Reptile & Amphibian Forums

hi all,

my dog has been unhappy recently, he would hide behind the bushes in the yard, refusing to come inside, and when he is inside his tail was down. This was out of character. We just had a baby, and I was always using breastpump, that beeps every time I make adjustment of settings. Recently, I rented another breastpump from the hospital, that doesn't beep, and all those weird behaviour disappeared. My dog is known to be scared of beeps from pagers also.

At some point, I will have to return the hospital rental pump, and use my own. That means my dog will be unhappy again What can I do to help him? Unfortunately I need to use this pump to feed my baby...

thanks,
juliana

Try gradually conditioning him to the beep now, while you don't have to use it otherwise, with treats and games. Here's a link to an article I wrote that explains how to do this:

http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&A=1612&S=1&SourceID=47
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Kathy Diamond Davis, author, "Therapy Dogs: Training Your Dog to Reach Others," 2nd edition, and the free Canine Behavior Series articles at http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=SRC&S=1&SourceID=47

Thank you so much, Kathy!!

I have a noise sensitive dog as well. It's not always easy. I would grab someone's pager sit down with some bacon treats and feed your pup each time the pager makes a noise. If hte noise initially has to be muffled in your pocket to get your pup to be close enough to eat, that's ok. The goal is to try to build a positive association with the problem noise and something really good (bacon). After the pager, see if you can transfer things to th pump noises and have treats available to dish out while you are pumping. Trial runs it would be easiest to have dog with you and not be distracted by actually pumping, just get used to the noises. Hopefully, it won't take too much to get your pup over this sensitivity.
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Chelle and the rest of the crew including, but not limited to Kita and Taiko (the shiba inu wrestle maniacs), Adi (reserved and dignified tabby cat), and all 28 reptiles www.freewebs.com/performanceshibas

Thanks Chelle, from Juliana and Newton