Pico is getting more reactive

[Cindy]

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

 

[Sharon7]

That does seem odd that he's getting more reactive as he ages. With mine it's been the opposite, like with bikes or skateboards. I guess just really good distractions like bits of chicken or string cheese or whatever really gets him excited. You could teach the "watch" command as an alternative to sitting.

 

[Cindy]

its like once he reaches his limit, he's very alert and anxious.
Guess I need to start bringing treats on our walks again

 

[Ann]

It is strange that he'd suddenly start doing this out of the blue. Did something like a truck or another vehicle scare or startle him at some point? That happened a while ago to Misty and she's been skittish on walks ever since. I think taking treats to distract him and try using a command as Sharon said is the way to go. I hope you can get him past it.

 

[Cindy]

It really only gets bad at the 1 major intersection we cross. where the garbage trucks and bikes go from not moving to fast really quick. then once something puts him on alert he stays the way for the walk. thing is, he is not noise sensitive to fireworks but those big ole garbage trucks are his nemesis.