The city is busting up the road in front of my house. The concrete breaker pounds the concrete apart and a huge truck picks it up.
One dog is in bed buried under the covers. Another is downstairs on the couch covered with a blanket. The cat is pacing around with big saucer eyes and his head on a swivel,looking for a safe place. There is no escape. Coffee in my cup has ripples in it.
They have just begun. It will go on for days. I know they have to fix the road. My animals do not. They are scared and unhappy.
I had the brother’s dog for his vacation and they had a reenactment where they set off a cannon all day for a couple days half a block away. My brother’s dog was freaking out. Nobody came around the neighborhood asking about having problems with them setting off cannon before the event.
My poor dog had a similar situation to deal with this past summer (though not as bad), due to road work down the street. He hates loud noises. He spent most of those long days hiding under the couch.
My area also has a lot of people setting off fireworks all weekend all summer.
Unfortunately, there’s nothing I can do. (Or about thunder.) 
Really? When my dogs hear loud noises they look at me to see if it’s “ok” and I pat them on the head and then they go down to the basement where it is less noisy. My whole life I’ve owned dogs and never had one freak out because of loud noises.
I know it is a common trait because every 4th of July/Seafair they have up here there are articles in the paper and broadcasts about how to help your pets cope with the noise. I’ve just never experienced it.
You’re lucky then, Rack-a-Bones. I have to dope my dog for Independence Day and New Year’s Eve.
I know their ears are more sensitive than yours and it sucks for them, but there are things you can do to help. Do not try to comfort them. Act as if it’s no big deal and they will follow your lead. Trying to calm them down is like validating their fears.
The other day a friend and I were tuning the engine on an old car and my dog had jumped up onto my lap. My friend was about to start the engine, not 2 feet away from us and he said, “dude, it’s gonna freak the dog out.”
I said she’s not made of glass, go ahead.
So he fired it up, my dog stood up on my lap, shook a little bit, spun around in a circle, then looked up at me and noticed I didn’t really react, so she laid back down. The rest of the night whenever we started the engine it was like she didn’t even notice it.
I’ve always had larger dogs: shepards, labs. I’m curious if this is a trait of smaller dogs or as TroubleAgain says, I’ve just been lucky.
Nope, see my post. My dog is 11lbs.
I had a big black lab that positively freaked during a thunderstorm. Not just a little dog thing.
I can honestly say I never thought I’d see Dearborn Heights get Pitted.
It was for my dogs ,they have trouble typing. They are beagles. They are not happy.
It was for my cat too but he has no problem walking on the keyboard and typing in cat.
?
Nothing in your post hinted to the breed or size of the dog. 11 pounds would be a small dog in my opinion.
I was just curious if this was part of the small dog=high strung characteristic. I’ve heard other people talk about their dogs freaking out, but I’ve just never experienced it.
Yes, I would think it’s a small dog in anyone’s opinion. And the reason I was telling you was because nothing in my post hinted at the breed or size of the dog.
Well, except that she was sitting on my lap, but I’ve known of few great danes who were convinced that they were lap dogs.
My dogs are beagles.Nordberg is about 35 lbs. Quincy is close to 50. Boris is mutt cat . They all were rescued. The concrete breakers are still at it. it has been a long noisy day.
My dog’s 45 lbs. or so. But Jasmine’sgot…issues. She came to us damaged. Deathly afraid of loud noises or sudden movements, or anything shaped like a stick.
It’s only through a lot of patience and socialization work that she’s gotten where she can actually accept a stranger approaching her without cringing, peeing or trying to run away. And she still prefers women to men.
I should point out that ‘jumped into my lap’ and ‘turned around and sat back down’ does not mean a small dog. I have a 70+ pound lapdog.
Hmmm. Well, I’ll be constructive here.
http://www.longliveyourdog.com/careguide/articlelist/carelifestyle/DogsandConstruction.aspx
Not the most helpful advice, sadly.
It’s not just dogs and cats disturbed by construction/demolition… My house rabbit spent a miserable few months last year trying to deal with noise from the houses being built nearby. Any bang bang = thump thump (a sign of danger/warning/sign of agression in lagomorph). He was one stressed out bunny (and his legs must have hurt from thumping back every time). He isnt real fond of thunder either (whenever the Big Sky Bunny thumps at him he thumps back)
. . . Ok . . . have at it . . . even though I already pointed it out . . .
Hey, c’mon, I illustrated the point. 
(My mother e-mailed me that photo at just about the same time I read your post.)
Actually I enjoyed the pic. That is my dog’s bigger cousin. I just finished reading Travels with Charley and I was having trouble picturing a full-sized poodle throughout the book because I’m not used to seeing them. Now I got it.