UGH. I'm at my wits end with this.

Lyzelle

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#1
I dunno if this is just a rant or asking for training advice. So I wasn't entirely sure where it should go.

It is IMPOSSIBLE for me to run laundry these days. He's scared of the buzzer. And I don't mean just a little skittish scared. I mean full out, panting, shaking, under my feet, getting into things he knows he's not allowed type of scared. Like he's suddenly as dumb as a doorknob scared. Refuses to listen to anything I say, not even a simple sit. And I have NO sympathy for the dog. None. He used to be fine with the buzzer, no care in the world. Now he worries himself to death over it, no matter what I do. I ignore him, he just escalates. I try to comfort him, he escalates. I try to distract him, he runs off and paces the house and escalates. I swear, he just does it to do it. And I know "dogs don't do that". Well, he's doing it. There's no reason for him to go from A-OK with the buzzer, chilling out next to it, then all of a sudden he thinks he can disobey EVERY rule he has EVER been taught a soon as the dryer goes off. And it's not like I can just stop and COMPLETELY ignore him and let him snarf food, climb over couches, jump on beds, and get into things he's not allowed. Maybe he's just doing it for the attention...he just doesn't care what kind of attention it is.

And it's getting WORSE with every time he hears it. So much so, that he's now beginning to act the same way with the facebook messanger dinger. It's absolutely ridiculous.

I can't even lock him in a different room. Because he can open doors.

I want. to. Scream.
 

Lyzelle

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#3
Is there not an option to turn off the buzzer? Even our ooooold machine had one.

Thats got to be frustrating :(
Nope, no option to turn it off.

And it is frustrating. So immensely so. Partly because I know he's winding himself up and there's nothing I can do about it and partly because I'm running around trying to get him to LAY DOWN. Seriously how hard is that? It's not like anything is coming after him. But, nooo. He just gets up as soon as I turn around. So I lock him out of the bedroom. And he just tries to get back in. so he can go around to the side of the bed he's not allowed.

That's all he wants to do, the only places he wants to go. All the stuff and places he's not allowed.

ETA: It's like...we've been in two car accidents, cross country, random hotel rooms, different houses, strange people, dogs, and who knows what. Never even blinked an eye.

But the dryer buzzer? End of the world.
 

Dizzy

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#4

Lyzelle

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#5
Have you heard of the "look at that" game. You can vary it to a "listen to that" game. Here is an example. You'll need to vary it up a bit and break it down (obviously not starting with the machine). You might need to introduce that sound by recording it and playing it quietly.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oiDQp5lNllE&feature=youtube_gdata_player

This is a guide to the look at that game.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EdraNF2hcgA&feature=youtube_gdata_player
That's interesting. I suppose I can try it. I'll definitely need to figure out his tolerance level for the noise, though.

It took me forever to figure out what his problem was when this first started happening, because I can't hear it when we are upstairs, all doors shut. After I figured it out, I just took steps to eliminating as much noise as possible. And for a while, he was happy with that, as little noise as possible. But then it just got progressively worse and worse.

When I worked with him before, I got as far away as I could from the dryer, all doors between us and it were shut to eliminate as much noise as possible. He still flipped as soon as the buzzer went off. Mind was just gone. I couldn't even hear it, but I knew as soon as it went off. "Oh, Zander's a raging idiot now. Guess the laundry's done."
 

Aleron

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#6
What you are describing is pretty typical of esculating noise phobias in every way. Dogs don't have full blown panic attacks for attention. An anti-anxiety medication may help with the training process and to prevent further escalation.
 

JacksonsMom

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#7
Sorry, but it doesn't sound like he just is doing it to do it... or attention. Sounds like a full blown panic attack. And yes dogs suddenly can become afraid of something that they weren't before.

I know your pain though because Jackson has a few seemingly irrational fears to me. There's a particular noise on an iPhone (it's used mostly as an alert for people, it is also featured in a few TV commercials) and he freaks. Not full blown attack like you're speaking of, but he immediately jumps under the bed. So me, my dad, stepmom and everyone I live with had to change their phone sounds lol. He also is terrified of the fly swatter so if there is a fly in my bedroom at night... I just don't even bother trying to kill it because I'm ready to go to bed and don't wanna deal with him freaking out and scratching at the gate trying to leave the room.

Thunderstorms... he's gotten worse. I don't remember him really even having a fear when he was under a year old. I am not sure when it got the point where he is panting and pacing during loud thunder, but it's very frustrating because I've worked and worked with him on the issue - using treats, trying to de-sensitize him, and it always works to a point but in the end I just have to let him go do his thing and ignore him.
 

Lyzelle

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#8
He's definitely been scared of noisy things in the past. Mostly high pitched things like fire alarms, the squeak tennis shoes make on a hard floor, etc, etc. But you know what? With each and every one of them, he up and decided one day that they weren't scary anymore. And then he was fine, for months. Until he found something new to be scared of and obsess over. And, again, cycle repeats where suddenly it would no longer bother him.

Is that typical of noise phobias? Suddenly come on, suddenly leave?
 

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