afraid of traffic
My new rescue- Finnigan- is around 1 yr old and is very afraid of any loud noises, and when we go for walks- traffic/trucks and and passing veh makes her very nervous..... she crouches and attempts to get away any ideas how I can ease her stress? thanks for any help -s |
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| She may have been hit by a car before?
I'm not sure what to suggest other than don't make a big deal of it. If you talk to her in a baby voice saying things like "oh it's ok" and coddling her it will only teach her that there is indeed something to be afraid of. I made this mistake with Dancer which is why she barks like a maniac when someone comes to the door.  |
| Dixie is the same. She ran and hid from an airplne flying overhead. She also spazzes out from the car to the pet store.
You need to have her exposed to such "scarey" things very slowly and calmly. Don't force her near anything she is not comfortable with. Think of it like you near somone with a blow-torch. Even if everyone said it was fine and safe, you would need to approach it on your own, and have room to run if you felt you needed to. If you were dragged up to it you would probably freak. This is where the lack of socialization really shows. Make it a pleasant experience for her. If she will not eat treats when close to something "scarey" she is too close and is shutting down. She can only absorb and get used to something if she is relaxed and curious. Take your time with everything she is afraid of, and make her trust that you will not let anything harm her. She did not have that relationship or confidence in a human before, so it takes time to build. |
| Lucky was that way when we first got him. We live in the city but in a quiet neighborhood. We started out walking him in our neighborhood and when cars would go by we would stop and pet him and tell him what a good boy he was. We did that for a few months until the cars on our street were no big deal. We then ventured a little further out to a busier street and he would cower & whimper a little but gradually and i do mean gradually and almost a year later he doesn't seem to have the same fear. But really loud noises - he still jumps & trembles. Just takes time.
Good luck with your baby. |
| I have heard good reports about de-sensitising them with a CD or Tape.
Apparently you can buy them with loud noises on them like thunder etc. You start off with it on low volume for a few minutes and make no fuss and treat the dog, then you gradually over a period of time increase the volume and time it is played as the dog gets use to it. I had a friend that used this with her dog as it was terrified of thunder, airplane noises, fireworks, truck and car noises etc anything that was loud. It took a few months but the results were wonderful. There is behavioural experts here in OZ that have used these to help dogs with problems/fear of loud noises. |
| I will keep all of that in mind- thanks! we have only had her 2 1/2 months, and she is doing so well, she was soooooooooo timid. It's funny she is nervous around new people, but new dogs- she runs right up to ...
-s |
Just found a link to the de-sensitizing CD I was talking about. Have a read as it is specially made for dogs and loud noise problems. 
http://happydogs.50webs.com/ |
| Maggie's the exact same way and I have not figured out how to deal with it. She is so good on the leash when there is no traffic around but she absolutely hates the sound of trucks (particularly garbage trucks) and motorcycles and anything else with an odd engine sound (shop vacs, carpet cleaners, construction equipment). She tenses up, turns around, spins, sits, and generally seems panicked. I alternate between calmy ignoring her antics and keeping walking as if all were normal, to making her sit (at a distance) until she calms down, to impatiently deciding the walk is over and taking her home. Maggie seems to prefer the sit so she can wait til the danger has past but it is not always convenient or possible (construction equipment is not going anywhere). At other times, I sit outside on the stoop with her during the evening rush just to try to help get her adjusted. I don't know what to do but I guess I hope shell get used to it over time. . . . |
| Hi
I would take her for walks but skirt around the really noisey area, until she gets use to it all. Or sit in an area that isn't too busy and let her hear all the sounds, leave, walk for about a block, then walk back to that area, she will think "Oh I was here and nothing bad happened to me. Then the next time go a little closer to the sights and sounds, do it all over again. (I do this at dog shows when I have a young inexperienced dog with me, go in the building, sit for a short period of time, leave, go back in and sit again etc. ) She probably has never been around all the traffic etc, When I go to Large cities, it takes me a while to adjust to the noise/cars, traffic. Sometimes when I'm walking I get jumpy myself. Excuse any spelling errors. Barbara |
| My sheepie has the opposite problem: he crouches and tries to chase cars. I have used some pretty reinforcing behavior to obviate this and it is working however, if left to his own devices he would love to chase cars, livestock, kids and just about anything that moves. |
| Hi,
This is what worked for Panda, but take note that all dogs like people have individual personalities and some are easier than others. 
Panda had all sorts of issues with cars when he first arrived. Having grown up on the rooftop of an apartment building in the middle of Hong Kong - he viewed cars as something that probably broke the monotony of his daily living. A car probably meant a rare outing to him. He would become so excited at viewing a parked car that he attempted to jump on all the ones parked on my block. A real pain trying to take him for a walk. Ones that drove by he would lunge for them..urg so again a walk was a real pain. This is how I solved it and perhaps you can get it to work for you. I would sit in a park...him sitting beside me. I would speak quietly to him and we would just watch cars drive by. I did this consistently ...first 2 mins..then 5...increasing it daily until the "car issues" are a thing of the past. I always ended it on a successful note...lots of praise and treats at first..then just praise. (Did this with lawnmowers too - we watched people mowing their lawns) I always kept him on a leash with the anticipation that he may lunge so kept a tight grip at all times. Anyhow, took several weeks of doing this and for the past year and a half he has ignored cars driving by. I think he also "got it" that I took him out daily so his eagerness with parked cars soon dissapeared too. So that's how it worked for me. The trick is to desensitize them to that stimulas and replace it with something better...praise and treats from you. The key is consistency. I know I sound like a broken record by repeating myself but whatever initial work you put in....will pay you back in years to come. Imagine having the same problem in 2 years, 5 years, 10...in that mindset you become more determined to change behaviors which you don't want to put up with. So yes...lots of work at first..but in the long run..your life becomes easier as a result. (Took a couple dogs for me to figure out that one! )
Once they have obedience of some sort and learn the stay or down they are not as likely to bolt after a car either. Good luck everyone and hoped that helped. Marianne and the boys |
| I can't tell you what an evangelist I've become of this desensitising idea. We live on a very busy street and unfortunately (don't slap me everyone) don't have a fence, nor do we intend to build one, as our yard is very large yadda yadda, etc etc.
Anyhow, each and every time I take Walter into the yard to use the bathroom, we sit for several minutes watching the cars. At first, he prefered to chase them, and wasn't really scared. I knew this would be dangerous if he ever got loose and tried to "herd" cars, kids on bikes, joggers, whatever. As we watch, I say silly things like "look Walter, a red jeep!...ooh, here comes a sports car..etc, etc" I don't do this to excitedly, but rather matter-of-fact-ly, to assure him that cars and such are normal, and something that can be watched and interesting...from afar, of course. Each time, I treat and encourage if he stays next to me, and I always have his lead close by in case
Anyhow, we play off-leash in the back yard, away from the street, but once, he went nuts and started running toward the front...I sprinted after him, and by the time I got to the front yard, he was sitting calmly in the front yard, relaxing and just watching the traffic. WHEW!!! This has helped me tremendously, has made walks much easier, and put me somewhat at ease if he should ever get out or loose. Good Luck! |
Jake was also a rescue dog. He came from the streets of Detroit. He is well adjusted at home and walks GREAT on a lead UNTILL a car comes by. The bigger the car the closer and smaller to the ground he gets. I have tried shorter walks, consoling him through the traffic (which he won't move until it is gone) and ignoring it and trying to get him to keep moving. By the way he is an English Mastiff/shar pei mix that is only 8 months old and 85 pounds- not easy to move him! Today instead of just hugging the ground he actually tried backing and jumping out of his collar. I love him to pieces so i hate to see him under so stress for something that we are both supposed to love doing and he is going to need the extra excercise. Any new ideas will be greatly appreciated  |
| Does he like treats?
If he does, can you take a pocket full of treats with you to a road with some traffic, and start feeding the treats before the car comes, then while the cars are coming, then to a busier street. Call it "going for a treat" or "going to party" or something unique and upbeat, and see if you can get him to enjoy the walk and then become more comfortable by being intense on the treats.... Then maybe space out the treats, first every car, then every other car... I dunno, just some suggestions. |
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