[TOMS1SS]

Originally Posted by heRS

As a dog trainer, I could help you train your dog to be less fearful of things like vacuums and blow dryers. The dog now associates it with something to be afraid of and when you tell him "it's ok, it's ok, don't be afraid", he is hearing "it's ok to be afraid".
Hard to put it in a nutshell, but you start with the vacuum or blow dryer OFF, and close by. If he looks at it or sniffs it, tell him "Good boy", and give a treat. Repeat a lot, so he starts to think "it's pretty nice to have that thing closeby because I get lots of treats."
Now, take the item across the room and have someone turn it on, then off. When he gets startled keep your mouth shut, but when he calms down and looks at it again, start the treats again, and repeat the praise.
Work your way closer, but if he panics, take him away where he can be calm again and start to praise & reward the calm behavior again.
Any decent dog trainer should be able to help you with this. Dog doesn't need drugs, he just needs happier associations with the things he's scared of.
Go to PetSmart and sign up for a six week course to get him more used to going places and doing things. The salon associates at PetSmart are also very good with dogs that are scared of grooming, and will help him get more used to it.

I think I'll give what you said a shot. Ironically this is something that happened at Petsmart. To give you the background on my dog, I got him two years ago from a pound. He was about 3 at the time and they found him as a stray. He was about 15 pounds underweight at the time and was aggressive towards males. He was obviously someone's pet because he was walk trainned, potty trainned and not to mention he has a cropped tail. Gradually he loosened up a lot because I spent a lot of time with him and there was a plenty of socialization when I had renters. Its the same deal with water, the dog absolutely refuses to go anywhere near the water even at the lake. I could go through the story of when he fell in the shallow end of the pool but I'll save that for another day.