# my dog and the bug zapper



## SquashNut (Sep 25, 2005)

My dog is afraid of the bug zapper. We have to have one on our back porch, in the yard and some time in the kitchen even. The misquitos are so bad this year.
Also i have put up a regular light in the back yard, so i can see out there. We have had a couple of breakins. So the light is nessasary. The dog has this light mixed up with the bug zapper. 
We turn these all off and try to put the dog out but he refuses to go out into his dog pen to pee.
last night we finally got him out but he must have come in before doing his business cause he got on our bed and peed. He is a full 100 pounds so you can imajine the mess he made.
I need some suggestions to get past this. He is a great dog most the time, and we hate to see him go through this. Our matress is only 6 monthes old so this upset my husband and he is very angry with the dog. They normally get along really well.


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## Willowynd (Mar 27, 2005)

I am going through a similar thing with my 2 yr old collie....only it is fireworks and it causes her to freak out. Where she used to be fine with gunfire- this is also bothering her now. I have started playing recordings of fireworks on low and gradually raising the volume. It is working...she can now tolerate a couple pops if I am there with her....so we are making progress. Another thing is you need to accompany his outtings anyways to make sure he has done his business...if not, he has to sleep in a crate for the night. It is easier to clean a crate than it is to get urine out of a mattress plus a dog will usually hold it than to get himself soiled and not be able to get away from it....and next time you take him out (I would give him another chance 4 hours later) he should go pretty quickly. When taking him out, ignore the bug zapper and act upbeat, even playful. Your thoughts will travel quickly to the dog, so if you are feeling the least bit apprehensive, he will sense it and feel as though he has reason to be fearful. You may want to try securing him in an area that is at his comfort zone...maybe he is fine 50 ft away from the bug zapper or at least more comfortable. Stay with him, give him cookies and play with him in this safe zone...then bring him in 5 ft closer and repeat. This is just another methoed of desensitizing him. Whatever you do, do not reward him by taking him away from the object of his fears when he is displaying fear. In my case, I stayed outside with my girl until she calmed down enough to sit...the sit was what got rewarded with going inside. It was not easy- she slipped her collar once and I had to pull her off the fence to replace it (tighter this time) it so we could wait it out. I pulled her away from the fence probably 200 times, each time trying to redirect her with a her fav squeaky toy. Today in the daylight someone shot off some firecrackers and she immediately went to the corner of the fence and tried to climb out...This time she listened to my command of "off" and sat, so I brought her in....then I walked her through the house a couple minutes and took her back out and we smelled the flowers on the deck and chatted for 5 mins before I brought her back in. The fireworks had stopped, but I wanted her to feel confident enough to go outside when they were going off.


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