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![\"Diagram](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/eileenanddogs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Dryer-and-pink-noise-waveforms.jpeg?ssl=1\")
<\/a>No, I don\u2019t mean you should record the thunder! Record a custom masking noise<\/strong> for your dog who fears thunder, fireworks, or other sudden or low-frequency noises.<\/p>\n In my webinars<\/a> and articles<\/a>, I talk about the types of sound masking that work best. From a biophysics standpoint, the best multipurpose masking noises are brown or other random noise, fans, home appliances with motors, and music with a lot of bass and drums. Low frequencies can mask sounds of higher frequencies, but it doesn\u2019t work the other way around (Kinsler et al., 1999, p. 318\u2013320). That\u2019s why I always recommend low frequencies as long as they don\u2019t scare the dog.<\/p>\n Beyond the considerations of physics, we must customize to the individual dog. For instance, taiko drumming recordings are great for masking booms, but because of that, they may trigger your dog. The way to go about it is to think of what is available in your household that your dog is already OK with. You can record these known sounds, especially if they are duration sounds that include low frequencies. Appliances your dog is used to are ideal.<\/p>\n As I was scrambling to cope with Lewis\u2019 newly emerging fears<\/a>, it occurred to me that fan noise and random noise (brown, pink, white, etc.) are homogeneous. They create a hum or a whoosh or a rumble, but no momentary noises stand out. See the bottom waveform in the image at the beginning of this post. When the masking background is homogeneous noise, that means that sudden environmental noises stand out.<\/p>\n I realized that there is a household noise that Lewis is fine with that contains both a background hum\/rumble, and occasional more sudden noises. That\u2019s my dryer. See the top waveform in the first image. I\u2019ve recommended in the past the \u201csports shoes in the dryer\u201d trick (not original to me). I\u2019ve never tried it with Lewis because I suspect it\u2019s too close to his triggers. That could be a perfect solution for some dogs. But a regular load of clothes is perfect for Lewis. He hears it every two or three days without a problem. There is the homogeneous sound of the motor and the cyclical sounds of the drum rotating, and the occasional noise as a heavy piece of clothing makes a thump. In the waveform image above, those varying spikes on the top line represent the thumps and clunks. <\/p>\n My washer is pretty helpful, too. If I know that storms or fireworks are coming, I plan my laundry loads for those times as a bonus to the masking team.<\/p>\n But I can\u2019t do laundry every time the scary noises come, not around here, where we have so many storms. And I don\u2019t want to spend energy on unnecessary use. So now, when we get unexpected thunder, the first thing I do is throw some random clothing items into my dryer and turn it on to the air dry setting. But only for the time it takes to set up my little system. Then<\/strong> I play long recordings I\u2019ve already made of the dryer on my Bluetooth speaker that has a subwoofer.<\/strong><\/p>\n It still makes me grin, hearing laundry sounds coming from the laundry room when the appliances aren\u2019t on. And now my recordings are part of my plan for any loud noise event.<\/p>\n I\u2019m not sharing my own recording for public use, since it will be a foreign sound to every dog who hasn\u2019t lived in my household.<\/p>\n But you can make your own recording of a dryer or other appliance your dog is habituated to. <\/p>\n When playing the recording, use a speaker that includes low frequencies. Do not play it on your handheld\u2019s internal speaker; they are notoriously bad at putting out low frequencies<\/a>. Send the sound to a wireless speaker with a good bass. I use an old tablet to play the sound files because I don\u2019t want the devices I use every day attached to the speaker. You can get some unpleasant surprises and scare your dog that way.<\/p>\nWhat Did I Record?<\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\nMaking and Playing Your Own Recording<\/h2>\n
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![notoriously bad at putting out low frequencies<\/a>. Send the sound to a wireless speaker with a good bass. I use an old tablet to play the sound files because I don\u2019t want the devices I use every day attached to the speaker. You can get some unpleasant surprises and scare your dog that way.<\/p>\nHere\u2019s a link to the speaker I have<\/a>. From the next room, it\u2019s hard for me to tell the difference between the dryer itself and my recordings. And while Lewis probably can tell the difference, the recording doesn\u2019t bother him and is a useful addition to the masking environment.<\/p>\nSound Comparison<\/h2>\nHere\u2019s an auditory demo showing the difference between homogeneous brown noise and the dryer sound with its bumps and clunks. You\u2019ll hear, in sequence: 1) brown noise; 2) my dryer recording; and 3) the two combined. Doubling or tripling up on masking sources is a great idea if your dog is OK with them all (separately and together).<\/p>\n](\"http:\/\/eileenanddogs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/CORRECTED-Thunder-recording-on-iphone-vs-speakers-with-labels-e1609457928437.jpg\"){kind=link}