What are some common sounds that scare dogs? What sounds scare dogs? Photography ©Sonja Rachbauer| Getty Imagesīy definition, veterinarians and animal behaviorists use the term “noise phobia” to describe the intense and irrational fear displayed by some dogs to certain sounds. Rusty has learned what we call a behavioral chain, a common occurrence in dogs with noise phobias.” So, I distract him in another room while my wife, Linda, works the indoor grill. “He has learned that turning on our indoor grill may cause the smoke alarm to go off, so he starts to shake and tremble with fear when he sees us bring out the indoor grill. “My dog, Rusty, is terrified of the smoke detector in our kitchen,” says Nicholas Dodman, BVMS, professor emeritus at Tufts University’s School of Veterinary Medicine, a board-certified veterinary behaviorist and lead veterinarian at the Center for Canine Behavior Studies in Salisbury, Connecticut. Some dogs with noise phobias can become petrified with fear even before the dreaded sound arrives, because they pick up on pre-sound warning cues.

Certain sounds that scare dogs can cause them to pace, drool, shake, shadow you or desperately seek a safe refuge like inside the bathtub. There are tons of sounds that scare dogs, unfortunately. Dogs don’t need to see something scary to turn into puddles of panic.

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