Hi, I'm new to the forum and this is my first post. I wonder if anyone has any ideas that could help us.

We have a Golden Retriever X Golden German Shepherd who is 4 1/2 years old. She came to us at 10 months old, from the RSPCA, signed over from her previous family. We now understand that she had been hit by a car on a local dual carriageway on a wet road and was lucky to get away with a few scratches on her back legs.

When first taking her out she flung herself about violently whenever a fast moving car came past. After much patience and perseverance we managed to calm her sufficiently to walk her to our local park, 10 minutes away, with a small portion along a road with buses and lorries (30 mph). As soon as she reaches a side road she charged off down it away from the road. She has pulled me over and torn ligaments in my shoulder. This behaviour occurs anywhere she can hear traffic moving fast, or thinks she can and is worse when she knows the area, as she anticipates going near the traffic.

Eventually we have managed to get her to walk along the road, cross over after sitting next to it and even go on buses but I am concerned at the levels of mental stress this causes her. She is quite happy to go in our motorhome and has travelled some long distances in it, although she frequently dribbles.

We have tried keeping her away from traffic, exposing her to all levels of traffic and walking her along quiet roads. The latter has been the most successful but it is not always practical as I live on a busy road. After much perseverance she will now sit and even lie down outside the local supermarket with the cars moving slowly around the car park.

Many people I have encountered have told me she will get over this fear but after almost 3 1/2 years I can see no sign of this happening. I wonder if anyone has had similar problems and if there is a way of helping her or calming her. I would be grateful for any advice you can give. Thanks

I don't know if she will ever get over it completely, but there are some things you could try? How is she with things on the tv, like motor racing? Does she have the same reaction? If so, this could be useful. You can get CDs with traffic noises as well, put them on very quietly at first and keep giving her high value treats, like chicken or cheese or liver cake. Once the sound is off, the treats stop. See how she is and if she remains calm after a while, turn the sound up very slightly and again use the treats. In her mind then, the noise goes away, the treats stop. The noise is there, the treats are there. If this is successful, or if she is not interested, take the idea outside. When you see a car coming, make her sit and watch you and give her treats, perhaps hold some in your hand for her to lick, until the car has gone. Then the treats stop. So she is associating positive things when she sees a car.

We had a horse once who before we had her, was apparently trapped in an overturned trailer for two hours until the fire brigade could get her out. The people who sold her to us failed to mention this and we only had hired trailers to get about. She was no way on earth setting foot inside a trailer. So, we towed the trailer into her paddock, left it open with lots of hay inside and a few pony nuts, and just left her to it. It took her about a week to decide that the trailer was not so bad after all.

It is the same sort of thing - positive associations.

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I had a fear of traffic phase in my young dog, and then similar reactivity to passing cars sending his litter mate into a frenzied state when she stayed.

What I did was use a well fitted anti-pull harness with double ended training lead, front & top-back clip, with harness featuring additional bracing & security via a clip to standard collar, which kept everything stable.

To actually desensitive to the traffic, I found a spot where the traffic was visible, but near enough to attract attention, and then used an "Ignore!" command which I taught previously to stop him fixating on joggers & cyclists with idea to chase them. The dog expected to look, then turn for a treat given behind shoulder, allowing me to gain attention. With practice the passing traffic gets associated with getting a treat, and you can move closer. "Ignore!" was quite wasy to teach, just point at something, then waft treat and give it, to turned head just behind shoulder and say the word as soon as the dog begins turning the head for a treat.

With an older dog, you might find a quick game, and praise is needed not just food. If the dog isn't taking food it probably means it's too stressed, and you need greater distance though.

Hi,
Thanks both of you for your suggestions. Although we have tried treats in the past she was just too stressed out to take them but now she is calmer I will try this again. She has a particular fondness for cheese and marrow bone biscuits. She also picks up commands easily so this is a very good idea. I do not expect to cure her but just to make her feel more comfortable and less reactive.

In answer to responding to traffic noises on TV, she has never taken notice of GP racing, motorbikes or even Top Gear! She can hear the traffic on the road outside and this doesn't really worry her either, probably because she feels safe inside. It just seems to freak her out if she is physically near to it. She is not afraid of other loud noises like fireworks, gun shots and aircraft and has even been on a steam train. She thoroughly enjoyed it, spending most of the time on it looking out the window. She is usually a calm dog so there is hope.

I will try your suggestions and let you know how we progress. Thanks again for your help.

If it helps at all I have a friend with a dog reactive issue who is using an adaptation of the above technique with enormous success - just remember to increase closeness/exposure real slowly bearing in mind the length of time your dog has had this fear. It has taken my friend weeks, but it is working, and her dog is 3 and half now. She now see's (acknowledges) another dog and immediately looks for the squeezy cheese tube to lick, and this tube btw has lasted weeks, and if she's reading this - go girl

Timing is everything. You have to distract her with the cheese before she gets to that level. So when you see a car in the distance, that is the point at which you need to get her attention and start distracting her with the cheese. Cheese in a tube, by the way, as suggested is a very good thing. Once the distracting technique has begun, keep at it until the car has gone past. Don't worry if you don't know how fast it is going to go, it is all helping. If you can get her into a side road near the main road, so much the better. If not, like you are living on the main road, try to wait until it is fairly clear before you take her outside.

Now how did I know that a retriever would love cheese? My old retriever would do anything for cheese and when he was old and had to have tablets, I had to embed them in a piece of cheese! One of my newfies hates cheese, the other loves it.

To be honest, if I had been hit by a car I would be scared of them too. Let us know how you get on.

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Will always miss you, my little Joshie Woshie xx

If you want real love, buy a dog

If you wouldn't use it on a child, don't use it on a dog

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Cheers,
Yes tubey cheese sounds good to me. Will definitely take it easy with her as I do understand why she's so upset. I have a side road that I can get to without going near the main road so I will begin there. Off to the supermarket tomorrow morning to get my cheese!

in a severe case of stress like this i would also recommend getting her a Dap collar. this inoffensive collar is worn at the same time as her normal collar but it gives off doggie pheromones which will have a calming effect on her.

i would suggest that she only wears this collar when out on walks just to give you a little help with the training by keeping her in a calm frame of mind from the moment you leave the house.

maybe after a month or so of successful training outings amongst the traffic you could try her without it,,,but take it with you just to calm her down if she does get very stressed.

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ZACK (1993-2007)
forever in sunshine

Hi, A Dap collar is interesting. I had not heard of this before so I will look into getting one. It sounds a lot better than giving her something lorally to calm her. We have avoided doing this as I have been unsure of the side affects of some of these products.
Thanks for your help.

No side effects with DAP. The collar releases natural pheromones and has worked for many anxious dogs.

__________________
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http://www.royston-pet-care.co.uk



Will always miss you, my little Joshie Woshie xx

If you want real love, buy a dog

If you wouldn't use it on a child, don't use it on a dog

http://pettaxisg8.yolasite.com/
http://www.help-for-learner-drivers.yolasite.com/