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Start by having the devices out where he can see them. But, don't turn them on just yet. As long as he is willing to be around them, ask for a sit near one of them. REWARD HIM for sitting quietly and calmly..using a prime treat reward will help him start to realize they are connected to insanely GOOD THINGS. Once he can tolerate their presence turned off, enlist a friend or relative for help. With the device and the helper on the far side of the room...And the dog on LEAD...your prime treats cut up TINY so you can feed him a "jackpot" of goodies...Ask him to sit or lay down. They turn the device on, but they do not come near him or you... IF he reacts well, continuing to sit and stay without lunging for the other side of the room where the noise is...PRAISE AND GIVE HIM A JACKPOT REWARD! If he reacts, (and you helper should be watching him too) NO REWARD...leave the thing running still and REMOVE THE DOG FROM THE ROOM. Have the helper count to 10 and then turn off the device. You do NOT want to accidentally make the dog think that his behavior caused the noise to stop...that's why you remove the dog and the noise continues! You keep him on his lead, so that you have full control over him. You repeat this training A LOT...a couple of times a day...and it could take WEEKS or even MONTHS because you may have to do it for every single device that he is afraid of. Make darn sure that NONE of these devices is EVER USED to tease or attempt to "play" with the dog...he is afraid of them and is very unlikely to view them as a play item... You can also place them in the room he is fed in, during feeding...put them in before he enters to be fed. Ask him to sit before he is fed... Do not use "oh poor baby" words or tone of voice around these things or during training. Use a calm, matter of fact, no big deal tone of voice. But, do praise for correct behaviors...keep him focused on his good sit, lay down, and stay and reward accordingly for the correct behavior. This is going to take some time, but you are in it for the long haul anyway, right? Also make sure you are practicing his general Obedience DAILY...the better he becomes at all of the basic commands...the more confident he will become, AND the stronger his focus will be when you ask him to do learned behaviors! He is in the habit, right now, of doing an unacceptable behavior around these "scary" things. YOU are going to give him acceptable behaviors to do, when he is about to make a poor decision... You can also up the amount of general exercise and active play to help tire him out a bit more. This is work, but I know you can do it and so can he! Make sense?
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