Talisman & Totem SportDogs

It's that time of year again. July 4th is days away and summer storms are kicking in, here in the NE US. I have an 18 year old cat who is terrified of both. I find myself with a young dog who is showing some signs of noise worry, so knowing this is not one of those things that just passes-we are working on it. In the past I have had an older dog start to show storm/fireworks worry and found a few things that helped.  There is a thought that there is a genetic predisposition to sound sensitivity, yet this pup has parents, siblings, 1/2 siblings, etc who show no such worry. Hers was likely a traumatic event, at a key developmental period and while hitting another age of maturing, is at an insecure time right now in general. We can't be with them all the time, even if we wish we could. I am sure it does follow genetics in some cases, but then have also seen sound worry dogs produce pups with no such worry...so that is interesting too! Some dogs as they get older will start to ...

I was thinking about July 4th coming up, and the first thunderstorm season for many of my pups, both here and elsewhere. I know many already know this, but proactively engaging a pup before they react to something either by distracting or redirecting, when something new that could be scary is happening-is better than waiting to see how they might react. Waiting for the reaction to work on something, the pup's emotional state is already reacting/protecting/worrying-their brains are not open to your "help" at that point. TeG who just turned 9 months, saw the ceiling fans moving for the first time this past week-motion control brilliant herding puppy that she is, she swirled under them sure she should control them, her unsure self barking at them. With cathedral ceilings, it probably wooshes that much more, and she is also in a bit of a sound sensitive stage, which is pretty normal for this age.  I am pretty sure I turned them on a few times this past winter-but obvi...