<\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/eileenanddogs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Lewis-on-couch-sound-fear-2.jpeg?ssl=1\")
<\/a>I recently got startled while I was already in pain, and\u2014OUCH! It was shocking. Since Lewis startles a lot from noises and shows signs of being in pain or discomfort, I wondered if that also happens to him. <\/p>\n
Here are the two incidents that keep running through my mind.<\/p>\n
When Lewis Got Startled<\/h2>\nJournal Entry <\/h3>\nJanuary 28, 2025, four weeks after Lewis\u2019 onset of clinical noise phobia<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n![\"Looking](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/eileenanddogs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Box-of-spikes.jpeg?resize=823%2C1024&ssl=1\")
<\/a>Some of the garden spikes in the original box <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\nIn the afternoon, there were roofers working down the street at Daisy\u2019s house, so I skipped Lewis\u2019 walk and played with him in the yard instead. He had a pretty good time.<\/em> <\/p>\nTonight while Lewis was sitting on the couch, I went and looked at the sealed box of garden spikes that I had put on the coffee table. It\u2019s practically a cube, and I wasn\u2019t sure which was the top. I decided not to open it, but I switched its orientation. Presumably the spikes made some noise when I did that, but I didn\u2019t notice a response from Lewis.<\/em><\/p>\nI walked away and left the box there, and a few seconds later, the spikes settled and made a soft \u201cclink\u201d sound and the box also made a small thump. It startled and scared Lewis horribly. It happened again a few seconds later.<\/em><\/p>\nHe was trembling and slinking around. He wouldn\u2019t eat kibble. I got out the roast pork, and he was able to eat. I invited him to sit on the couch with me, but he couldn\u2019t\/wouldn\u2019t\/didn\u2019t wanta. After a while he went to lie down in the big crate. It took an hour before he appeared mostly OK again.<\/em><\/p>\nCommentary<\/h3>\nLewis likely experienced the acoustic startle response<\/a>, when an audible stimulus causes muscles to tighten reflexively and prepare the body for fight or flight. It is known that it can cause fear conditioning of the stimulus. But also, the response itself could have hurt. We don\u2019t know for sure. But if he was already in pain, it probably exacerbated it.<\/p>\nAs a result of this event, he acquired a fear of clinking noises that generalized to the sight of cardboard boxes (G\u00f6tz, T., & Janik, 2011).<\/p>\n
I got the noisy stakes out of the house. But for months, Lewis stayed wary of boxes of any size, especially if they were on the coffee table or even just in that room. He kept an eye on me if I carried one through the house. I didn\u2019t try to counter condition it other than tossing treats when I unavoidably had a box; we had more important things to work on. The box fear reduced over about six months as some daily meds started to help.<\/p>\n
At the time of writing this, about 18 months later, Lewis is no longer leery of boxes. And when I clink a garden spike outdoors, he may look over, but doesn\u2019t show concern beyond that.<\/p>\n
When Eileen Got Startled<\/h2>\nLast week, I tore a muscle in my back badly enough that I couldn\u2019t stand up straight. It was one of the more painful injuries of my life. I couldn\u2019t walk normally at all for several days, and in the mornings, I was so humped over that I had to cruise along hanging onto furniture like a toddler. The abnormality of my gait then caused bursitis to flare up in my hip. Good times! I took medications that enabled me to function somewhat until I could see my doctor, then got steroids. (Which is why I\u2019m up very late at night writing this!)<\/p>\n
About two days into this episode, I walked by the coffee table in the den. Yes, the same coffee table that had supported the evil box. I bumped my calf into the table, so lightly that it didn\u2019t even hurt. But the bump was an unexpected stimulus. My threshold for startle was abnormally low, my balance was poor, and I instantly tensed up all over. YIKES! A shock went through the already-sore muscles in my back and I yelped.<\/p>\n
My human cognition allowed me to know that the coffee table was not out to get me, so I didn\u2019t develop a fear of it. But I did experience fear in the moment, both from the pain and because my body knew that falling in my current state would be Really Bad. I felt the adrenaline rush as I stood there afterward. And my future behavior changed due to the bump. I was already being careful about how I moved; now I had to widen my awareness to avoid even lightly bumping into something. I learned to avoid the coffee table.<\/p>\n
I quickly thought of Lewis\u2019 response to noises. If he experienced pain as well as fear, he would have a reason to believe that whatever made the noise was what hurt him.<\/p>\n
Fear Conditioning and Pain<\/h2>\nPain and fear have been shown to be closely related in many animals, including dogs. I think it\u2019s well enough accepted that I don\u2019t need to do a lit review, but I\u2019ve included some resources below. Also, the startle response has been shown to condition fear and \u201cavoidance of the source of danger\u201d (G\u00f6tz & Janik, 2011, p.8). That\u2019s exactly what happened to Lewis\u2014and to me.<\/p>\n
\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/eileenanddogs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Lewis-at-midnight-12_31_2022-1.jpeg?resize=1024%2C852&ssl=1\")
<\/a>Lewis snoozing through fireworks on New Years Eve, 2022, two years before the onset of fireworks phobia<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\nInstead of covering the literature, I\u2019m focusing on my personal experience that is in keeping with what the science suggests. I learned that tensing up from a startle exacerbated my existing pain to the extreme. I\u2019m sure my friends with chronic pain have experienced it, as well. And I\u2019m thinking about the possibility of that happening to Lewis and so many dogs with sound phobias. While I didn\u2019t develop a coffee table phobia, the avoidance behaviors tumbled directly in.<\/p>\n
When I originally wrote about Lewis\u2019 sound phobia<\/a>, I wrote that \u201ctwo vets had checked him out for pain.\u201d I have since learned that palpation and manipulation are not validated diagnostic methods<\/a>, and we are still working on getting to the bottom of what is happening with Lewis. X-rays were clear; more imaging is coming up.<\/p>\nCurrently he is on meds for both phobias and pain. His fearful behaviors have decreased, and there are behavioral indications (gait and posture) that he is in less discomfort. I hope to write more about his situation when we know more. In the meantime, thank you to Greta Kaplan, Kate Woods<\/a>, Judith Anne<\/a>, and Anna Lee Sanders<\/a> for their empathy and for helping me navigate this situation. <\/p>\nAnd even though it caused pain, I\u2019m grateful for my bump against the coffee table for teaching me about something that Lewis probably already knows. <\/p>\n
Limitations<\/h2>\n
January 28, 2025, four weeks after Lewis\u2019 onset of clinical noise phobia<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n In the afternoon, there were roofers working down the street at Daisy\u2019s house, so I skipped Lewis\u2019 walk and played with him in the yard instead. He had a pretty good time.<\/em> <\/p>\n Tonight while Lewis was sitting on the couch, I went and looked at the sealed box of garden spikes that I had put on the coffee table. It\u2019s practically a cube, and I wasn\u2019t sure which was the top. I decided not to open it, but I switched its orientation. Presumably the spikes made some noise when I did that, but I didn\u2019t notice a response from Lewis.<\/em><\/p>\n I walked away and left the box there, and a few seconds later, the spikes settled and made a soft \u201cclink\u201d sound and the box also made a small thump. It startled and scared Lewis horribly. It happened again a few seconds later.<\/em><\/p>\n He was trembling and slinking around. He wouldn\u2019t eat kibble. I got out the roast pork, and he was able to eat. I invited him to sit on the couch with me, but he couldn\u2019t\/wouldn\u2019t\/didn\u2019t wanta. After a while he went to lie down in the big crate. It took an hour before he appeared mostly OK again.<\/em><\/p>\n Lewis likely experienced the acoustic startle response<\/a>, when an audible stimulus causes muscles to tighten reflexively and prepare the body for fight or flight. It is known that it can cause fear conditioning of the stimulus. But also, the response itself could have hurt. We don\u2019t know for sure. But if he was already in pain, it probably exacerbated it.<\/p>\n As a result of this event, he acquired a fear of clinking noises that generalized to the sight of cardboard boxes (G\u00f6tz, T., & Janik, 2011).<\/p>\n I got the noisy stakes out of the house. But for months, Lewis stayed wary of boxes of any size, especially if they were on the coffee table or even just in that room. He kept an eye on me if I carried one through the house. I didn\u2019t try to counter condition it other than tossing treats when I unavoidably had a box; we had more important things to work on. The box fear reduced over about six months as some daily meds started to help.<\/p>\n At the time of writing this, about 18 months later, Lewis is no longer leery of boxes. And when I clink a garden spike outdoors, he may look over, but doesn\u2019t show concern beyond that.<\/p>\n Last week, I tore a muscle in my back badly enough that I couldn\u2019t stand up straight. It was one of the more painful injuries of my life. I couldn\u2019t walk normally at all for several days, and in the mornings, I was so humped over that I had to cruise along hanging onto furniture like a toddler. The abnormality of my gait then caused bursitis to flare up in my hip. Good times! I took medications that enabled me to function somewhat until I could see my doctor, then got steroids. (Which is why I\u2019m up very late at night writing this!)<\/p>\n About two days into this episode, I walked by the coffee table in the den. Yes, the same coffee table that had supported the evil box. I bumped my calf into the table, so lightly that it didn\u2019t even hurt. But the bump was an unexpected stimulus. My threshold for startle was abnormally low, my balance was poor, and I instantly tensed up all over. YIKES! A shock went through the already-sore muscles in my back and I yelped.<\/p>\n My human cognition allowed me to know that the coffee table was not out to get me, so I didn\u2019t develop a fear of it. But I did experience fear in the moment, both from the pain and because my body knew that falling in my current state would be Really Bad. I felt the adrenaline rush as I stood there afterward. And my future behavior changed due to the bump. I was already being careful about how I moved; now I had to widen my awareness to avoid even lightly bumping into something. I learned to avoid the coffee table.<\/p>\n I quickly thought of Lewis\u2019 response to noises. If he experienced pain as well as fear, he would have a reason to believe that whatever made the noise was what hurt him.<\/p>\n Pain and fear have been shown to be closely related in many animals, including dogs. I think it\u2019s well enough accepted that I don\u2019t need to do a lit review, but I\u2019ve included some resources below. Also, the startle response has been shown to condition fear and \u201cavoidance of the source of danger\u201d (G\u00f6tz & Janik, 2011, p.8). That\u2019s exactly what happened to Lewis\u2014and to me.<\/p>\n Instead of covering the literature, I\u2019m focusing on my personal experience that is in keeping with what the science suggests. I learned that tensing up from a startle exacerbated my existing pain to the extreme. I\u2019m sure my friends with chronic pain have experienced it, as well. And I\u2019m thinking about the possibility of that happening to Lewis and so many dogs with sound phobias. While I didn\u2019t develop a coffee table phobia, the avoidance behaviors tumbled directly in.<\/p>\n When I originally wrote about Lewis\u2019 sound phobia<\/a>, I wrote that \u201ctwo vets had checked him out for pain.\u201d I have since learned that palpation and manipulation are not validated diagnostic methods<\/a>, and we are still working on getting to the bottom of what is happening with Lewis. X-rays were clear; more imaging is coming up.<\/p>\n Currently he is on meds for both phobias and pain. His fearful behaviors have decreased, and there are behavioral indications (gait and posture) that he is in less discomfort. I hope to write more about his situation when we know more. In the meantime, thank you to Greta Kaplan, Kate Woods<\/a>, Judith Anne<\/a>, and Anna Lee Sanders<\/a> for their empathy and for helping me navigate this situation. <\/p>\n And even though it caused pain, I\u2019m grateful for my bump against the coffee table for teaching me about something that Lewis probably already knows. <\/p>\n<\/a>Commentary<\/h3>\n
When Eileen Got Startled<\/h2>\n
Fear Conditioning and Pain<\/h2>\n
<\/a>Limitations<\/h2>\n