GENERAL QUESTION -
AFRAID OF CARS AND PEOPLE
| My name is Marina and I live in Athens, Greece. I have lived with dogs for all my life-except when I was studying in the UK. When I came back I was given a German Shepherd who I named Lara and she was my friend, companion, sister for the next 14 years. Unfortunately, Lara died. By that time, I had a son who was about 2 years old when Lara died. I then decided to get a Labrador, who we named Balou. She was the kindest, most playful and caring dog I have ever met. Balou got a brain tumor and died last September at the age of 5. It was the saddest period in my life, I think..... A friend suggested that we get a puppy. There is a huge number of stray dogs in Athens, so I thought it would be better to adopt a stray puppy than buy one from a pet shop. I met a girl who had rescued four puppies from a main road, and we took a male, who we named Noa. The vet estimated that he was born in September and that he is going to be about the size of a Lab. Noa was vaccinated and I trained him to do his needs outdoors. We live in a flat, in a suburb of Athens and I started taking him out for a walk right after Christmas. I then realised that he is very afraid of cars and people. Gradually, I have taken him longer walks and talk to him the whole time, so that he can overcome his fear of cars. However, when we meet people or other dogs he becomes very aggresive, barks and bites-all because of his fear. I contacted various trainers but, being unemployed, I cannot afford taking Noa to lessons since trainers charge quite a lot. I was wondering if you could give me any tips or information on books or websites that might help me. I have plenty of time and I would like Noa to become a social dog because he is a part of our family and we want to take him along on holidays. Thank you for your time. I look forward to hearing from you. Marina |
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Hi Marina. The best way of overcoming your dog's fear is to give him something to do which is easy and he enjoys doing, even when near traffic or people. The answer is to get him to sniff the ground looking for really tasty tiny food treats (such as tiny bits of tinned fish such as tuna, or tiny amounts of cheese or cooked meat that is tiny amounts). First of all get him to play this game of find the tasty treats in a calm quiet place so that he can take his time and check all the ground to make sure he has found all the food. Then after a few days do it closer to the traffic and as soon as he has finished looking for the treats take him away from the traffic as a reward for being busy and calm. You can then build up gradually to train him that if he sees another person or car that frightens him he can look at you and you will drop some tiny bits of food for him to sniff and keep him busy instead of getting worried and frightened. The main reason why I suggest using his nose is that dogs lower their adrenaline levels and fear levels when they are concentrating on using their amazing sense of smell, and also their sense of achievement in find the really nice food helps build up their confidence about what is happening around them as well. I hope this has been of some help. Best wishes and happy walks Sally Yo may also be interested in learning about BATS
- Behaviour
Adjustment Training for Fear & Aggression by Grisha Stewart |
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Thank you very very much for replying! Your email is very helpful. In fact, I have noticed that he really likes a specific brand of dog cookies and I have used them in our walks. It's true: when we meet people in the street, he turns to look at me and expects his cookie. I haven't taken him to very busy streets yet, but I'm working on it. At the moment he tends to ignore people who pass as long as I have a cookie! This doesn't work when we meet other dogs, but I'm sure that we will get to it sooner or later. Thanks again for your help. Best wishes Marina |
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