where the high school has its track meets. If you have ever been to a track meet, you know that each race is begun with a gun shot. My dog is totally freaked out by this! He truly has an anxiety attack. He starts shaking so hard that his teeth actually start to rattle and he pants like he just ran a marathon on a 90 degree day. He also sticks so close to me that he might as well just climb into my lap. (Picture my 85 pound dog trying to back up onto my lap – butt first!)
One of the shows that I watch on Animal Planet shows how people can re-train abused dogs by using treats. Josh and I are going to purchase some poppers and fire-crackers and see if we can teach Dodger not to be afraid of popping noise. I don’t know if it will work or not, but it is worth a try!
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