# My dog is afraid of the dark. Seriously~ afraid of the dark



## Cheryl aka JM (Aug 7, 2007)

I'm serious.
And it's my fault.

Some of you know So-Chee. She is just the best dog ever! Well~ on the 4th of July we had a party. Very much fun. So-Chee had a good time too~ was an EXCELLENT babysitter playing with the toddler human child that came very gently all evening.

BUT~
Then it got dark and the fireworks started. I was hoping she would be okay with it~ she is a brave girl. But her eyes got all glassy and she was obviously very frightened. So I put her inside~ in my bathroom. She was obviously pretty freaked. Even though she HAS seen and heard fireworks before and acted frightened~ her reaction Friday night was more extreme than I've seen from her before. I locked her up for the safety of our guests and I THOUGHT to calm her down. I checked her several times during the evening and she seemed extremely freaked~ glassy eyes~ drooling~ shaking~ whining. I decided next time I will go to the vet and get her a tranquilizer before fire works.

4th of July over~ no more fire works. Problem solved for now right?

Apparently not.
Last night I put her outside to do her nightly business.....THEN I heard a screaming and thumping. OH GOD SOMETHING IS KILLING MY BIG TOUGH GUARD DOG!!!!!!! I run to the door~ there is So-Chee screaming like the world is ending and slamming herself into the glass door! I ran outside (while my tough guardian ran to MY BED!) There was.............

NOTHING OUT THERE
NOTHING

I pulled So-chee out of my bed and took her outside on her lead. We walked several circuits of the house~ her on her belly, crawling, shaking, glassy eyed.

I thought~ well......maybe someone put off one last firecracker on Saturday and she heard it. She was fine outside all day today. No problem...........

Until it got dark.

She is outside now~ leaning into the glass door and shivering. She was thumping the doors until I shouted at her. Apparently she is slightly more afraid of my anger than she is of the dark......but it appears that fear of the dark is a close second to fear of my wrath............

Okay~ I could see her being afraid of loud noises now
Flashing lights even
Fire maybe~
Sure.......

BUT AFRAID OF THE DARK?!?!?
I never would have believed it if I wasn't watching my tough and serious guard dog wet herself of the back steps because she is too afraid to go into the yard after dark............


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## Minelson (Oct 16, 2007)

I think she is still freaked from the fireworks. She is afraid to be outside in the dark because the last time she was there were fireworks and she thought they were going to kill her. This is why I hate the fourth of july...poor critters get scared to death and do things they normally wouldn't do. This doesn't surprise me at all. I had friend whose dog crashed through a glass picture window out of fear from fireworks. One of my dogs gets so freaked out we have to stay home and keep an eye on him...he shakes, throws up, paces, cries. So we shut all the windows and crank up the volume on the TV or stereo until it's over. And it takes a few days before he feels safe again. I would comfort your dog and do whatever you can to help her feel safe. Don't force her out. After a couple days take her out with a distraction...like treats or a toy. Good Luck! and now you know she is ultra sensitive to fireworks for next year.


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## kirsten (Aug 29, 2005)

The dog whisperer says that comforting an anxious mind reinforces behaviors. We don't comfort anxious minds anymore and our dogs are overcoming their fears like thunderstorms. My BC used to paw at the door to get in and now she sits out in the sunroom watching and listening to storms with us. Dogs will follow your moods and be changed by the stability of the pack- your family/your other dogs.

If she was my dog, I would pitch a tent outside, have a bbq and a party, stay up late, watch the fireflies and all go happily to bed outside in the tent. I bet your dog won't want to miss the fun. And don't acknowledge her silliness but stretch out and look at the stars, perfectly relaxed. Put her on a tie out if you must and stretch out next to her but don't pet her or pay attention to her, just play with everybody else out there. She'll give it up. Neuroses are pretty tough to keep up when everyone else is not dealing with her issue.

treats is a good idea too but being affectionate to instability is not going to help you.
Be strong with her instead, discipline and structure is way more important to dog psychology than affection, YOU make her feel safe not by kisses but by being a calm, authoritative pack leader. Then she can leave her fears at your feet and get on with her life becuase she trusts that you have it all under control. You can cure this fast.

kirsten


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## RandB (Aug 13, 2002)

We have had many dogs afraid of fireworks. Is your dog a shepherd? They seem to be the worst. The other poster is right, don't make a big fuss or you will reinforce the bad behavior. On the other hand, it seems kind of mean to just push her out and ignore her. If it was me, I would go outside with her, walk her all around, maybe just sit out there for awhile to keep her company. I bet each day she would get less afraid, until things get back to normal. Good luck!


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## Otter (Jan 15, 2008)

Poor So-Chee! It's sad that you can't comfort a dog because we want to so much and it just makes it worse. I'm with RandB, I'd just go outside with her and toss a few treats on the ground. Kirsten's idea to go outside and have fun and praise her if she joins you and ignore her if she doesn't is good too. Keep us posted how the poor girl does.


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## Minelson (Oct 16, 2007)

I have been told not to baby my dogs. And I try soooo hard not to and am doing pretty good compared to how I used to be. I don't think I would be able to stop myself though if something real bad happened and the dog was traumatized. I guess I lucked out with my dog Shep because he turned out awesome and I raised him. But I may not be so lucky with my 2 puppies so I am going to continue trying not to react when I would normally comfort.


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## Cheryl aka JM (Aug 7, 2007)

It's beginning to make more sense. When I first realized So-Chee was afraid of the dark I insisted to my husband that was ridiculous. Afraid of loud noises~ okay. Afraid of flashing lights~ okay. Afraid of the dark??? It's gotten dark every night of her life. EVERY NIGHT! LOL! If I wasn't seeing it for myself I'd insist the person reporting this was anthropomorphizing! It's ridiculous!

I put her outside last night....and she took off! She's never done that before! It was terrifying for ME. I found her way up by the road~ about a 1/4 mile away. If she were afraid of the dark WHY would she take off AWAY from the lights on the house????

So tonight I think we've figured it out.
It's not the DARK
We moved here from the city~ where the night time sounds we hear are peoples TVs and other dogs barking. Now we are in the country. This is our first year here. Our first July. I think its the cicadas (SP?). They started getting louder just a few days before July 4th~ then the trauma of being scared out her wits on July 4th..........then back outside and the cicadas are getting LOUDER. VERY LOUD. We are actually amazed how LOUD the night is out here! When she took off last night~ it was AWAY from the woods TOWARD the road. AWAY from the sounds the cicadas where making!!!

She is doing better tonight. Still not 100% herself~ but going outside without freaking. We made a point of not coddling her for being frightened~ and we all sat outside on the porch this evening just watching the sun set as the cicadas started up. We played ball with So-Chee and she did fine. She went out to do her business about 20 min ago~ and she was quick about it and wanted back in the house but she didn't act like the world was about to end.

Being afraid of the new sound she may have associated with the scary sounds on July 4 makes MUCH more sense to me than being afraid of the Dark!


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## kirsten (Aug 29, 2005)

Oh, that is good! Cicadas are super noisy! I had to ask about them when I first heard them too! What the...?! Couldn't believe bugs could be so loud! You know what else is disturbing about the country,(albeit a deviation from our theme) it is when you are trying to find your cat and this bird keeps meowing at you! What a trick!

But so glad that your dog is feeling better and you figured it out!

kirsten


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## Minelson (Oct 16, 2007)

Oh I'm so glad she is doing better! And that totally makes sense that the cicadas were freaking her out...they are really quite amazing how loud they can get!  My pup Boris was barking at the window last night and getting all worked up...we couldn't figure out what he was seeing (not his reflection) Then we saw it...fireflies!!


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## Otter (Jan 15, 2008)

I can loan you 4 kittens and a duck who will eat all your cicadas. Do you want to know how my duck catches them? She waits until a kitten has one and then steals it from the kitten, who then catches another one. 

The kittens are VERY cute. I'm sure So-Chee would really love a little kitten buddy, especially one who rescues her from those nasty cicadas.


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## Beaners (Feb 23, 2005)

Before I read the thread, I was thinking that maybe the dog's eyesight wasn't so great and it couldn't see in the poor light. When my old dog started going blind, she was terrified to go anywhere without enough light to make out shadows.

I'm glad you figured it out though, those cicadas sure are noisy devils. I think last year was their high year here, I haven't heard hardly any this year.

Kayleigh


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