anyone who's looked at my post yesterday will be glad to know i am having a much better and together day today :) so hopefully more coherent too!

well - we had another excursion down our front drive/1st time on the pavement (jabs last week so AT LAST allowed out) with the lead this morning.....and it was kind of successful, i think a weensy improvement.

this is what i'm mentally grappling with today though: while on the lead, i am standing still and not moving anytime she pulls, when she's calm coaxing her back with a cheese-treat, then setting off again. its slow going, as she's enjoying a good snuffle round and i think at this stage in her training, i don't want to call her to me unless i think there's a good chance she'll come.

so fine, we're making VERY slow progress down my drive/the road but i think that's to be expected!

here's the trouble - our house is on a main road with a fair bit of commercial traffic (ie lorries and vans) coming past. i can't drive, so outings really do have to start on this road. thing is ruby's 12 weeks now and she hasn't been out that much before (had a devil of a job getting her onto the lead in the 1st place, now wish i'd been a bit more gung-ho about it [$ socialised better but you can't turn back the clock....) and she's starting to get a bit afraid of the traffic. if we can get about 10m down the road there's a nice public right of way over some fields but by the time we're about 2m onto the pavement, she's getting scared of the traffic when it comes past and is starting to back away from the road when cars pass. (Its not constant, so it'll be quiet for a few mins then a sudden burst) SO at that point i've been talking to her like there's nothing wrong and when she's calm giving her more cheese treats - but when she starts back ing away from road at traffic i've been turning back to house so that we get back home before she gets properly distressed or scared. am still trying to stand still when she pulls, but make sure we get home quick. she won't even look at a toy by the roadside - if she's calm, things she can snuffle are FAR more exciting] if she's wary of the cars, she's busy being wary. do you think i'm doing the right thing? do you think we'll ever get as far as the public right of way over the fields??? :)

I'm not a behaviourist or a trainer, but my personal opinon is that you should persevere with the traffic. Keep yourself between her and the road, so she feels you are her protection, keep reassuring her and treat her when a car goes past and she doesn't react. The sooner you can get her to those fields, the quicker she will realise that the traffic is worth putting up with. At the moment she thinks that going out on her lead is a frightening experience from start to finish and she needs something nice to look forward to after she has braved the noise. Once you get to the fields, I'm sure you will see a different dog on the end of the lead. Isn't there someone who can drive you part way to start off with, so at least she doesn't have to be so brave for quite as long?
Good luck

Pups do develop fear responses to things that they may have been ok with before - hoover is a popular one. We had it with 'cows' which were suddenly put out to graze on the land opposite our front gate. The advice we got was to take a deep breath yourself - dogs sense our tension. Speak in a calm voice, but don't be too vocal or speak too much. Stand still - don't drag or pull her forward or back. Encourage her with treats and tell her ' its okay'. We found that the pup eventually calms down. If they are really having trouble coping then try crouching down with them - fake a 'yawn' - it shows you are relaxed and unconcerned , and avert your eyes from your pup - i.e. keep your eyes down and to one side. When they are calm stroke them gently and treat as a reward.

If you are on the road and they are about to lapse into panic - you can usually see them starting to get concerned, then try quickening your pace and saying 'quick, quick' so that you pass the distraction, and keep their attention focussed on you.

Hope this helps a bit
Nikki

Our recent rescue (Morgan the loony spaniel/collie cross) was very wary of traffic, particularly buses/lorries (we have to negotiate a busy road too) - we don't think she'd had too much experience of it before, and she would 'crouch' whenever one thundered past. We totally ignored it (had to make sure we walked slower so she didn't get dragged along while she was having her nervous) and although she still doesn't like the noise, she has got the idea that nothing bad is going to happen (took 3 months). Minx (our 'firstborn') isn't bothered, because we carried her up and down the road to the shops etc before she was allowed to walk, (she didn't like the noise at first either), and would spend ages sitting on a bench near (but not too near) the road with her on our knees, getting fuss and saying hello to passers by. Could you pop a chair in your front garden and have her on your knee (if she likes sitting on your knee) for a while while the traffic goes by? Just ignore it, and ignore her worry, act like you normally do when she's on your knee in the house (although put on many more clothes, lol, and keep hold of her lead 'just in case'). Is she still small enough to carry? The contact was reassuring to Minx, and she was much more confident 'riding' than she was when she first had to use her own legs. Although she's a big heifer and we couldn't carry her for long, hehehe.

very good suggestions! we had some good success this morning - i'd taken her out twice in the day yesterday & once in the evening. although she was a bit startled at first by cars in the dark with lights on, it was actually pretty productive - there's practically no freight traffic in the evening of course.

and we went out this morning and had a good play/training session at the top of my drive. ham and a rawhide bone with melted bacon fat on it just about managed to maintain her interest, despite the traffic!!! and a couple of passers-by/neighbours stopped to say hello which she LOVES so i think we're going to do more of that. mum & sister are primed to call me on their way home so we can meet them at the top of the drive/on the pavement! she's DEFINITELY improving with it - she's just quite a considered or even cautious (i wouldn't go as far as timid or scaredy) pup, which looking back was part of the reason i had her rather than her very boistrous 'i will throw myself at anything new and bite it to get it to play with me' sister!

anyway - we did get as far as one of the public rights of way this morning :) :) :) and had a brief meander down there (came back before all the new stuff got just too much for her - noticed her tail between her legs and thought no, gradual progress katie so turned back :)) - give us a few days and i reckon she's going to be romping around though :D!

its all just normal socialisation isn't it - this afternoon's hurdle is going to be meeting a friend's big (lab [$ collie) dogs - sure she will be a little squeaky but i have a cream cheese & bacon kong, some dried bacon treats and her fave retrieving ball to keep her happy if needed - wish us luck ])!

Hey, well done Katie! Take it slowly, don't rush it and scare her. Slow and steady - I'm sure you'll get this cracked.
:)

Good news Katie :D To be honest, you seem to have made terrific progress in a short time. Everything is so new for a puppy when it first leaves its mum and siblings, your little girl has gone from a small safe world into an enormous world full of strange things and loud noises, so don't be worried if sometimes you seem to take a step backwards with her...she has a huge amount to learn and come to terms with. Patience is the name of the game, and you'll have huge rewards.