Back from holibobs yesterday, which meant a very disrupted morning with packing up and cleaning at the holiday house, then a three hour drive home. The dogs always get a bit out of sorts when we're having a pack away and clean; they don't understand what's going on, and it can make them a bit skittish. When I took them out for a walk, Willow had a bark at two people pushing bicycles, which is something she hasn't reacted to for a very long time, but indicative of her being a bit on edge. We'd also had a storm the previous night, which she dealt with well, but obviously adds to her stress levels. And, of course, Ginny being Tarty McFlirtFace is throwing the dynamic of the house off a bit, too.
This morning, there were some bangs going on across the valley as we set out walking. Every few minutes, another bang. I don't know if they were bird scarers or what, but she looked worried and reluctant to carry on once we entered the woods opposite our house. So, back to basics and I played the "gasp....PARTY!" game with her for a few goes, while J took the other two Labs on. After a couple of goes, she was clearly wanting to follow on, so I sent her to them. I continued to play the game on every bang, but after about ten minutes, she wasn't even looking up from sniffing when she heard the bangs. So useful to have these little tools in our pocket to get her out of her funk.
Even dogs without a history of noise phobia it would've been natural to be a bit perturbed at that sudden racket!