We need some advice on what to do about Jade's walks. She gets two walks a day at least 30 minutes each. She absolutely loves her walks except for one thing. The beet trucks. These are LOUD semi trucks full of sugar beets, they barrel down the street and scare her really bad. Since we live in a small town, there is literally no way to avoid the streets they go on. When one goes by, she goes into a sheer panic and doesn't know which way to run. Her first instinct is to run towards them. :crazyeyes:
She is always secured on a leash, but we are just afraid that one of these days, she'll break loose again. Any ideas on what we can do to help her not be so afraid and panic everytime?? We tried giving her a treat everytime one goes by, but she is too busy panicking to notice. The trucks most likely, won't be done until December so we've got to come up with something.
Actually the trucks freak Porky and Bandit out too. Porky won't even go on those streets unless you carry him or drag him. Once you get Porky started on those streets, he will walk, but when one goes by he runs in a circle trying to escape too. Its hard enough walking two doxies and a German Shepherd mix, without having all of them freaking out at once. :rolleyes: Bandit seems the least affected by it. He just barks at them.
Poor Jade. Is here a city park you can walk in or a field away from the road? Don't have any useful advice but sending calm rays to Jade.
The giving treats when the trucks go by is good - that is called counter conditioning and desensitizing. The idea to associate the fire breathing dragon (beet truck) with something good (yummy treat). The reason Jade is not taking the treat is because she is truly paniced by the fire breathing dragon (beet truck). If there was a way to present the fire breathing dragon (beet truck) at a low level of intensity, i.e. far enough away from Jade so that it doesn't really concern her (before she goes into panic mode), while giving her high value treats the cc & d would work - you would gradually build her up to being up close and personal (on the same street) with the trucks without her panicing.
http://www.clickertrainusa.com/dcc.htm
If your town streets don't allow for building up from a low level intensity of beet trucks to the higher level, could you load the dogs up into the car and drive somewhere else to walk so they don't have to be paniced every day? Or get their exercise in the backyard until the trucks are done?
How old is Jade maybe going though a fear imprint stage all puppies have stages they go through then Porky is picking up on Jade's distress.Is Bandit the oldest or more laid back might be why it does not bother him so much.
How often do the beet trucks go by? Can you walk the doxies at a different time? I don't think I would subject them to this terror daily. Hmmmm........there's got to be an alternative.
Thanks for all your great ideas!!!!
Quote from: Madderoos Mom on October 27, 2008, 08:31:35 PM
Poor Jade. Is here a city park you can walk in or a field away from the road? Don't have any useful advice but sending calm rays to Jade.
Unfortunately, our city park is on the same street as the scary trucks. And walking in a feild around here is not a good idea. The farmers get VERY angry about that. The mentality here is, "If a dog's in my field, I shoot." Even if you asked them first, most farmer's would say no. We really appreciate your input and your calming rays Sandi!!! You helped us think of another quieter place in town we might be able to walk Jade.
Quote from: papbouv on October 27, 2008, 09:34:44 PM
How old is Jade maybe going though a fear imprint stage all puppies have stages they go through then Porky is picking up on Jade's distress.Is Bandit the oldest or more laid back might be why it does not bother him so much.
Jade is 7 months old. Porky has always been freaked out by cars and trucks, it just seems to be worse lately. Bandit is old enough to know that as long as he stays on the sidewalk he's okay. Once in a while he will shake a little when they go by, but other than that, he can ignore them. Thanks for your help too!
Quote from: janetleej on October 27, 2008, 09:25:56 PM
The giving treats when the trucks go by is good - that is called counter conditioning and desensitizing. The idea to associate the fire breathing dragon (beet truck) with something good (yummy treat). The reason Jade is not taking the treat is because she is truly paniced by the fire breathing dragon (beet truck). If there was a way to present the fire breathing dragon (beet truck) at a low level of intensity, i.e. far enough away from Jade so that it doesn't really concern her (before she goes into panic mode), while giving her high value treats the cc & d would work - you would gradually build her up to being up close and personal (on the same street) with the trucks without her panicing.
http://www.clickertrainusa.com/dcc.htm
If your town streets don't allow for building up from a low level intensity of beet trucks to the higher level, could you load the dogs up into the car and drive somewhere else to walk so they don't have to be paniced every day? Or get their exercise in the backyard until the trucks are done?
Thanks for your help. I think we came up with a great option where we can do the clicker training and get her used to the sound slowly. :apls:
Quote from: PattyInAK on October 27, 2008, 11:55:11 PM
How often do the beet trucks go by? Can you walk the doxies at a different time? I don't think I would subject them to this terror daily. Hmmmm........there's got to be an alternative.
Patty, The beet trucks go by pretty much at a constant pace. They are spaced sporadically, so you literally can't avoid hearing them. Usually, we do walk them all seperately. Bandit and Porky prefer to walk side by side, so they always go together. We are trying to get all three walked at the same time, to improve how well theyget a long with each other. We are still having some "tiffs" between the boys and her, so we wanted to help them see they could do fun things together without it being something to fight over.
Here's our solution we thought of with your help. We thought that maybe we could try walking in the cemetary. Its a weird place to walk your dog, but the back part of the cemetary is quiet enough for Jade not to panic. We got permission from the city to walk our dogs there. They told us that as long as we had them on the paved paths only and we didn't leave messes behind that it would be fine. They gave us a little flag thing to stick on the dog leash to let the city workers know we are allowed to walk there. The noise from the trucks is still loud there, but there are enough rabbits and squirrels to distract Jade. Also when the trucks are gone we can walk anywhere we want again. :apls:
Quote from: doxielady5569128 on October 28, 2008, 10:20:44 AM
Here's our solution we thought of with your help. We thought that maybe we could try walking in the cemetary. Its a weird place to walk your dog, but the back part of the cemetary is quiet enough for Jade not to panic. We got permission from the city to walk our dogs there.
WELL - at least the neighbors won't complain! :2funny:
Seriously, it's important not to feed the anxiety. If Jade gets anxious, refocus her on you while you are
ignoring the noise. Just stand outside for five minutes while talking on the phone or talking with each other, with Jade on the leash. Ignore the trucks. Ignore the dog. Be calm/assertive. SHe'll mellow out once she realizes 1) the trucks don't faze you and 2) you're in charge.
Dr. Cesar Millan Leaky :thumb:
Too bad your not close to Mitchell. My aunt and grandparents used to live ther and I can honestly say that I know every street there. Quiet neighborhoods and I think there is only the main street that the trucks may go one. Also they have a huge track at the high school. I have seen plenty of people walking their dogs there. (Now remember this was a couple of years ago) I would sit on my Grandparent's porch and watch them every evening. Usually they would all stop by when they were leaving to say hello. I miss that place. Since I know the area and towns that you are talking about I know you really don't have much to choose from. It is a shame. Also. It may help if you can put them in the car and drive them to a spot, park the car and then take them for the walk. Another good neighborhood to try is in Gering. By Northfield Villa. It is a retirement/apartment complex and is at the base of Scottsbuff. Great people around there too. OK now I want to come visit again. I really miss that place!!! Hope my ideas help. I will try to think of some other areas too. I just remember all the neighbors being so nice, you can meet a ton of new friends!!
Mel,
Thanks for your ideas! Mitchell is very similar to the town we live in now. (We are actually trying to find a rental there.) :wink: Except, like you said the trucks only go on the main street and that's it. In our town, they go on main street and another major side street. Which makes go back to my same question I ask every fall. If the factory (which is closed by the way) is already on the west side of town, (almost in the country), and the trucks need to go west...Why do they have to drive east into town and then north to the highway and back west to Scottsbluff??? :scratch: It really makes no sense to me. I would think they'd be able to drive out on the dirt road to the highway. They use our factory for storage.
There are actually a lot of great places to walk in Gering and its fun to walk the pathway by the river in Scottsbluff. A daily walk there won't be possible, but it would be a good thing once a week. It would take us a half hour to get there. :doah: I'm sure we'll figure out something soon. The season will be over soon, I just feel bad for Jade.
Karen,
Thanks so much for your ideas! I think we'll definately give that a try. We live a block away from the "Monster" road, so it should be quiet enough to allow Jade to focus.
You should email me and tell me where you are. My aunt used to drive a beet truck. ( She thought it would be fun to try since she was retired) and I did ask her about the routes. They may have to take them on certain roads because of weight limits. Either for bridges or pipe lines. So that is why they go crazy routes.
I think it would be so cool if you were able to get a house in Mitchell. If you would like I can get a hold of my aunt again and find some nice people that have been in the rental business. She used to own and rent out a few houses. I do remember helping out on one's in Scottsbluff. So I am sure she still keeps in contact with a few others. My family were very social there and knew a lot of different people and my aunt still visits ther often even though she lives in Sydney now.
That would drive me nuts too trucks are so scary too when you are riding a horse down the street. Like you mentioned I also would be afraid of my dog slipping his or her leash at the wrong moment. Ugh. Too bad you have to deal with those. Sounds like you have some good new ideas for walking! I found a nice retirement community with a lot of sidewalks to walk Hallie at, no kids or loose dogs, and only very slow moving cars and not many of those.
This is what I found on Fear Imprint ages of Pups.
4 to 8 Months
Play Instinct Period. Flight Instinct Period. Puppy may wander and ignore you. It is very important that you keep the puppy on a leash at this time! The way that you handle the puppy at this time determines if the puppy will come to you when called. At about 4-1/2 months, the puppy loses his milk teeth and gets his adult teeth. That's when puppy begins serious chewing! A dog's teeth don't set in his jaw until between 6 and 10 months. During this time, the puppy has a physical need to exercise his mouth by chewing.
Hope this will help explain if you Google Fear Imprint stages of Puppies you may learn more Good Luck.
Papbouv
Mel,
That would be awesome! We could definately use some leads on the rental front right now. Did you get my address I sent to you the other day??? :doah: I didn't think about the weight limits. There is a rickety old bridge on that dirt road now that I think about it.
Dee Dee,
Sometimes the trucks are loud enough to freak me out, I can't imagine being a dog and hearing them amplified. :crazyeyes: I wouldn't even attempt riding a horse past one of those trucks, they would spook so quickly!! That's great that you found a retirement community to walk Hallie in. The only thing we have in this town, remotely like that, would be the nursing home, but its small so there really isn't a pathway or anything.
Papbouv,
Thank you for sharing that! It is really interesting to read about. We are definately seeing the increased chewing. LOL