How common is sound phobia in the UK?
A 2006 report produced for the RSPCA shows the extent of the phobia problem in dogs in the UK, with around 49% of dogs having a fear of sounds, and 45% reacting to fireworks. The other common phobias are gunshots and thunder. How serious can phobias become? Most dogs learn to anticipate when there is going to be a firework or storm event. When they see dark clouds, hear rain or smell smoke on the air they go to their favourite hiding place and wait for the situation to pass. They may stay there for several hours, but we think of this as normal because we don t see how afraid the dog is. Dogs showing this kind of response are phobic, but they have found a way to cope. 90% or more dogs with a phobia fit into this category. Unfortunately phobias tend to progress in a number of ways. The commonest is process called generalisation . This is simply the term used when dogs gradually start to react to a widening range of sounds that are similar to ones that they are phobic of. Dogs with a fire
