Common Household Noises May Severely Stress Your Dog

Microwave beeps, the chirps of a smoke alarm system when a battery is dying, cell phone noises, alarm clocks going off…these high-pitched sounds are just some of the noises commonly heard in your home that may leave your dog feeling extremely unnerved. Even noises with lower frequencies — the tumbling of a clothes dryer, a fan, a dishwasher — stress a number of dogs. Such are the findings of researchers at the University of California, Davis, who surveyed almost 400 people with dogs about their pets’ reactions to household sounds. In other words, it’s not just sudden booms like fireworks and thunder that can get some dogs going.

Common Household Noises May Severely Stress Your Dog originally appeared in the Your Dog newsletter from Tufts University.