Is your dog anxious around traffic?
It’s very common to see dogs taking a stroll along the street, not batting an eyelid at the traffic. You might notice an occasional glimpse when a particularly loud motorbike or lorry goes past, but nothing more. Some dogs don’t handle this quite so well though. It’s important to enforce positive associations to let your dog know that no harm is going to come from the passing vehicles. There are many options to help including the close control lead, liquid plant extracts and training.
Dogs are very sensitive to their human’s reactions, and if we show any fear of these loud noises they will pick up on this really quickly. Sometimes we can get caught off guard though and a vehicle seems to come from nowhere giving us a fright. Even so, it’s important to stay calm.
Canibio Behaviour Formulation
Plants are known to offer a range of solutions for an array of medical conditions. Canibio has developed a range of products to help with a range of conditions in your dogs. The Behavior product containsValerian for relaxation, Ashwagandha & Passionflower for calming effects, Rhodiola to help with racing heart rate and Magnesium to promote relaxation. The product is certified as organic and is presented as a tasty liquid which is really easy to use. You can see the whole range here
Chemeyes Close Control Lead
There are times when you really need to keep total control of your dog. Especially when walking by roads or passing other dogs/distractions. The usual method is to wrap your dog lead around your hand to shorten it, or grab the lead close to the collar/harness. Both of these methods can result in injury though. If the lead slips through your hand it can give a nasty friction burn. Crush injuries can also result from the lead being wrapped around the hand. The close control lead works in conjunction with your existing lead and is attached directly to the collar or harness. If needed, the handle can be grabbed quickly so you have complete control over your dog without risking injury to either you or your pet.
Flooding
This is a similar technique to teaching babies to swim by putting them in water and letting them figure it out. It may work sometimes but can lead to psychological damage. The same is true with your dogs. Flooding in this scenario would be exposing your dog to the busiest, loudest road and letting them come to the realisation of safety themselves. This technique would be pretty cruel, and unlikely to work.
Distance exposure
This is the complete opposite of Flooding. Take your dog somewhere fun which is situated quite a distance from the road. Keep them occupied with a ball or toy and they will notice the cars in the distance but they won’t be close enough to cause any particular anxiety. Depending on how your dog progresses, you can gradually move closer to the road over the space of minutes/days/weeks. They will quickly learn that cars are not any risk and become much more comfortable in their presence.
What does anxiety look like?
You need to understand the signs that your dog is distressed so you can manage the problem. The most common signs are shaking, barking, excessive panting, drooling, whining or refusal to move. Being patient until they have restored their inner calm is very important.
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