Hello. I am new to this site, but have often read the various threads and forums when I had questions with regards to my dogs.
I would like to provide a little background on my dog before getting to my question so please forgive the length of this post:
About one year ago I adopted a small female border collie mix from a local shelter. She is 3.5 years old. When I adopted her she was underweight and she soon became ill with an upper respiratory infection. There was also some concern that she may have Von Willebrand's disease. Additionally she was matted and her coat was falling out. After a lot of work, she is now very healthy and we plan on getting her spayed soon.
Last year during the Fourth of July celebrations Scout "freaked" out. She shook uncontrollably, panted, and jumped on our bed and dug under the pillows, even if we were in the bed. The only thing that calmed her down was putting her in the bathroom with the door open and the fan going. After the fireworks stopped she would settle down.
This year, the fireworks in our neighborhood have started early and we got the same response, however, now she seems to listen all the time, and is also fearful about other noises that didn't bother her before, like our upstairs neighbor walking around, putting silverware in the drawer, etc.
I decided to try deconditioning her to the sound of fireworks by very quietly playing some on the stereo. I started at the very lowest setting, in fact, I could barely hear it, and she freaked out.
Basically, this dog is a great dog and I don't want her spending the rest of her life in the bathroom with the fan on because of any little noise. Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated...
I would like to provide a little background on my dog before getting to my question so please forgive the length of this post:
About one year ago I adopted a small female border collie mix from a local shelter. She is 3.5 years old. When I adopted her she was underweight and she soon became ill with an upper respiratory infection. There was also some concern that she may have Von Willebrand's disease. Additionally she was matted and her coat was falling out. After a lot of work, she is now very healthy and we plan on getting her spayed soon.
Last year during the Fourth of July celebrations Scout "freaked" out. She shook uncontrollably, panted, and jumped on our bed and dug under the pillows, even if we were in the bed. The only thing that calmed her down was putting her in the bathroom with the door open and the fan going. After the fireworks stopped she would settle down.
This year, the fireworks in our neighborhood have started early and we got the same response, however, now she seems to listen all the time, and is also fearful about other noises that didn't bother her before, like our upstairs neighbor walking around, putting silverware in the drawer, etc.
I decided to try deconditioning her to the sound of fireworks by very quietly playing some on the stereo. I started at the very lowest setting, in fact, I could barely hear it, and she freaked out.
Basically, this dog is a great dog and I don't want her spending the rest of her life in the bathroom with the fan on because of any little noise. Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated...
I am not really sure maybe when some of the other members see this they will come up with some more ideas...Maybe it has something to do with her life previous to when you adopted her??
