Sound Proof Puppy Training App Training dogs to be comfortable with sound is essential to having a calm, well-adjusted dog.

Have you ever wondered why some dogs are so calm around noisy environments, while others look nervous and stressed? There are many loud, new and unusual sounds a dog must get used to as a domestic pet or working dog. Dogs are born deaf and they dont hear until 3 weeks of age. Puppies aged 3 – 16 weeks are in their Sensitive Phase Period. It is essential to expose your puppy to their new environment during this developmental phase. Training our dogs to be comfortable with sound is essential to having a calm, well adjusted dog. As new puppy owners you can start this training from 8 weeks of age. If every puppy was conditioned to a range of sounds during their Sensitive Phase Period we would see huge improvements in fear related behaviours. After teaching puppy class for several years I needed a way to assist clients to get their puppies comfortable around environmental noise. So I wrote this app.

PUPPY TRAINING / CONDITIONING A building site is a loud, noisy place, and it can be very scary for a tradesmans brand new puppy. So how can he prepare his puppy for this new environment? By using positive association with construction sounds the puppy will become comfortable and relaxed. You can use food rewards, play time or simply play the sounds during the puppys meal times. This will ensure the puppy has a positive association to the new noise. Start this training with the volume low so the puppy is not afraid. Slowly increase the volume each conditioning session. Aim to do at least 10 sessions with the construction sounds. The end goal is to reach a volume similar to a building site and the puppy feeling relaxed and confident. When a family gets a new puppy in the city they can make sure their puppy doesnt have a fear of traffic sounds by using the sounds provided in this app and the same technique as above. If you have a puppy that will need grooming, condition the puppy to the grooming sounds provided in this app. Complete this conditioning before the puppy has their first groom.

DOGS WITH EXISTING FEARS For dogs that already have a fear of sounds like fireworks or thunder we fix the fear using desensitisation. We simply play the firework or thunder sound around the dog at home at a volume the dog is comfortable with (starting off quietly). We then need to make the sound associated with something the dog wants, like food treats, play time or a nice big bone so he learns to have a positive association with the scary sound. This positive association will desensitise the dog. In extreme cases we may not be able to fix the problem however we can improve the behaviour.

BREEDERS Puppy trainers are seeing more and more puppies coming through puppy class who are very reactive to loud noises. Breeders can use this sound app to play a wide variety of sounds to litters of puppies from 3 weeks of age (when the ears open) so that the puppies are getting a huge head start to becoming dogs who dont have a fear of noises. Start this training with the volume low so the puppies are not afraid. Slowly increase the volume each conditioning session, at least one session a day. The end goal (8 weeks of age) is to have puppies who are very comfortable and confident around this wide variety of sounds. As with any training it is important not do too much too soon or you run the risk of making them scared of the sounds.

Sound Proof Puppy Training App Developer Amy Smith