Garbage truck fears

[Sydney]

Kubi is now 6 months and he is petrified of the garbage truck and any large construction type truck that makes noise. I know everything says not to coddle, be confident, keep walking past and do not baby their fears. But Kubi is so scared that he tries to tear off in the opposite direction, pulls on his leash, shakes, tail between the legs, nails digging in the ground to try to run away even several yards from the truck that its almost impossible to get him to walk past. Any thoughts or suggestion/tips? Will he grow out of this?

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

I disagree with the no cuddle.  After all, why do we have Thundershirts for the most fearful dogs?   Reassure your dog, without getting all goo goo ga ga.  Your job it to make your puppy feel safe in these early months.  A dog who feels safe will have less fears--right!   Makes sense.

You have seen the moma who coos and cas and reacts.  

I think what is missing is that you can make your dog feel safe without over reacting.   You can hold them, talk to them. Just no, " OH NO THE GARBAGE TRUCK"   Cuddle and help the dog while remaining calm

I hope this is the FEAR STAGEand it passes. You can work, little by little, with noise issues.   Give him treats with noises to desensitize him to  some of these sounds   etc.

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

If it were me, if I could, I would be picking my dog up, holding him close to my heart, and quietly walking past.  I see no problem with this. The dog feels safe.  ;Make the experiences as easy as possible for the dog to get through without overreacting.  

I'm nota huge fan of the all out ignore.  See if there is a way to stay calm and make it easier without stressing

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

I get my thoughts from this article I found several years ago 

Fast food thinking about dogs

Posted July 8, 2011
Filed under: Helping fearful dogs | Tags: dog training scared timid shy fearful rehabilitation counter condit..., reinforcing fear
 Comments (15)

Tis the season for bad advice. It seems no matter where I turn-blog posts, website, forums, chats- someone is putting ‘don’t comfort your dog when they are scared’ messages out. The last I read, provided by someone who by choice or certification, is identified as a ‘behaviorist’, was a list of tips for dealing with fireworks and storm phobias included; no cooing or baby talk because it will only be telling the dog that they are right to be afraid. Really? Where I come from the way we let someone know that they are right to be afraid is to shriek, “LOOK OUT IT’S GOING TO KILL YOU!”

I suppose if we’ve paired cooing and baby talk with enough negative experiences then it might reaffirm a dog’s concern. I imagine the scene from a bad crime drama in which the killer calmly looks at his victim, knife glinting in his hands and says, “Don’t be afraid, it won’t hurt…..for long.” Hopefully we have not done this, and instead our cooing and baby talk has been used to get a tail wag and to let our dogs know who is “the cutest, fluffiest, most handsomest, doggie on the planet.”

And let’s face it, if you’re really terrified no amount of, ‘don’t worry darling it’s going to be alright’, is likely to help. Often we seem to be either unaware, or unwilling to acknowledge how scared our dogs are. So why, if comforting a dog may not help do I get my knickers in twist when someone advises against it? Because sometimes comforting helps, because if you believe that being kind and gentle with a scared dog is going to reinforce their fear you might take that line of thought, as many do, and assume that making a dog deal, on their own, with what scares them, is the thing to do. And it is not. But more importantly it’s because it’s wrong. And it doesn’t take much deep thinking to see why that is.

It would appear that when it comes to dogs we have adopted a ‘fast food’ way of thinking. All it takes is for someone to assert that; dogs need leaders, that they live in the moment (This one tickles me particularly because it implies that every moment in a dog’s life their brain is a clean slate, that what they experienced yesterday had no effect on them in which case I wonder-how do they remember their name?), that they will try to dominate their owners if given the chance, that their noses should be rubbed in their poop, that a smack with a rolled-up newspaper is an appropriate thing to do-for whatever reason, that every single dog on the planet must be spayed or neutered, that breed is destiny, and you shouldn’t comfort scared creatures.

The next time you read something about dogs and how to handle or train them, after you’ve bitten through the crunchy sugar coating, take some time to mull the information over. You may find that that first bite leaves you with a toothache

Here is my post and a link to the article written.  

Read more here: http://www.doodlekisses.com/forum/topics/ignoring-fearful-dogs-thin...

While I agree, Cooing a dog with separation anxiety while you are leaving the home is the worst thing you can do, sometimes there are other ways to handle fear with dogs besides ignoring.  

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Thanks for posting that link, Joanne. I had forgotten that discussion, and I see my thoughts on this topic back then were pretty much what they are now, only I expressed it better then: 

"I disagree with the "suck it up, it's just a statue, ignore it and get your ass moving" mentality, but I also don't think "oh, poor widdle doggy, is that nasty statue scaring you, mommy will save you" is very helpful, either. For one thing, if JD doesn't want to move, you ain't moving him, not with sympathy and not by ignoring the fear. Can't get over it, can't get under it, can't get around it, gotta work through it. With Jack, that means, help him to feel confident. It was that or stand in the street for the rest of our lives, lol."

Yep. 

Read more here: http://www.doodlekisses.com/forum/topics/ignoring-fearful-dogs-thin...

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

Here's the funny thing... 

As I am writing this out just now, Spud is barking, barking, barking, barking.

I turn around and give shhhh command and then say to myself, "Really Geesh. Enough already with all this barking"

I had no idea why he was barking and  I ignored him .... He was asking for help.  

I was ignoring his plea that his most precious toy is certainly stuck under the table and he needs help  :)    

Really with fear, it is so frustrating. It is damn if you do and damn if you dont.  

I just put this out there because it too makes sense. I just dont think things come in blanket situations sometimes and each dog needs to be figured out. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

JD was 14 months old, badly undersocialized, and full grown when I adopted him, so there was no way for me to pick him up or move him when he would freeze up at the sight and sound of many things (including garbage trucks) on our daily walks. No amount of "It's okay" and petting, patting, hugging, cuddling/coddling made any difference, he would not move. Unfortunately, I had a job and needed to finish the walk and get home. Standing in the street all day was not an option. I had to be able to get him past the things that scared him. 

I made an appointment with a positive-and-humane-methods-only trainer who told me that my sympathetic tone of voice with my "It's okay"s was actually reinforcing his belief that there was actually something to be afraid of. Instead, I should keep my voice very cheerful and upbeat, my body language confident, and say "Good Boy, Jack! What a good boy!" as I confidently strolled along. It sounded ridiculous to me, but you know what? It worked! Laughing works, too. Just letting the dog know that you are feeling wonderful and have no worries about that truck (bird, stone, statue, garage door, etc) makes a big difference. If you tense up or feel worried when you see something you think will frighten him, that tension and stress travel right down the leash and it becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy. The hardest part is actually staying relaxed yourself. Nothing makes a dog feel safer than knowing his owner is in complete control of all situations, and "has his back".

I was also told to get him out to all kinds of different places at least three times a week, so that he could get used to all kinds of sights and sounds, and see that nothing bad happened. In fact, something good happened; he got treats, or he got a tennis ball tossed for him when he seemed leery but kept moving anyway. 

It didn't take long before he stopped freezing up and started enjoying our walks no matter what came our way. 

[Kaitee and Orwell]

Orwell frequently stops when he sees something new on our walks. He has not exhibited fear, but I still talk sweetly to him while explaining what is going on in a happy voice (or what I consider my happy voice. I have Asperger's so I tend to be monotone), and stop at his side so he can touch me. When we walk past the point where he stopped, I praise him. 

I'm sure you will get him to calm down. Good luck.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

I think one of the things that might be scary about garbage and construction trucks is also the 'earthquake' factor (land shakes and rumbles). IF you have the time, you can let your dog observe the things that are scaring him.  You start far away and over time - i.e lots of exposure sessions you move closer. 

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

I agree.  And they scare me when they drive so close and I am walking down my little country street.  Besides being huge and shaking, they stink.  

[Christy&Riley]

I had the same thought as Nancy. I used to take Riley to see the construction trucks in our neighborhood on purpose and would stop a few houses away. It let her observe the activity from a "safe" distance. Eventually I walked her by the activity to desensitize her to the big trucks. (We were moving so it was extra important that she was ok with construction noises.)