When a storm is occurring in your area, it is heartbreaking to see your wonderful dog panting, pacing and drooling in a highly anxious state. You’d like to hold your dog and help her break out of this behavior, but more often than not your loving efforts are to no avail. Dogs and cats can also suffer static shocks in the buildup to a thunderstorm. If you become nervous or anxious yourself, your dog may mirror your behavior. “There’s something about their makeup that makes their thresholds for developing this, or their ability to recover, lower than that of other animals,” says Lore Haug, DVM, a veterinary behaviorist at Texas Veterinary Behavior Services.

The decibel range of a thunderstorm is between 100 dB to 115 dB, way beyond the safety range for canine ears. Thunder also occurs in the infrasonic range (below 20 Hz), which is inaudible to humans. During a storm, pressure will occur in a dog’s ear, which is experienced as a pulsating sensation. Both ultrasonic and infrasonic sounds can be observed in the same thunderstorm. A clap of thunder can reach 120 dB. So, you can understand why a thunderstorm is an intense experience for their ears and ours.

 A dog will want to escape to safety, and the shift to flight-or-fight behavior can happen quickly. Pet parents have shared with me stories of their dog jumping into a bathtub, shaking under a bed, and running right through electric fences. If a dog lives in an area that has rolling thunderstorms due to afternoon heat, the dog will develop storm phobia, which will need a behaviorist and calming tools to overcome. There are also hereditary predispositions to fear or anxiety reactive to thunderstorms, especially common in some hunting and herding breeds which includes the German Shepherd, Australian Shepherd, Labrador Retriever, Border Collie, Havanese, Shorthaired Pointer, Vizsla, and Bichon Frise.

 Young dogs and senior dogs display fear of thunderstorm sounds for different reasons than adult dogs. To a young dog, storms are a new experience to learn and can be terrifying as awareness grows. Senior and geriatric dogs, whose hearing has greatly diminished, will still experience the pressure of sound by absorbing vibrations in their bodies and through their paws, which can be disorienting.

 To assist a young pup in desensitizing to loud noises like thunderstorms or fireworks, you can pop bubble wrap in a room where they are. First, use your Decibel App to test the loudness of the pop yourself. Have your dog smell the sheet of bubble wrap to know where the sound is coming from. Then, keeping a distance from your dog in the room, pop one bubble and stop, then say “It’s okay.” During another session, pop two bubbles and repeat saying “It’s okay.” Evaluate your pup’s response to see if it lessens reactive behavior as you increase the experience. Make sure to keep the bubble wrap away from your dog’s head and ears.  Your reassurance by saying “It’s okay” will be good practice for when you and your dog are on the street and there's a loud pop sound that may startle your dog. Desensitizing your dog to street sounds, trucks and car horns is a good practice when they are young to minimize noise phobias later on.

 For adult dogs and cats, playing Pet Acoustics music will mask the thunderstorm sounds. For senior and geriatric pets, it’s best to confine their movement to one area or room to prevent injury during agitated roaming.

Excerpts from What Dogs Hear: Understanding Canine Hearing and Behavior from Puppy to Senior by Janet Marlow, Sound Behaviorist

Thunderstorms and Fireworks

The intensity of sounds from thunderstorms is one of the most common causes of canine acute stress behaviors. Crashes of thunder and lightning strikes that we can hear, has an agitating effect on us as well. The shift in barometric pressure is an initial indicator that a storm is approaching, and it is felt by humans as well as animals. When a storm is occurring in your area, it is heartbreaking to see your wonderful dog panting, pacing and drooling in a highly anxious state. You’d like to hold your dog and help her break out of this behavior, but more often than not your loving efforts are to no avail. Dogs and cats can also suffer static shocks in the buildup to a thunderstorm. If you become nervous or anxious yourself, your dog may mirror your behavior. “There’s something about their makeup that makes their thresholds for developing this, or their ability to recover, lower than that of other animals,” says Lore Haug, DVM, a veterinary behaviorist at Texas Veterinary Behavior Services.

The decibel range of a thunderstorm is between 100 dB to 115 dB, way beyond the safety range for canine ears. Thunder also occurs in the infrasonic range (below 20 Hz), which is inaudible to humans. During a storm, pressure will occur in a dog’s ear, which is experienced as a pulsating sensation. Both ultrasonic and infrasonic sounds can be observed in the same thunderstorm. A clap of thunder can reach 120 dB. So, you can understand why a thunderstorm is an intense experience for their ears and ours.

 A dog will want to escape to safety, and the shift to flight-or-fight behavior can happen quickly. Pet parents have shared with me stories of their dog jumping into a bathtub, shaking under a bed, and running right through electric fences. If a dog lives in an area that has rolling thunderstorms due to afternoon heat, the dog will develop storm phobia, which will need a behaviorist and calming tools to overcome. There are also hereditary predispositions to fear or anxiety reactive to thunderstorms, especially common in some hunting and herding breeds which includes the German Shepherd, Australian Shepherd, Labrador Retriever, Border Collie, Havanese, Shorthaired Pointer, Vizsla, and Bichon Frise.

 Young dogs and senior dogs display fear of thunderstorm sounds for different reasons than adult dogs. To a young dog, storms are a new experience to learn and can be terrifying as awareness grows. Senior and geriatric dogs, whose hearing has greatly diminished, will still experience the pressure of sound by absorbing vibrations in their bodies and through their paws, which can be disorienting.

 “That fear response becomes classically conditioned,” says veterinary behaviorist Lisa Radosta, who practices at Florida Veterinary Behavior Service in West Palm Beach. “Maybe the first storm isn’t traumatic, but over time the fear response becomes triggered by elements of the storm.”

 To assist a young pup in desensitizing to loud noises like thunderstorms or fireworks, you can pop bubble wrap in a room where they are. First, use your Decibel App to test the loudness of the pop yourself. Have your dog smell the sheet of bubble wrap to know where the sound is coming from. Then, keeping a distance from your dog in the room, pop one bubble and stop, then say “It’s okay.” During another session, pop two bubbles and repeat saying “It’s okay.” Evaluate your pup’s response to see if it lessens reactive behavior as you increase the experience. Make sure to keep the bubble wrap away from your dog’s head and ears.  Your reassurance by saying “It’s okay” will be good practice for when you and your dog are on the street and there's a loud pop sound that may startle your dog. Desensitizing your dog to street sounds, trucks and car horns is a good practice when they are young to minimize noise phobias later on.

 For adult dogs, playing calming canine music will mask the thunderstorm sounds. For senior and geriatric dogs, it’s best to confine their movement to one area or room to prevent injury during agitated roaming.

 Fireworks

In years past, people would gather at a large park or river shore area to enjoy a celebration with fireworks. The event would generally be coordinated by a city, town or organization and there would be a safe distance between the fireworks and the crowd of people. Now, with the availability of fireworks sold in stores for the consumer, fireworks can be heard at any time of year and as close as your neighbor’s backyard. That is fun and convenient but really bad news for dogs and cats!

 Every July 4th, there are inevitably reports of dogs missing from their homes due to firework events. It is difficult to stop the flight response when there are intense sound waves close by.  Due to this, dogs have run through screen doors, destroyed furniture, and fled the home for days until found.

 If you are watching fireworks that are about a kilometer (1000 meters) away, the light takes only three millionths of a second to reach you. The sound takes about three seconds. Sound waves are much slower because they require a medium (mass of molecules) to travel. Fireworks produce a sound output that is in the 150 dB to 175 dB range.  Fireworks generate a higher noise level than firecrackers or gunshots.                                                             

  “There are three types of noises from every firework: a screeching, a whistle and a bang. Fireworks are filled with lead oxide, which turns into lead atoms as the firework explodes and heats up. Half of the narrow tube remains empty and once the firework is lit up, the empty part of the tube will vibrate and make the whistling sound.”

“In addition, firecrackers are poisonous and their explosion releases harmful particles such as fine dust (PM10) that is toxic to inhale. Therefore, fireworks represent a danger both to animals and humans who live in areas where they explode, or in relatively distant locations when the wind transports the particles. There is also a risk of ingestion of the residue of fireworks and firecrackers. The proximity animals to the areas where the firecrackers are made, often causes burns and damage to the eyes.”

 As I am writing this book with a chapter about fireworks, I paid close attention this year to the local July 4th event near my home. I was shocked to discover how much my entire home vibrated from each firework explosion. I placed my hand on the walls and windows in the room where Rigby was and felt every intense vibration. Rigby was tense but he was also wearing an Ultra Calmer collar which I designed for him to ease his and other dogs for sound stress. I’d like to share how I came to invent this product device.

My passion for innovating effective tools for pet parents to resolve thunderstorm and firework stress culminated in 2016. I have talked about my beloved dog Rigby, who was my inspiration to create a solution. When Rigby was a year and half, he showed his first signs of stress due to an intense thunderstorm. It was hard to observe him pacing and being highly agitated. No amount of soft talk or touch could break his state of acute stress. That moment inspired me to invent the Ultra Calmer collar device. I spent many months thinking what would be the best device for a dog to overcome sound stress during storms and fireworks. I definitely wanted it to be easily snapped on by a caregiver, and for the dog to be able to pace or hide while wearing it. I created frequency-based music of which the Hz levels were modified for canine ears, already clinically proven to calm dogs. I developed a patent for the Ultra Calmer music device which came in three different collar sizes for small, medium and large dogs. Then, I developed a SafeVolume® Mode so that the volume level was comfortable to maintain a consistent hearing response. The product made its debut in 2016 and has helped many dogs, including my precious Rigby, ride out a thunderstorm or endure local fireworks with behavioral calm and minimal stress.

Here are two pet parent’s comments.  “I bought the Ultra Calmer last fall for my golden mix, who is afraid of thunder. Yesterday, as the storms rolled through, I put it on him. There was no heavy panting, no nervous following me around. He laid down and appeared to be fine. I didn't have to give him any tranquilizers. Thank you!!!” 

“Lex is terrified of fireworks. At the first boom I placed the collar with preloaded music on him and he fell asleep on the couch. Normally he's hiding in the bathroom.”

www.petacoustics.com

Animals can change a life. This happened to me when I observed my dogs and cats close to my side when I played music. After two decades of research and clinical studies, I learned why. As a pet parent myself, I wanted to share this important information by writing this book. In What Dogs Hear you will learn about your dog’s amazing hearing abilities and how sound affects their behavior. Each chapter unfolds the scientific reasons why your dog responds to their sonic environment throughout each stage of your dog’s life. You’ll deepen your relationship with your dog by understanding their hearing world to resolve stress issues using technology and techniques to calm and balance behaviors. Janet Marlow’s research, insights and stories are an enjoyable reading experience that will enhance your relationship for you and your dog from puppyhood to senior. 

 “My Friend, Janet Marlow, knows more about the hearing and hearts of dogs than anyone I know. I pay close attention to whatever Janet says and now, with her wonderfully informative book, you can, too.”  - Mary Pope Osborne, author of The Magic Tree House Series

“What dogs Hear is excellent!! I have read it and I learned so much. Every dog owner should own this book, or gift it to others who are getting puppies/dogs.” - C. Martinelli

"This is a must-read for anyone who loves animals -- especially if you live with one. I know without a shadow of a doubt that our fellow creatures are feeling, thinking, conscious beings. I know that through my own experience and through the new scientific research I've learned of. But Janet Marlow offers a rare depth of understanding about how non-human animals perceive and respond to the world. If you want to get a glimpse of that world, read this book!" - Elena Mannes

Digital Downloads (9.99) and Paperback (19.99) available on these sites:

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Excerpt from What Dogs Hear

“Throughout the human-canine relationship, sound as a stimulus and as a communication tool is often overlooked as a cause-and-effect of different canine behaviors. Canine acute hearing is often attributed to behaviors such as stress, anxiety, aggression, and fear. As their caregivers, we also need to know our own hearing abilities in order to recognize their needs and sound communication. Do you hear the highest frequencies and whines uttered by your dog? Have you noticed your dog’s hearing diminishing in response to you, now that he is a senior? Do you know how to mitigate your home environment to minimize stress reactivity during thunderstorm and firework events? As a researcher on canine hearing and as an inventor of solutions for canine stress triggered by sound, I am writing this book as my agreement with you to help you know your dog through their amazing hearing ability and what this means for their well-being. Each chapter is sequenced to unfold these important aspects that can be used as tools and techniques to enhance the quality of your dog’s life and bring your relationship to a deeper level of communication with continued love and bonding.” Janet Marlow 

Janet Marlow is internationally known as a composer, researcher, and author and for her contributions to the understanding of animal hearing and behavior. Her research on behalf of animals has been featured on Animal Planet, CNN, Entrepreneur Magazine, and the Wall Street Journal. In 2009, she founded Pet Acoustics Inc. with award-winning products that have helped thousands of pets, pet parents and veterinarians worldwide.

Pet Acoustics has a fun solution for your dog and it's all in the walk. Make walks more fun, vigorous and beneficial.

We do walk our dogs over 10,000 times during their lifetime and ours for that matter so what's the trick to changing it up and have a healthier life for your dog?

Collars
Use a halter or harness for vigorous walking. If you use a collar make sure it doesn’t pull on the the dog’s throat for control.

Leashes
Should be six feet long. For better control use a four-foot leash.  This will keep your dog close to your body as you change your pace.

Water
Make sure to bring water with you especially if you are going a longer distance than just your average pee and poo walk. There are many good products on the market to choose from.

Pace- People walking with their dogs can walk 25 minutes per mile.  Dogs can handle brisk pacing so curb your dog from stopping at every bush to keep the walk moving.

Leash Technique
Dogs love a vigorous walk and by keeping the leash close will indicate to your dog that you too, are moving alongside and keeping up with their pace.

Setting Goals
For most overweight dogs or dogs with obesity and have normal heart and lung function, normal blood pressure, and no other pre-existing medical conditions or injuries, start with thirty-minute walk five times per week.  As always check with your dog's veterinarian before starting any exercise program

Monthly Weight
You can visit your veterinarian to weigh your dog anytime and give them the number to record for your next official visit. Some pet stores also have scales to use and check weight. Additionally, at the veterinarian have a veterinary technician inspect the pads and legs for any issues and to ensure the nails are short and healthy. In time your dog's ideal weight will be reached to maintain for health.

Why is a calm dog healthier than an anxious dog?

Evaluation of a dog's health and well-being is traditionally focused on the physical state. However, the environment that surrounds our dog through air, smells, and the emotional energy of their home, is an important consideration when we evaluate their health issues. Observing responses to sound can help if the history of the dog is not known due to being rescued. In addition to taking care of the basics of shelter, food, and family, we need to be aware of the vast range of sensitivities, emotions, and behaviors that contribute to doggy wellness triggered by acute hearing.

It's important to realize that canine calm does not mean that your dog is inactive or lying down. Webster defines calm as: not agitated, tranquil, steadiness under stress, peaceful, quiet.

“The most wonderful discovery in my career. 
 With pet anxiety issues it’s 
 a great tool. Every animal benefits in my practice.”

— Dale Krier, DVM Creature Comfort 
Veterinary Clinic

Canine hearing is one of the most overlooked causes of negative behaviors. That’s why Pet Acoustics does the research and provides the solutions, naturally.

As an observer of behavior, you know this sensitivity as stressful behavioral responses to thunderstorms and fireworks by panting, pacing and drooling, from excessive barking in response to sounds at home or on the streets, to lunging at cars, to hiding in bathtubs from ground vibrations.  Noise-stress is a real issue and sometimes hard to resolve. There are also positive responses to sounds, such as nature-environments, human voices, and calming music to accompany the need for intermittent rest as part of their instinct to balance their daily energy. 

A dog's environment can have positive or negative influences on behavior.

You don't have to look further than dog shelters to find examples of high levels of stress, nervousness, fear, and anxiety. We can assume that many of these dogs came from negative environments that created, or at least exacerbated, these conditions. With their loud barks and bodily shivers, they are calling out to us for safety. Thanks to these shelters and the good people who manage them, these animals have a temporary respite until a caring person or family brings them home. Shelters give us a vivid look at white animals need the feeling of connectedness and safety in their environment, whether provided by their own species or hours.

Musicians and animals both understand the power of communication behind sound. They use volume and pitch to express themselves and understand environmental harmony.