# My dog is deathly afraid of loud trucks.



## scottnshelly (Jul 22, 2010)

Hello,

We adopted Gracie from the shelter when she was just weaned; she had only been at the shelter for less than a week. For the first six months we lived on a cul-de-sac in a small town where she only saw the trash truck once a week. Even then, every trash day, she panicked. She had fits of shaking and nervousness, drooling and whimpering. 

After six months, we moved to a slightly larger city where we hear loud trucks almost every day. And on trash day, instead of hearing the truck once, we hear it all day as it roams through the neighborhood. Rather than getting used to the noises, she has gotten worse. We have lived here for a year and a half or more.

Gracie still sleeps in a crate because she meanders around the house waking everyone up if she’s not in the crate. At least one morning per week though, I can count on her screaming loud enough to wake everyone at the other end of the house while she’s trying to (sometimes successfully) escape from her crate. 

What is causing her extreme phobia of loud trucks and what is the cure?

Thanks,


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## jasonjcyr (Jul 14, 2010)

The best advice is repetition and conditioning.
1.	Expose him to loud noise and gradually move to bigger things, keep him on a leach and don’t let him focus on noise. You might also want to use a clicker and treats.
2.	If he’s extremely never try to distance yourself from the noise, and gradually get closer. Just keep repeating these steps on a daily basis and things should improve after a few weeks.


Mine was the same way with trucks and lawn mowers, now he doesn’t even react to fireworks.


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## That'llDo (Apr 13, 2010)

I would guess she's just afraid of it because it is loud and scary and she doesn't understand it. I would work on a) counter-conditioning (give her lots of really good treats when the truck is there, so she learns to associate the truck with goodgoodgood things happening) and b) desensitizing her to the sound. I would try to find a recorded sound of the loud truck, and play it very quietly in the background while you are home with her. If even that is stressful for her, give her treats even for the sound effect. I would increase the volume gradually until she can tolerate it well even loud--this is how I desensitized my dogs to fireworks, and they weren't bothered by them at all this year. Since you also know when the truck will be there, maybe you could try DAP or a thundershirt? I have never used either, but I have heard good things from people who have used both successfully.


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## scottnshelly (Jul 22, 2010)

Thanks both for the replies. 

I've tried the treat thing, but she won't eat even her favorite treats when she's nervous. When the city redid our street, she wouldn't eat or drink all day until the construction stopped for the night. I've tried coddling her, ignoring her, exposing her to the sight and sound of the truck. She wants to be around me or my wife when the trucks are "getting her" even if that means being outside near the trucks.

Incidentally, since you both mentioned fireworks, she doesn't mind fireworks or gunshots. Motorcycles and lawnmowers don't bother her either. It seems to be just large, deisel-engine trucks.

I've never heard of this thundershirt. What I've read so far sounds interesting. I'm willing to shell out $40 in an effort to help her calm down. 

Thanks again!


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## MissMutt (Aug 8, 2008)

Pretty much what That'llDo said. Noise phobias are TOUGH, and unfortunately sometimes they never completely go away. It sounds like she needs some help in order for her to calm down so that desensitization/counterconditioning can take place. That's where stuff like DAP or the thundershirt comes in.


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## jasonjcyr (Jul 14, 2010)

scottnshelly said:


> Thanks both for the replies.
> 
> I've tried the treat thing, but she won't eat even her favorite treats when she's nervous. When the city redid our street, she wouldn't eat or drink all day until the construction stopped for the night. I've tried coddling her, ignoring her, exposing her to the sight and sound of the truck. She wants to be around me or my wife when the trucks are "getting her" even if that means being outside near the trucks.
> 
> ...


Yeah, London had the exact same problem, the speed of the truck played a major factor in his fear esp if he was walking in the same direction and couldn’t see it coming. One thing that helped me out was the garbage truck, just making him sit there and distract him with positive feedback. London wouldn’t take the treats either, I could only distract him and prevent him from focusing on the negative thing.
It did take a while just keep at it and your efforts will pay off.


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