Golden Retriever suddenly scared of bird scarers

[PaddingtonBunny]

We live on a lane surrounded by farmland. We are the last house and beyond us is a lane between fields where we walk our Golden Retriever a few times a day.
The farmer is using bird scarers this year and our dog has become terrified and is refusing to walk down the lane. I think one probably went off too close to her and has triggered a fear of going down the lane.
This is a huge problem for regular walks as the end of the street in the other direction is a fast road with no pavement - we can only walk for about 100m before we have to turn round. So while we can put her in the car and go for a big walk, the early morning/evening short walks are now a problem as she is refusing to turn right out of our house. It’s a shame for the rest of us as well as the lane is beautiful and our teens are very happy to take her out after school so we are all getting less outside time/exercise…
Does anyone have experience of how to desensitise a dog to sounds? We’ve tried taking ‘high value treats’ but no joy. She’s literally shaking with fear.
Thank you!

If she's so scared she's shaking then treats aren't going to work because her state of arousal is too high.

I would work on desensitising her to the sound via YouTube where you can control the volume but it may be that you need to forget about those walks for a good period of time so that she has a chance to properly decompress from it all.

@fieldsofbutterflies thanks for the advice

Honestly? If she's got to the point where she is shaking with fear, then you're doing more harm than good trying to get her to overcome it.

Butterflies might be right and if you try it at home she'll be okay in the future out about about - but that's not guarantee. Outside is very different to the security/safety of her home.

You will probably just need to take it really super slowly. Look for Amelia dog training hub, she has some great resources for reactivity including fear based reactivity - the same exercises should help you to support her to slowly increase the “threshold” she is comfortable with. As someone else said, if she isn’t taking treats it means you’ve pushed too far. As a rough idea you would start literally just outside your house and reward her for looking in that direction and then take a few steps forward and continue doing that. When she stops engaging with you/taking treats go back to where you were before or until she can engage again and just steadily build it up. You can do the same with the noise desensitisation starting at a really really low volume (remember their hearing is so much better than ours!)

She's become gun shy. You'll need to build up gradually so that sudden loud bangs become less scary. Start indoors at a lowish volume with things like pans and hammers, maybe in the next room and build up gradually, moving outside.

If you can find a clay pigeon shooting ground lookyou can get to, once she is happier with loud noises try and go to one. Keep her well away from the guns to start with - maybe park at a distance and slowly approach. If she'll sell her soul for cheese or a tennis ball, use those to distract her as the noise gets louder. You might need to make several visits. Most clay grounds are happy to let you park and walk around if you explain that you have a gun shy dog that you are trying to help (or a young dog being acclimatised to shot). Just don't get too close too soon.

Alternatively if you have a friend with a starter pistol you can introduce that noise at distance and gradually get closer, making sure she is happy at each stage.

She might still be scared of the lane, but you can wait until the bird scarer has finished for the season (and you might have to, depending on how fast she gets used to the noise). Alternatively, can you drive her to the other end and walk to the house that way so she twigs that the lane is now 'safe'? Don't do that though until either the scarer has gone or she is happy at eg a clay ground.

Good luck - it's horrible to see your dog scared, and this sort of noise sensitivity can be a long fix.

(Edited for typos.)

Noise phobia usually gets worse as dogs get older.

I would not do anything recommended above without discussion with a qualified Level 5 Behaviourist.

Most noise phobic dogs require medication during the desensitisation period if it is to be successful. If your dog is shaking with fear you have a very large fear to overcome

Dog won't just forget. Train her with noises in house at faint volume, gradually increase over time. Do same in garden and out on walks. Don't give dog any sympathy only leadership. Feeling sorry for dog only makes it worse. Make your dog walk that way by being in charge, treats are not appropriate for this.

I have the exact same issue except that there are bird scarer gas guns all over my village and the farmer keeps moving them which caught me out a couple of time and that’s all it took for my dog to be petrified of the world. So, any walk in my village has obliterated my dogs confidence to the point where she won’t leave the driveway since February 24. All walks have been driving to a location, trying to find somewere/ anywhere that there aren’t any, somewhere she can enjoy, which is impossible living in an arable farming county. My dog has now developed a fear generalising with just being outdoors, so I can’t even walk her in a town now because of car doors slamming, drain hole covers banging in the road, etc . Sometimes I will get 20metres on a walk and there will be no sound audible to me yet she will crouch and shake with fear suddenly, throw herself down a ditch to hide etc. And I’ve been as careful as I can have been without becoming a recluse myself. I have two dogs though, and the other one needs walking but the fearful dog will howl and cry now being left home alone. So, where do I go with that ?.
I have bird scarer has guns all around my home and have done since Feb. Yes, she has stopped noticing them in the home which at least is one thing, but as soon as we step off the safety of home, she cannot handle it. I’ve been trying to “desensitise “ her since Feb.
DO NOT force your dog to walk towards the sound or towards the direction you want by “taking control and being in charge”, you will cement the fear. Also, be very very very careful of the advice above of taking her to a clay shoot. This probably works with dogs who have been desensitised since a pup with the aim of being a working dog but unless you are taking the advice of a qualified behaviourist you will make the problem a lot worse, or at the very least you may undo any work that you have managed to get to with her.
My Vet has now prescribed meds which I am reluctant to use but am seeing no choice left . I’ve used “herbal” etc since Feb with no effect at all. I struggle to find any decent qualified behaviourist in my area who isn’t just a “trending post covid dog trainer” who has no qualifications or decent experience.
Do what you can to avoid anything to exacerbate her fear.

Unfortunately, for us humans, walking the dog is one of our ways to de-stress, switch off, enjoy the outdoors, all those things, but I urge you to put your dog first until you can find a way around this or you could end up with a much bigger more permanent problem than just a fear of the lane by your house- (that, btw, is now association for your dog)

I too have a noise sensitive dog. Firework season is the worst but bird scarers are also horrible as is any faintly heard gun shot. She just turns for home. The whole 'play bangs, fireworks gunshots,' thing doesn't work because she knows they are on the tv or radio. She slept through Matt Baker letting off the biggest birdscarer on Countryfile! Doesn't turn a hair at gunfights in films, fireworks on tv. She knows! Sorry, I can't be of any use but it is a pain when trying to select a holiday destination.