Dog terrified of buzzing insects

[PetiteRaleuse]

My dog was stung by a bee/wasp last year. For the rest of the summer he was jumpy and panicky as soon as he heard buzzing. Over autumn/winter he calmed down but of course now it is spring. I really thought he'd be over it but he isn't. If a buzzing insect, even a fly, gets into the house he does a panicky pee, jumps up and generally goes mad until I have removed/killed it.

Outside on walks he is the same. In the garden he is the same - if he hears a bumble bee he rushes back into the house, whimpering.

And spring has only just begun - it gets quite hot here in summer and last year there were constantly dozens of flies in the house pretty much all the time. Am dreading the weather getting warmer and having to deal with this 24/7.

Any tips for curing dog phobia? I remain calm/ignore/reassure depending on the best situation. On a walk I make him sit until he is calm. He's not scared of anything else, except wheelie bins . He's generally a pretty calm dog, (a goldie).

No advice but Awww. Hope someone can help.

Thanks.

At first when he used to come and start jumping up when he heard a buzz I thought he was trying to protect me, but it seems he is looking for me to protect him / stop the buzzing.

Bump

Thank you. I'm starting to believe that I have an exceptional dog :)

You think of curing a phobia in a human and you immediately think of CBT or hypnotherapy. I can't remember what they are called for dogs but I suppose I could try the equivalent of the Feliway collar - I put one on him for holidays as journeys and general life changes stress him out.

But all summer? Would it work?

Actually a very common and if you think about it sensible fear. " I hear buzzing and then feel pain".

You do not totally want the dog to lose his fear as snapping at bees etc will cause him to get stung but you do need to allow him to relax around the bees.

I would ask him for an alternative behaviour, so get a clicker and everytime he reacts to a buzzing insect click and treat but you must move away from the buzz.

So his default behaviour is to go to you, moving away from the buzz. He will learn that when he hears a buzz then he is rewarded for moving away from the noise. If you are consistent he will learn buzz means treats if I move away from them, no more stings, no more fear - result!

Thank you. I've never used a clicker but will investigate

If you hate the idea of a clicker you can just treat when he hears the buzzing - this will work but will take a bit longer

I would give the dog a treat every time he starts to freak. It sounds counterintuitive but bear with me.. He thinks something bad is going to happen, you bend it into something nice. Every time! Treat, something smell, vary a bit so he keeps interested. Then nothing, just distract him as long as he is scared, then back to normal.
I know someone who cured her dog of fear of fireworks like this.
If he's a good golden, he'll soon learn the trick.. And the fear will subside!

crosspost with nutty.. I'm so slow!

Thank you both. I don't hate the idea of clickers they just aren't very common over here so don't know much about them.

What you're saying makes sense.

If you are interested here is a video on

Brilliant. Thanks :)