Hi I'm mum to Hugo, a yellow lab who is 14 months old. We are having a few problems with him at the moment, most stemming from fear. He is a very nervous dog in some situations but mainly around any traffic. He's so scared he pulls away to the inside of paths and cowers/ freezes. Sometimes this can be in the middle of the road and then I have no choice but to pull him across the road. He is a lovely dog, I just want to be able to walk him like all the other 100s of dogs I see with their owners. His fear got worse after he was neutered! We have just started on obedience classes to see if we can change his focus, so he focuses more on me and not what's going on around him to see if that will help. I'm not sure I've gone about posting this in the right place, as I'm finding how to post a little confusing. Thank you
Hi Rache and welcome to the forum from me, Willow and Shadow. When I first had Shadow, he was petrified of traffic, too, so I spent a lot of time with him just sat and watching from a distance. It has to be distance enough that he's comfortable, and feed him lots of tasty treats as you're doing it. He was most scared of big trucks and buses, so we sometimes popped him in the car on my lap and drove around the village, following the bin lorry. He had the safety of the car and, again, lots of treats. In time, we managed to get closer and closer to the traffic with him not showing the same signs of fear. It took a long time, but we got there in the end; in the meantime, I just avoided taking him places where he would b scared, and setting back my training. It really works if you approach it like this. Until he's happy, though, you should try to avoid putting him in that situation, so drive him to somewhere he's not going to be scared for his walks. Good luck!
It might be coincidence that his fear got worse after he was neutered, although there are some studies that show reactivity and fear is worse in neutered dogs. It is possible that the removal of testosterone in a nervous male can make things worse. Fiona's advice is the way to go - don't put him in a scary situation and start at a long distance getting used to traffic. You need to be far enough away so he can still think, and respond to the food you are offering. If you are so close he is scared like you describe, there isn't anything you can do, because he won't be able to think about anything but being scared.
Thank you to you both for your reply. We will try and find somewhere that is close enough to traffic but far enough away not to be a problem and try what you've advised. My husband took him out for a walk with a friend and his dog this morning, they had to cross a busy road to get to the open field and apparently he crossed the road fine. He was a little nervous but because he had his friend with him it seemed to give him a bit more confidence. So I also think I need to arrange more dog walks with confident dogs as there is no way we could cross that road in his own.
My new puppy (well, not so new now, she's 6 months) definitely finds my older dog being around means anything she is a bit nervous about doesn't seem so bad - foxes in particular, she is much comforted by my older dog checking out the garden and making sure it is clear of foxes before she has her poo! She followed him into rivers and even the sea at a very young age, and I just don't think she would have done that alone. I wouldn't want her to become dependent on him though, so I'm a bit wary about that and very rarely walk them together, but so long as I watch that doesn't happen I think having an older confident dog around helps with all sorts of things.
I raise Guide Dog pups and they need to be totally relaxed in all traffic. I agree with keeping a distance and using the support of confident dogs. The way we are taught, when they react, is to let them skitter away, if that's what they do, then wait. Let them look - with no comment, being completely relaxed yourself (they look to us for information on what is a worry and what is not) - let them assess that the thing is no threat - then when they shake or relax or look to you, treat them. ...
Hi to you all. It's great to know there are lots of fellow Labrador lovers on here to ask and share advice with!
