I don't think that it is uncommon for dogs to be afraid of loud noises. Thunderstorms and July 4th are nightmares for my almost 13-year old mutt Gypsy. She can sense a thunderstorm coming hours before you hear a thing. Once it starts she quivers and pants the entire time--while standing on top of you, no matter if you are sitting in the couch, on a dining room chair, or sleeping in bed. Hitting rumble strips while riding in the car is a close second to thunder and lightning. Luckily the noise is brief and forgotten relatively quickly.
But nothing strikes fear into Gypsy's heart like my 10-year old daughter with a case of the hiccups. Last night I was on the couch, and I heard a faint hiccup from the kitchen. The next thing I knew I had a 55 pound quivering, panting mess climbing onto me. The shaking was so strong that the entire couch was vibrating. Even though I immediately banished the hiccupping kid upstairs, it still took Gyps a good 20 minutes to calm down.
I tried googling to see if the fear of hiccups was something other dogs experience. Apparently lots of dogs and puppies GET hiccups. But if other dogs also are completely terrified when they hear human hiccups, no one is writing about it on the internet. Except me. 
16 comments:
Awww. I guess that dogs are kind of like humans and sometimes have totally irrational, unexplicable phobias :)
TC: I definitely think dogs and humans have a lot in common. Gypsy is getting older, and the older she gets the worse it gets. Senility I suppose.
Hey--just wanted to let you know your dog isn't alone! My dog has been terrified of hiccups for all of his 7 years. Searching (like you) for other dogs on Google led me to your blog. Nice to see there's at least one other unusual dog out there! =)
xzombiexmoosex: Wow, I'm shocked! If you have any secrets for dealing with it, I'd love to hear them. Gyps is 13 next month, and I think each case of the hiccups scares her more than the last.
YES!!! Our border collie/sheltie mix has no fear of thunderstorms, firecrackers, or any other loud noises, but quivers like a leaf when anyone has the hiccups. Weird!
dee--Well, that makes at least 3 of us that have (freak) dogs with a completely irrational fear of hiccups! Thank goodness for the internet.
Make that 4! My 11 year old Westie isn't afraid of anything but hiccups. He cries like a baby! A few days ago, he even tried to bust down the screen door of my back patio to escape...which is very unlike him. I wish I could understand why he's so deathly afraid of them!
Morgan, welcome to the club! I need to remember to ask my vet about this the next time I'm there. Maybe it's more common than I thought!
I was searching for advice on my dogs terroe of hicups and found your site.....my dog a collie/spaniel cross has had the most terrible fear of humans with hicups since he was a tiny puppy. I really wish I knew why he was so afraid, esp as my partner has sessions of hicups that last for two days.
My dog Kallie, 9 year old female, lab/huskie mutt gets really concerned when my wife or I get hiccups. It will wake her up if she's sleeping. And she always comes up to us wagging her tail like she's asking us to stop.
Today my wife had hiccups and Kallie ran to me.
She sat at my feet and I bent down to give her a hug and she was trembling. It's so odd. I wish I knew why.
Yes! My hound/collie mix (9 yrs old) started being afraid of them just a few months ago, despite the fact that he has heard (with no visible concern) my husband and me endure hundreds of bouts of hiccups during his 6 years with us. Earlier today, I was hiccuping (to his shivering displeasure) and offered him a bacon treat (normally irresistible)...wouldn't come near it for the longest time. I was hoping that the baconic joy would overtake the fear, but apparently not...
Tomorrow morning Sat Sep 5, NPR has a piece on dogs with hiccup phobia, and I was reminded of our Chesapeake Bay Retriever who had the condition. If anyone in the family hiccupped Elsa would pin her ears back and shiver uncontrollably. I googled dog hiccups to find this blog and I realize that the condition is not so rare.
Anonymous: I think a 2-day case of the hiccup would kill my dog. No way she could stand it that long!
Carl: At least you get some tail wagging along with the trembling. We get just pure terror.
Anonymous: It is odd that the fear just developed recently. I have never tried countering it with bacon, but I have a feeling it wouldn't work for me either.
Nicholas: I tried to find details on the NPR program but was unable to. If by chance you read this I'd love details so that I can tune in. I still think it's rare, though.
Yep, a very scared lab collie cross here with me is terrified of them. Founder her curled up and quivering behind the toilet last night when I had a bout of them!! Not a place she normally frequents!
My dog is a black and white shih tzu mix named domino. he is absolutely terrified of hiccups!! Hes 7 yrs old and it just started last year, he runs under the bed anytime somebody got them. he also curls up in a miserable heap if hes got them!! poor psychotic dogs lol
Our dog Daisy, a 9 year old mix is also terrified of hiccups. It just takes one small barely audible hiccup and she'll put her tail between her legs and head up or down stairs to get away from the offender. It is just weird. I can now get her to stop shaking by offering her a nice treat. We were wondering if Daisy was an isolated case. Apparently not.
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