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Fearful Of Traffic Noise


Guest rratney

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Guest rratney

I live with 3 1/2 yr old Mina in a high rise condo in Boston only a block away from a large green area that is surrounded by busy streets. Mina is frightened of traffic noises, particularly large trucks and construction machinery and hates to go outside to do her business. I frequently have to pull her from her bed to take her out. Once she's done her business all she wants to do is go back home. The problem is less severe at night when traffic is lighter and there are interesting sights, smells and sounds from the city's night creatures. Has anyone seen this kind of behavior; have you been able to get your dog to accept the noises?

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Bu is afraid of the same things, plus motorcycles, bouncing basketballs, beeping, and on and on. Thankfully we don't live in a big city or busy street. He's gotten a little better over the years, but not significantly. You can try noise desensitization CDs for dogs. Or meds. I haven't done either.

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Guest Scouts_mom

Oh yes, My Henry is scared of traffic. When I got him 3-4 years ago, he was terrified of cars on my relatively quiet local street, and he would freak out if I asked him to walk along a busy street. He has improved over time. He now realizes that cars on my street will stay in the road and he is safe on the sidewalk so we can have nice walks. However he is still very nervous on the main roads with trucks and busses. He does feel much more comfortable if we walk (on the sidewalk) facing the traffic so he can see what is coming. With Henry it was just a matter of time and patience. However it sounds like your dog needs to walk on busy streets now to potty. I'm not really sure what to suggest. Is there another confident dog that lives in your building and can join you for the walks--showing your pup that they can be fun. Or you may need to ask your vet for some light drugs to keep your dog calm.

 

If she has not totally closed down by fear, you should try just letting her stand and watch what is going on around her and give her lots of treats to distract her--small yummy things that she can swallow in one gulp.

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Guest shanesmom

I live in a condo with the Ohio turnpike right behind my building plus the property can get pretty busy at times. Ace was terrified of the noises. Especially the trucks on the turnpike and I think it was worse for him that he could hear it and not see it. He was so afraid at first that he would freeze like a statue when we went out and it would be a challenge to move him. We have to cross the parking lot to get to the dog walking field and I remember holding up traffic because he froze in the middle and I could not budge him for a few minutes. He would shake when moving trucks or the garbage truck would be anywhere on the property and was on such high alert he would not sniff to potty taking forever to just pee not matter how bad I knew he had to go. I remained comfident. No babying. Let's go Ace. Get him moving as much as possible and just patient. Time and patience. Today he is a different dog. Those things do not bother him at all. We travel together and stop for potty breaks at busy trucks stops and rarely does anything scare him and if it does he is over it pretty fast. I think for him it was just needing time and for me to be confident and patient and as our bond grew he grew to trust me and it all worked out.

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i live 12 miles north of nyc and we have traffic and i take my dogs to flea markets in the city. annie used to jump and was totally insecure when a bus/truck/garbage truck/fire truck rumbled by and we walk on overpasses over the highways and parkways.

 

but we walk a lot and just kept on walking. we also are missing quite a few sidewalks in our neighborhood- go know but the builders got away w/ it in the 50s & 60s. so, i walk her on the inside- away from traffic on a short lead(i find i have more control out of a 5/8"leather or 1"cotton web lead- no nylon for me). i prefer using a thinner martingale on her since i feel like i have more control(lupine 5/8" med. size) and away we go. 5 years later it takes a lot to rattle her- but in the beginning we had a dog who jumped and startled.

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Guest chickenpotpie

It can take a while but you just have to try to soldier through it. I was very deliberate in walking Lucky by busy streets and near the train tracks. I didn't want her to end up in a situation where she would just freeze or freak out and not know how to get out of it. The busier the street, the closer she walks to me. She still dosen't like being too close to trains though she dosen't freak out around them anymore.

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Rratney, just adding a safety note: If Mina gets fearful to the point of trying to back up away from you, pull the leash toward the ground. This will help keep her collar from slipping off. Keep the leash short so she is near your side rather than ahead or behind. Lead with confidence and hopefully hers will begin to grow.

 

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Guest Greyt_dog_lover

How long have you had your hound? Did you adopt from a group? If you adopted from a group recently, I would talk to them about returning the hound and getting a hound better equipped to live in an urban environment. Here in Chicago, we have urban, suburban and even rural areas we adopt to and we realize not all greyhounds are good in each environment. Regardless of what you do, i would strongly suggest you get a wiggles,wags & whiskers spook harness. If your hound is afraid, he could try to bolt unexpectedly and you don't want a loose hound who is scared of the entire environment around him.

 

Chad

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Guest Houston1219

Could you put a headband around her ears and cover with a snood? That would at least muffle the sound so it's not quite so loud? Then just the snood after a few days/weeks, then try without?

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Guest normaandburrell

My current grey was very afraid of traffic when I first got him. Luckily I live in a residential neighborhood, so he got over it. Now he only gets scared if a really loud truck goes down the street, but it took almost 6 months for him to get to this point. My first grey never learned to get out of the way of traffic, so I like this better.

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Doesn't sound like the best match to me--I also have a dog who I describe as "cautious," but too much activity frightens him. He would not be a good choice for a city dweller at all. There are plenty of dogs that are not bothered by things like noise, so if this is a brand new adoption, it might be wise to speak to the group you got her from about swapping her--

 

If this is perhaps instead a new living situation, and you've had the dog--that's a different story. You'll just have to hope she gets used to it. And please buy a harness to wear when you take her out.


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