Household noises may cause anxiety, fear for dogs: study

TORONTO -- Sounds coming from your vacuum cleaner or smoke detector may be stressing out your dog, a new study says.

While it's commonly understood that loud, dramatic sounds like thunderstorms and fireworks can frighten dogs, researchers at UC Davis have found that even common household noises can spark anxiety among canines.

“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 in a news release.

Grigg and her colleagues outlined their findings in a paper published in the journal Frontiers in Veterinary Science on Monday. They surveyed 386 dog owners about their responses to sounds and also looked at 62 online videos depicting dogs reacting to common household sounds.

In both the surveys and the online videos, there were "numerous signs of canine fear and anxiety" in response to these noises.

For lower-frequency constant sounds, such as microwaves and vacuum cleaners, behaviours associated with agitation, such as barking and lunging, were common. Signs of fear, such as lip-licking and tucked-back ears were also associated with these types of sounds.

Loud and infrequent high-pitched noises, such as the beeping of a smoke detector, were found to be more likely to cause anxiety among dogs. Panting, hiding, cowering, trembling and barking were common behavioural responses to these noises.

Some of these loud sounds may potentially be painful for dogs, given their sensitive hearing. Grigg suggests dog owners should change their smoke detector batteries more frequently to avoid the loud chirping sound indicating a low battery.

“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.”

The survey also found that these signs often go unnoticed among most dog owners. Most survey respondents underestimated their pets' fearfulness of these noises.

“There is a mismatch between owners’ perceptions of the fearfulness and the amount of fearful behaviour 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.”