Researchers at the University of California, Davis, have found that people may not recognize that their dog is stressed when exposed to common household noises. While it's well known that sudden loud noises, such as fireworks or thunderstorms, often trigger a dog's anxiety, a new study finds that even ordinary noises, such as a vacuum or microwave oven, can be a trigger.
The study found that high-frequency, intermittent sounds, such as a smoke detector's battery warning, are more likely to cause anxiety in dogs than low-frequency, continuous sounds.
"We know there are many dogs that are sensitive to noise, but we underestimate their fear of noise which we consider normal because many dog owners cannot read body language," said lead author Emma Grigg, a research associate and teacher at the UC Davis School of Science. Veterinary Medicine.
Some common signs of fear in a dog are cowering, trembling or withdrawing, but owners may be less able to recognize signs of stress or anxiety when the behavior is more subtle. For example, stressed dogs may pant, lick their lips, turn their heads, or even stiffen their bodies. Sometimes their ears turn back and their heads drop below their shoulders. Grigg suggests owners better educate themselves about fear-related behavior.
Researchers conducted a survey of 386 dog owners about their dogs' responses to household noises and examined recorded dog behavior and human responses from 62 videos available online. The research found that not only do owners underestimate their dog's fear, but the majority of people in videos acted amused rather than concerned about their dog's well-being.
“There is a discrepancy between the owners' perception of the fear and the amount of fearful behavior that is actually present. Some are more amused than concerned," Grigg said. “We hope this study will get people thinking about the noise sources that can cause their dogs stress so they can take steps to minimize their dog's exposure to them.”
Grigg said that because dogs have a wider range of hearing, some sounds can also be potentially painful to a dog's ears, such as very loud or high-frequency sounds. She said minimizing exposure could be as simple as changing batteries in smoke detectors more often or removing a dog from a room where loud noises can occur.
“Dogs use a lot more body language than vocalize and we need to be aware of that,” Grigg said. “We feed them, house them, love them and we have a caregiver duty to better respond to their fear.”
