Experts reveal the 6 sounds that stress out your dog the most

Dogs have significantly more sensitive hearing than humans, and are able to detect higher frequencies and sounds from much farther away. This acute hearing, combined with their natural instincts and individual experiences, makes many sounds frightening.

Fireworks are perhaps the most common and intense phobia for many dogs. The loud, sudden bangs, whistles, and crackles, combined with bright flashes of light, are highly unpredictable and overwhelming. Dogs can’t understand the source or the harmlessness of the noise.

Thunderstorms also create tension for our ‘four legged friends’ and beyond the loud booms, dogs can often sense changes in barometric pressure, electrostatic charges, and even the smell of rain that precede a storm. These sensory cues, combined with unpredictable thunder and lightning flashes, can cause severe anxiety.

The sound of doorbells can also create stress for dogs with the noise being less of an issue rather than the uncertainty of strangers arriving.

Blenders and vacuum cleaners both too can create anxiety with the loud, droning noise from both appliances combined with the large, moving object (in the case of the vacuum cleaner), can be intimidating.

Alarms and sirens (police, ambulance, fire, car and smoke detectors) are all items the emit high-pitched, loud, oscillating, and sudden. The unexpected nature and intensity can be very distressing. Even a low-battery chirp from a smoke detector can cause prolonged stress for some dogs.

Dogs hear at much higher frequencies (up to 45,000 Hz compared to human 20,000 Hz) and can detect sounds up to four times farther away. What’s loud to us is excruciatingly loud to them.

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