Some dogs, having heard one gunshot, refuse to go out on walks.
In Nicole Wilde’s book Hit By a Flying Wolf she says ‘most people don’t realise that dogs can have a genetic disposition to sound phobias, where the telltale behaviour doesn’t surface until something triggers it’.
Fear and panic cause a chemical reaction in the body whether it’s human or dog. Here is a concise little video about the chemistry of fear by Bitesize Science.
In areas I visit it’s not uncommon for dogs to go into panic at the sound of bird-scarers and gun shots. They refuse to go out for walks. Specially researched music can help your dog to cope, along with a lot of slow desensitisation work over a long period of time.
Here is the story of one of many dogs I have been to that are seriously frightened of going out because of bangs.
Go to the main website: www.dogidog.co.uk
Paws for Thought 