moab2mutts

[diane allen]

Following the light fixation post.....and maybe not really health, except mental - both the dog's and mine!

My 3 yr old BC has developed fear of flies and maybe mosquitos, or just me killing mosquitos.   I had not noticed this before this year, and there aren't more bugs this year than ever.   If there's a fly in the window by the couch where he often hangs out, he will bolt for his crate in the bedroom (door is always open). He has acted similarly in my RV if there's a fly inside. Outside the other day, I slapped a mosquito on my leg - not hard, just enough to dispatch it - and the dog took off for the (closed) gate and would not come back (normally, his recall is excellent).  And no, I don't ever slap him!  Does he have super-sensitive hearing for flies??  Or is it just his quirk?  (He doesn't have many....)

We are going to an agility seminar next month in a barn, and I *know* there will be flies. Perhaps if they're not confined, like in a window, or if they land on me and I don't slap them, he'll be OK.  But I hate to miss out on the 'action' if he decides to freak out.  I can work on some gentle slapping of my leg with treats for him (he likes his food!), but otherwise, any suggestions to help him get over this obsession?  I'd like to think he'll grow out of it, but not hopeful.

Diane

[Lawgirl]

I have a dog who is scared of flies.  We live in a country area in Australia, and flies are plentiful.  We do our best to keep them out of the house, but George regularly gets freaked out by the sound of them.  One of the funniest things ever was George racing out of a room followed by a tiny fly, slowly dipping up and down in the air...

In our experience, it is the buzzing sound of the fly which he reacts to more than the sound of a slap, as he can hear them and reacts before we do.  He also reacts more strongly to blowflies than house flies (bigger and louder).

It does help to kill the fly and show him the body sometimes, but we have not yet found a solution, sorry to not be much help.

It may be that if he is very switched on with his agility, nothing else will really matter?

 

[alligande]

My 7 year old hates flys and is obsessed by them as well, he also hates me killing mosquitoes and freaks when I sneeze. I have found that when he is focused, doing agility, out for walks etc he is absolutely fine, its at home when its quiet that he focuses on them, and gets really bothered by them,  I think its just the noise that bugs him, although mosquitos don't bother him. I haven't really done anything about it, I have just accepted it as one of his many quirks like sitting on my head during thunder showers at night. 

[D'Elle]

I wonder.....I haven't tried this, but I would if my dog had this issue........if it could be reframed in the dog's mind. Say, when there's a fly you cheerfully talk to the dog and pretend it is a game to chase and kill the fly, and then when say "yay!" and show the dead fly to the dog and give the dog treats. Or, as I have done recently with my new puppy, as soon as thunder starts rolling I say "yay! It's thunder! that means biscuits for the dogs!" and I start handing out biscuits. As a result, the pup now looks happily at me when he hears thunder instead of being afraid. Maybe if a fly is buzzing you could just say "yay, a fly, that means biscuits!", and not even chase or kill the fly until later if at all. 

 

[beachdogz]

On 7/25/2023 at 10:49 AM, D'Elle said:

 as I have done recently with my new puppy, as soon as thunder starts rolling I say "yay! It's thunder! that means biscuits for the dogs!" and I start handing out biscuits. As a result, the pup now looks happily at me when he hears thunder instead of being afraid.

D'Elle - I remember when I shared this technique that I had done with my two puppies and you said that you were gonna try that when you got a new pup!  So I will update you on my results.  My pups are now 4 years old. So far, so good.  When it thunders, my two come running for treats.  And come running.  And come running.  As a matter of fact, you will find it gets downright annoying LOL.  Then a plane flies overhead, and they want a treat because it sounds like thunder.  Then Parker hears a truck -- and I am absolutely positive he KNOWS it is a truck -- and will come running for a treat.  But I remind myself it is much better than the alternative, so I'm not really complaining!  I still prepare myself for the day when it could still become a phobia (like the flies) - but for now it works.  So I agree with you to try it on the flies.   I probably would not go so far as to kill the fly and show him, but I would also attach a word when I hear the buzz or see the reaction (I would probably say "Buzz" and do a buzzing sound and then reward - being careful of my timing, which I'm sure with Diane's experience she will do so.)  I think the rest would be over-kill (pardon the pun.)  Because her dog is older, I would expect it to take longer for this to work, as opposed to starting as a puppy. 

My dog also reacts to sneezing, but in a different way.  He runs to you and jumps up on you as if to save you from the sneeze.  However, I have posted about my husband having a coughing fit one night and now any time he coughs, my dogs run to me. It doesn't happen a lot and they don't freak out too much, so we haven't done much about the cough.

[D'Elle]

@beachdogz, this made me laugh. Fortunately, my pup (now almost 9 months old) has not extended the game to include everything that makes a loud noise. In fact, he doesn't even run to me for a biscuit every time it thunders, just the first couple of times in a storm. And he is completely blasé about storms unless the thunder crash is super close and loud, in which case we all jump off our seats, understandably. 

Best of all, it appears that his being OK with storms has caused my other dog, who has always been terrified of them, to act less scared. He used to shake all over, which he no longer does. He goes and hides his head in the couch cushions and accepts my petting and calm words, while the pup looks at him as if to say "what's wrong?". And he'll take a biscuit from me when I give one to the pup, which he would never do previously. 

I think it's definitely a technique worth doing, of course taking into account that each dog may have a slightly different response to it. :-)

[beachdogz]

3 hours ago, D'Elle said:

@beachdogz, this made me laugh. Fortunately, my pup (now almost 9 months old) has not extended the game to include everything that makes a loud noise. In fact, he doesn't even run to me for a biscuit every time it thunders, just the first couple of times in a storm.

 

D'Elle:  yes, but you have to realize that I also gave cookies for them peeing when housebreaking.  And so he would go out and pee - get a cookie - then go back out, crouch quickly for an instant (no pee coming out) and then run back for another cookie! Yes, my dog is a cheater and a conniver.  Although I like to think of him as intelligent! 

And I, admittedly, am afraid to stop the cookies for thunder.

[D'Elle]

No need to stop. I wish someone would give me cookies every time it thunders!