Sound desensitization for dogs: how to do it, step by step

Sound desensitization means playing a recording of a sound your dog fears so quietly that they stay relaxed, and following it with food or play every time. Over many short sessions, you turn it up a little at a time. It takes weeks, so if New Year's Eve is the goal, start now.

Recordings are one of three training tools for noise fears, and this plan uses all three: the recordings, a treat after every real bang, and a settle on a mat.

What does sound desensitization involve?

It combines two techniques. Desensitization starts the sound at a level that causes no anxiety, then raises it slowly over many repetitions. Counterconditioning changes what the sound means. Each time it plays, something your dog loves follows, until the sound predicts dinner or a game.

Does sound desensitization work for dogs?

In one large survey, just over half the owners who tried recordings rated them a success, and a treat after every real bang rated higher.¹ So use the recordings alongside the other two tools. If your dog shrugs off fireworks today, a few sessions now are still worth it.

Should you start with a trainer or your vet?

If your dog panics, tries to escape, or takes a long time to recover after a loud night, talk to your vet before you start. A trainer can help you plan the sessions, too.

Medication is your vet's call. A sudden new fear of noises in an older dog can be a sign of pain or illness, so book a checkup.

What you need for the first session

• Two or three recordings of the sound your dog fears: fireworks, thunder, the doorbell or the vacuum. A video or a sound app will do.
• A reward your dog would cross the room for. Small soft treats, a toy, or dinner itself. Moncher, one of our two dogs, will leave any biscuit for a game of tug.
• A quiet room your dog knows, and a few minutes.

How to do it, one short session at a time

1. Find the starting level. With your dog relaxed, play the recording so quietly you can barely hear it. If your dog glances up and goes back to what they were doing, that's your level. If they stiffen or stop eating, go quieter, or move the speaker to the next room.
2. Pair the sound with food, every time. Start the sound, then feed a treat every few seconds or start a game. When the sound stops, the treats stop too. Keep sessions to a few minutes, and end while your dog still wants more.
3. Raise it slowly, in uneven steps. Over days and weeks, make the recording a little louder or play it a little longer. Some sessions sit a notch quieter, some a notch louder, and the average climbs.
4. Drop back when your dog tells you to. If your dog stops eating, freezes or leaves the room, the sound went up too fast. Stop it, let your dog settle, and go back to a level where they were relaxed. Stay there for a few sessions. Never keep your dog in the full sound until the fear fades. That's called flooding, and it can make the problem worse.²
5. Change the room, the time and the recording. Once your dog is relaxed at one level in one room, practice in other rooms, at other times of day, and with your other recordings. Real fireworks won't sound like any one recording.
6. Teach a settle on a mat. Reward your dog for lying on a mat, then for the signs of real rest: the head resting, a hip rolled to one side, the hind legs stretched out, lying on one side. Start with no recording playing, then bring the mat into your sound sessions, so by the night settling on it is a job your dog knows.
7. Keep practicing after your dog improves. Run a short session now and then, so the fear doesn't creep back.

What if recordings aren't enough?

If your dog ignores the recording but still fears real fireworks or thunder, follow each real bang with a treat or a short game. Do the same if the fireworks come before the training is done.

A recording can't reproduce the full sound of the real thing. Fireworks also bring flashes and smells, and storms bring changes in air pressure. Don't count on the recordings alone. You can use the same steps with a thunder recording, and our guide to storm nights covers the rest of the plan.

If New Year's Eve is only days away, put your effort into the night: a den your dog already likes, closed curtains, and a treat after every bang. Our fireworks prep checklist has those steps in order.

Save the collar for calm music

Keep the fireworks recordings and the calm music apart, so the music only ever means rest. Play the recordings from your phone or a speaker.

The Barkwoo Music Box plays hours of preloaded music, and you can add your own MP3s, so keep it for calm tracks. It clips onto any standard collar, and one button starts the music, with no phone, Wi-Fi or app. It's the only calming-music player made to be worn on your dog's collar, so it stays with your dog while you're out. Play it on quiet evenings and during mat practice with no recording playing, and the same music can come along on the loud night.

Music on its own doesn't treat a fear of fireworks. You can sample the calming playlist and read what the calming-music studies measured, and where they stop.

References

1. Riemer, S. (2020). Effectiveness of treatments for firework fears in dogs. Journal of Veterinary Behavior, 37, 61–70. doi:10.1016/j.jveb.2020.04.005 ↩︎
2. Borns-Weil, S. (2025). Behavior problems of dogs. Merck Veterinary Manual. merckvetmanual.com ↩︎