Cindy
Premium Member
So I know this is nothing like some people with reactive shelties.
But Pico is 3. Withing the past month or two he has been more reactive on our morning walks.
Garbage trucks, school busses, other big vehicles, bikes, etc (going from 20% of the time he reacts, to more like 80%).
He will bark on leash and lunge. I try and have him sit when I see trucks (it helps a bit) but I obviously can't do that when we are crossing the street in the crosswalk!
Sometimes I will have him jump in my arms, which helps a lot especially if we are crossing the road (although occasionally he will bark while I am holding him).
And then within the past year he was getting more reactive to bicycles (electric and otherwise) on the local pedestrian bridge.
So we stopped doing that walk and focused on the more local walk (urban but never an issue before).
I can tell that once he has been triggered on the walk, its more likely other things will set him off later.
This morning, he didn't even do his leash playing like he normally does (like 95% of the time on our morning walk as we get closer to home)!
Since I am retiring soon, I can shift to evening walks with less noisy traffic.
When I get him to sit and I kinda hold him from behind, I can feel his anxiety
But Pico is 3. Withing the past month or two he has been more reactive on our morning walks.
Garbage trucks, school busses, other big vehicles, bikes, etc (going from 20% of the time he reacts, to more like 80%).
He will bark on leash and lunge. I try and have him sit when I see trucks (it helps a bit) but I obviously can't do that when we are crossing the street in the crosswalk!
Sometimes I will have him jump in my arms, which helps a lot especially if we are crossing the road (although occasionally he will bark while I am holding him).
And then within the past year he was getting more reactive to bicycles (electric and otherwise) on the local pedestrian bridge.
So we stopped doing that walk and focused on the more local walk (urban but never an issue before).
I can tell that once he has been triggered on the walk, its more likely other things will set him off later.
This morning, he didn't even do his leash playing like he normally does (like 95% of the time on our morning walk as we get closer to home)!
Since I am retiring soon, I can shift to evening walks with less noisy traffic.
When I get him to sit and I kinda hold him from behind, I can feel his anxiety
