Sheltie scared of cars

J

Joey_Bellows

Forums Novice
So Mena is still mouthy(a bit less I think now) but we have run into a new issue. She is quite scared of the main road near our apartment(not too busy but a fair few cars on it). She does ok with a car or two passing 30+ feet away but when she's closer she gets shaky and scared. Should we introduce her little by little(go walk near the road for a few minutes a day) or just all at once, sit near the road until she's not scared, I read flooding is not very good for dogs(and I can imagine especially not for shelties). Any advice on how to proceed would be greatly appreciated!
 
When I got Minnie, she did not know cars and did not like them.:no:

In the start I went quite short trips where cars were driving past, I used a treat that she would connect cars with something positive.:yes:

It was not long before she took it easy, in this way we continued with more and more time with cars, until she finally nor would sniff, where we went.
Now she does not take any notice when also running large trucks and buses.
 
Go slow. Stay a distance from the road...Mena will let you know what a comfortable distance is by her body language...make it a happy time. Each day try and inch a little bit closer...if she freaks you have gone too far/fast...back up until she is comfortable for a day or two before you try getting closer again. This will take typically a few weeks minimum to get close to the road/traffic...and one thing to remember is that although you want to get her past intense fear of walking near cars...you don't want her to think that cars moving by on the road are her "friend" and not dangerous. A basic concern/respect for moving cars could save her life someday if she ever gets loose.

Trini
 
Trini sorry my English, I did not mean that cars had to be her friends, but spent only treats to Minni should get the focus away from the cars and over at me and accept that they drive past. exactly as I have done with people she does not pressure at the beginning, now she walks past them, not close, but in a natural way. Just as she does with cars.
 
Olive had only been off the street for about a month when we got her and her foster home was not on a busy street- unlike our apartment at the time. She would bolt sideways away from the roadway with anything wheeled, but especially heavy trucks. What worked for us is to distract when we knew a car was coming without introducing a new movement- this also allowed us to work on 'stay' and 'focus'.
It usually went something like this:
- Heard/saw a truck coming towards us
- Put Olive in a sit-stay facing me and told her to focus
- Kept her there until the truck passed
- Lots of praise! (if you carry treats/if Mena is treat motivated)

It didn't happen overnight but she's gotten mostly over her fear of moving vehicles. Cars and bikes, even trains do not really bother her. She will still step sideways if a particularly heavy truck comes by in the closest lane but she's comfortable enough, or at least trusts me enough, to cross a busy intersection with heavy trucks. Our running trail takes us along the Beltway and a mixed use area so she gets plenty of exposure. For the first few months I would mix it up with how many busy streets we went by - usually our 2 mile loop started or ended for .3 miles on the busiest street and the rest was college campus or residential.
 
How old is she? Could she be in a fear phase? If so, just stay away from the road for awhile or this will stick. Let her see cars from a long long way away for awhile and then after a month start moving slowly closer to the cars without her getting upset even if it is only a foot closer at a time. Cubby is almost 10 months and I am finding he is in a fear phase. We are just laying low a couple weeks before doing anything he is remotely uncomfortable with.
 
Mom2Melli said:
How old is she? Could she be in a fear phase? If so, just stay away from the road for awhile or this will stick. Let her see cars from a long long way away for awhile and then after a month start moving slowly closer to the cars without her getting upset even if it is only a foot closer at a time. Cubby is almost 10 months and I am finding he is in a fear phase. We are just laying low a couple weeks before doing anything he is remotely uncomfortable with.
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She's 12 weeks old.
She has been a very confident pup, we had her 1st puppy class on Monday and she was the most outgoing confident puppy there (to the point I felt embarrassed to the other people bc of her corrupting the class non stop)

Then yesterday I took her for a walk and decided she was ready for going around the block, when we reached the corner road she got so scared bc of the cars (this road is far more busy than she's used to) She bolted sideways and it took some encouragement for her to continue. A few hours later I returned there (with Joey) and she did not even want to go there! She sat glued on the ground, did not want to go around the corner to the busy road period :no:
 
I'm with Mom2Melli! If she is around 3-4 months-ish, she is probably in her fear phase! Aimee used to tremble at everything at that age. She's 6 months now and she hasn't trembled since Christmas. I think it's best to minimize stress at this age. Let her safely observe cars from a distance. Continue her exposure to different things but don't push her out of her comfort zone. I promise it'll get better after she's over it!
 
Hanne said:
Trini sorry my English, I did not mean that cars had to be her friends, but spent only treats to Minni should get the focus away from the cars and over at me and accept that they drive past. exactly as I have done with people she does not pressure at the beginning, now she walks past them, not close, but in a natural way. Just as she does with cars.
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Hanne, don't worry...I didn't get the impression you were saying cars had to be her friends. I totally agree with you that treats are good to work with. :smile2: Anything that keeps the training happy and helps Mena to focus on her human is a plus. For her emotional comfort Mena does need to learn that she can walk with her family near a road without being terrified.

Trini
 
Just read that you live at an apartment. So do I! I think an advantage of this is that there are many chances every day to show her cars and people. Do you have a balcony? After the first couple of times, (she did tremble at first) our balcony was a favorite place of Aimee's during her fear phase. She still loves going out there and napping. Because you see them at a distance, she didn't mind watching people come and go. I also held and walked her around the apartment complexes and got the mail with her a lot. Good luck.
 
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