Common household noises may be stressing your dog
Study shows people likely underestimate their dog's anxiety

Date:
November 10, 2021
Source:
University of California - Davis
Summary:
Researchers have found that common household noises may be making
dogs anxious. Owners may be underestimating their dog's stress.



FULL STORY ========================================================================== 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-established that sudden loud noises,
such as fireworks or thunderstorms, commonly trigger a dog's anxiety,
a new study finds even common noises, such as a vacuum or microwave can
be a trigger. The study was published in Frontiers in Veterinary Science.


==========================================================================
The research found that high-frequency, intermittent noises such as
the battery warning of a smoke detector are more likely to cause a dog
anxiety, rather than low-frequency, continuous noise.

"We know that there are a lot of dogs that have noise sensitivities, but
we underestimate their fearfulness to noise we consider normal because
many dog owners can't read body language," said lead author Emma Grigg,
a research associate and lecturer at the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine.

Signs of anxiety Some common signs of a dog's anxiety include cringing, trembling, or retreating, but owners may be less able to identify
signs of fear or anxiety when behaviors are more subtle. For example,
stressed dogs could pant, lick their lips, turn their head away or even
stiffen their body. Sometimes their ears will turn back, and their head
will lower below their shoulders. Grigg suggests owners better educate themselves on anxiety-related behavior.

Researchers conducted a survey of 386 dog owners about their dogs'
responses to household sounds and examined recorded dog behaviors and
human reactions from 62 videos available online. The study found that
owners not only underestimated their dogs' fearfulness, but the majority
of people in videos responded with amusement rather than concern over
their dog's welfare.

"There is a mismatch between owners' perceptions of the fearfulness
and the amount of fearful behavior actually present. Some react with
amusement rather than concern," Grigg said. "We hope this study gets
people to think about the sources of sound that might be causing their dog stress, so they can take steps to minimize their dog's exposure to it."
Some sounds painful for dogs Grigg said because dogs have a wider range
of hearing, some noises could also be potentially painful to a dog's
ears, such as very loud or high-frequency sounds. She said minimizing
exposure may be as simple as changing batteries more frequently in smoke detectors or removing a dog from a room where loud noises might occur.

"Dogs use body language much more than vocalizing and we need to
be aware of that," said Grigg. "We feed them, house them, love them
and we have a caretaker obligation to respond better to their anxiety." ========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by
University_of_California_-_Davis. Original written by Amy Quinton. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Emma K. Grigg, Juliann Chou, Emily Parker, Anwyn Gatesy-Davis,
Sara T.

Clarkson, Lynette A. Hart. Stress-Related Behaviors in Companion
Dogs Exposed to Common Household Noises, and Owners' Interpretations
of Their Dogs' Behaviors. Frontiers in Veterinary Science, 2021;
8 DOI: 10.3389/ fvets.2021.760845 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/11/211110104528.htm

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