surround sound

[LovaBelle]

I finally hooked up the home theater system I got my man for Christmas. Jake is terrified of the sound. He shakes and runs from the room. He is not scared of thunderstroms or fireworks - he and Belle actually sit by the big glass door during storms, it's almost as if they enjoy the light show, lol. At first I thought it was the loud booming base on the movie, but I just hooked up my ipod and played regular music-without a lot of bass-and he did the same thing. Any ideas on helping him feel more comfortable and safe with the surround sound on?

[Ms.DaisyDuke]

I really have no clue Daisy has never been bothered by it, but we have had it since we had her...BUT and this might be a shot in the dark, but have you ever gotten a sort of weird un-balanced feeling with certain sounds coming out of the speakers? I have had this feeling once before so maybe if their inner ear and/or brains work similar to ours perhaps his equilibrium get knocked out of whack?? Feel free to laugh...just a theory...

[Dixie_Girl]

I think it is just because the sounds, sound different! Skip has no prob with the tv on, but if I turn my speakers on on the lap top, no matter what is playing, people talking, music, whatever, he comes running over and gets rather annoyed like. Also, I have this little stuffed ellephant that has a little boys voice saying his night prayers, and Skip will "flea bite" the thing all over until the voice stops! I figured he's just weird, but maybe it is the sound of the sound that bothers them. Hmmm.......sounds like an interesting guvment study is in order,,,,,,,,,I'll put in for a mil grant! LOL

[Root Beer]

I would try this:

 

I would shut the dog in a room as far from the surround sound as possible and then turn it on with the volume really, really low.

 

Then I would bring the dog back into the room and watch for his reaction. If he isn't bothered by it on low volume, I would play it often on low volume and slowly increase the volume over a period of time. At first I wouldn't let him see me turn it on.

 

If he is bothered by it on low volume, I would repeat the experiment, and this time I would have it on, but with the volume turned all the way down.

 

It might be the "different" sound to the system, or there might be some feedback noise or something that you can't hear that he can that might be bothering him. If that's the case, he might hear it even when the volume is all the way down.

 

It might be as simple as familiarizing him with the new sound system, or you might need to do some desensitization work.

[flrpwr52]

We had the same problem. As the different sounds were coming from all directions the girls would turn their heads and look. There was of course nothing there and I think they were a little freaked out by it. They would leave the room but slowly come back and they are fine with it now.

I always keep it low when I first turn it on then increase the volume slowly.

[Janet808]

Hahaha! It's funny, I find this! Not too long ago, my hubby was putting the DVD player in downstairs and hooking it up to our stereo for the surround sound. He hit a button and well, 1) My DH, almost pooped his pants, 2) Almost gave me a heart attack, and 3) Drove Misty absolutely crazy! for when he hit that button, it BLASTED thru the speakers! I was fortunate enough to at least see the reaction of my DH, when this happened, and had the best laugh, once my heart stopped racing, and Misty, just ran around the room, like a crazy loon!

 

BC's have very sensitive hearing, and maybe you can keep it low at first, and gradually turn it up. If he still is anxious about it, see if you can put him in another room, while you watch your movie, etc. I know, Misty will sometimes, run to one of the speakers and check it out, but after awhile, lays down and relaxes. Good Luck!

[LovaBelle]

I had actually wondered if it would work having it on low and slowly turning it up. I am going to try that this evening. It's weird that it bothers Jake and not Belle. It's sad, I don't want him to be scared or uncomfortable, but I laugh a little when I picture his initial reaction - a lost look, gazing around the room like he was hearing ghosts or goblins and staring at the speaker he was sitting by when it came on. If that was all he did, I wouldn't worry so much, but it's the whole body shaking that makes me feel for him. You know, I've only had Jake since the end of June and the only two things that I've seen that frighten him are the sound of sizzling bacon and surround sound. Thanks for the responses.

[M.L.]

Willow doesn't like the surround sound either. It doesn't bother the other dogs at all. Willow goes upstairs and lays in the hall when the surround sound is on. She will come downstairs once in a while. When she does, she sits still, ears moving, eyes wide with a worried look on her face. She listens to every sound. She won't stay downstairs, though. She will come back down to stay when the surround sound is off.

[sweet_ceana]

We got a new surround sound system as well this Christmas. Poco went from speaker to speaker slightly fearful when we first set it up. Sometimes he is a little unsure with movie sounds, but he is becoming less reactive to them. The more wwe expose him to it the better he does.