Fear of bangs all started with a BANG – either a gunshot or a bird scarer.
Little Cockerpoo Ruby is becoming increasingly scared outside on walks. She is no longer eager to go out.
Bit by bit bangs have infected all the places where they walk her. The only way they can get the ‘old happy Ruby’ back is by taking her to somewhere completely new, and even the new place is now contaminated by a bang.
Fear of bangs is spreading
Her general fearfulness is spilling over into other things now.
I have been to several dogs who are terrified of bangs and it’s incredibly hard for their loving owners to know what to do. A big problem is if the bangs are near to home, they are relentless. It’s a slippery slope unless the people themselves treat it differently.
Many people believe that to give their dog confidence in them they should behave as ‘the boss’. This involves forcing the dog to do something she feels very uncomfortable with because ‘giving in’ would show weakness and the dog would no longer trust a weak owner.
The opposite
In fact I would say it is the very opposite. The dog may perceive the bangs as life-threatening. Would a wise parent force his family danger?
In this case, the lady herself said she wasn’t feeling happy about not ‘giving in’ to Ruby. She is now relieved that she can follow her own better instincts. 
If our dog growls for instance, instead of scolding we should be asking, WHY is she telling us she is uncomfortable. We need to get to the reason and deal with that. If our dog has to be dragged somewhere, we need to ask ourselves why – and deal with that.
Forcing Ruby into what she perceives as a danger zone in the name of exercise is counter-productive. The bangs keep happening and she simply loses faith in the people who are allowing her no escape, the very people she should be able to trust the most.
Starting at home
They will start by desensitising her in the house with small taps and then bangs, increasing the volume, distance and unpredictability of them. They can use recorded sounds to help them also, counter-conditioning her so she associates a bang with something nice.
We have a plan of building it up in small increments, making sure always to keep within her comfort threshold.
Walks
Walks in ‘danger’ zones will not be taking place now until she can cope. They will walk her near home and as soon as she hears any bang they will go to work on her – which certainly doesn’t mean forcing her onwards.
With the other day-to-day stuff they will be doing that should back up their efforts, Ruby could suddenly get over her fears but, more likely, it could take weeks.
Her general confidence should improve too.
