Disclaimer: I'm not professional Schutzhund guy my goal right now is to build a confident dog who won't become a fear biter.

Earlier today I wanted to see how my GSD would react to loud noises. So I broke out some pots and pans and started banging on them like a madman. He looked at me a bit weird and then slinked away and did everything he could to avoid the pots even when i wasnt making noise with them.

Based on this I want to desensitize him to loud noises. So I started him on the tug, working him up into prey drive mode and had my dad bang the pots and pans. I noticed that when he was focused on the tug he managed to ignore the noise. However when not fully focused and in prey drive he wanted to flee from the noise.

My thinking is the more I can work him up into prey drive mode and make noise at that stage the more desensitized he'll become?

One thing I've noticed is that he seems confident until stressed and unfortunately it looks like he's learned that flight is the easiest way out of a stressfull situation. Even if it means that his curiosity gets him back into it 2 seconds later.

The only time I've really seen him handle stress with aggression or confidence is when he's "driven." E.g. chasing after a ball, on the tug, guarding territory (home).

Comments? Can I do anything about this?

How old is this dog?

And you may want to add some distance to the training. As in have your dad banging in the kitchen when you play/train/act normal in the den. Only get into closer rooms when you notice the dog is more comfortable.

Or, have your dad make a noise in the other room, you get HAPPY excited, go in that room and give your dog TREATS when he follows. Then leave the room, have you dad make the loud noise again, get HAPPY again and when you and the dog enter go for the food again.

If your dog associates loud noises with you being happy and excited, and food, it helps with the desensatizing. But PART of this isn't overwhelming your dog. So rather than desensatizing by just using time (like I'll make loud noised for 10 minutes in the room with the dog to get him used to it). You can also use DISTANCE to initially make it less of a 'threat'.

Food, toys, play, and distance would work best initially. Or at least it does for me. And they can really pick up on your attitude. So if you not only are calm but actually happy when you hear the noise, that makes them more curious and calmer.

I think it is wonderful that you are trying to make your dog the best he can be. Start small and build to bigger things (i.e. louder and nearer sounds). I wonder, how old is your dog?

We have always begun loud noise training as soon as we got our pups. We never made huge noises that would startle them (accidents always can happen), but live normally around your dog. We often took our pup in the car to town with window down and drove around the quieter parts of town letting him get to know sounds and smells. Within two months he could sit one block from the fire station and have only a curious reaction to the sirens.

For louder noises you can use a cap gun. DON'T fire it off close to the dog. I like to do it outside where the dog doesn't feel confined. Leave at least 100 yards b/n you and the dog before popping one off, especially since you know your dog doesn't like loud noises close by. Anyone who has heard a cap gun knows it isn't that loud. Someone your dog trusts (should be you) should be with the dog. Keep his attention on something fun that he loves to do. When the noise sounds do not react, but keep smiling and engaging the dog. Based on the dogs reaction, go from there.

One thing we have done consistently in the past is to use an object the dog loves to make noise and make a game of it. Our dog loves pine branches, so we bang them against the tree and yell for him to come and get it. The branch against the tree can make a loud crack, but he doesn't flinch because he play drive is his focus. We have also used cut off sections of garden hose (cut about 18" long) as play tugs. Dogs love them. DON'T leave dog unattended with one or they could ingest it. Anyway, you can use the hose to bang against a hollow object. Start with something softer like a plastic bucket and slowly move up, using the items as play things. Hopefully, this won't key in any fear in your dog.

Just make sure when you are doing outside training, that if there is a chance your dog would run in fear that he can't run into the street, etc.

It can take a while for a shy dog to come down off of the fear, but eventually things should improve. You have a lot of great resources from folks on this site. Good luck!

Thanks for the responses!

My dog is around 17 months old and still very puppyish so maybe part if this could be attributed to his age. I think another part of this can be attributed to an earlier incident with an air horn. When he was younger someone decided to blast it in the house a couple of times when he was around. I put an end to this but it might have left an impression.

I like the above ideas and plan on working with him this weekend!

Try a 11 year old wailing on his guitar and banging on his drums, 7 year old running all over the place and a screaming baby.. throw that in with a few good husband and wife arguments.........that should do the trick.

Let the dog live in my house for a few weeks....guaranteed cure.LOL :rolleyes: