Hi Mr. Arnold:

It certainly is hard to watch them go through this and I agree, prolonged exposure with no signs of relief can only add to it, building the fear and confusing them even more. They are not in their right frame of mind and the key is to snap them out of it.

Easier said than done, however it is doable. The loud noise needs to create a fun, happy reaction in you. Training my husband has proven harder than desensitizing my extremely reactive shepherd - even the somewhat benign social reaction of, “WOW, did you hear that?” puts a human startled focus on the loud noise. We do, for a split second, (totally natural response) get startled. That startle needs to kick in the fun and games – not the engaging conversations of how bad this particular storm is, how long the show will last or how crappy the vehicle is. Focus on the pups immediately.

My pack as well, has two solid members and one that would have scaled that national monument, left to his own devices. As you know, with the reactive member, you are not going to get the proper response to trained commands – downs, sits, heels etc. Knowing this, I want to set my dogs up for success. No pressure, just fun games and I want them all together – the calm ones filling the atmosphere with composure for the reactive one. Kind of a scarety cat see, scarety cat do thing.

So, rumble, rumble, BANG, POP, BANG, BANG… (tell significant other to settle down and pry dog out of their arms – do not engage in argument about how their coddling is reinforcing the behavior – despite their cries of compassion and how mean you ”may” appear). Calmly walk to the fridge muttering something very exciting (I say “Play time&rdquo, grab the highest value rewards and then to the toy box - get the most treasured items. With arms loaded… in a very loud voice I say “WOO HOO”, (gets the attention on me and snaps them out of previous thoughts) and I say “Watch me” - small, simple commands that are potentially going to get success. Then I generally head outside, weather permitting or up the hallway and in other rooms – up and down stairs.

I free shape any behavior that is not anxiety related. They are all following me and stop when I do – I make a big deal about rewarding the calm ones – call me crazy but I want my loud, fun, calm voice taking over the thoughts of anxiety and replacing the bangs and pops. I walk into a room and I’ll generally get a sit from someone – heavily rewarded, the next one sits, rewarded – anxious dog bouncing off the walls, no reward – head to next room. No commands, again, free shape any good, calm behavior. As I said, I generally like to take them outside. I will toss a toy and then run as fast as I can to get it – the calm ones will play and the anxious dog will follow.

I think you get the picture – drive the games, be the example and role model the behavior you want. I believe my success has come in the movement. They don’t have an opportunity to wallow in their anxiety, with an emphasis on fun - no commands until you know they are mentally capable of focusing and performing them. My high drive, extremely reactive shepherd now knows the routine -4 times to get him to this stage. He’s a ball crazy one so he hears the noise and now heads to the box – no more trembling or shaking. I always go to the fridge first so his anxiousness turns into anticipation of the fun times to come.

Sorry for the book, I as well type far to fast but I hope some of it can help.