Pandora’s Fear of Walking
Pandora has always had a fear of walking near vehicles. Or anywhere that she can hear them. Her fear makes exercising her a bit difficult.
In today’s post, I’m going to walk you through what I’ve done to try and help her past this fear, or rather be okay, with her fear. I’ll tell you how bad the fear was, the things I tried, the signs to look for when trying to decide on progress, and where we are now, four years later.
How Bad Pandora’s Fear of Walking Near Vehicles Was Previously
Our home is not level with the road. We sit up about three feet from the road. To park in front of our house, you have to enter at the top of the shared driveway (which is approximately 25/ 30 yards long). We park our vehicles right smack in front of the house. From the front door to the back of a vehicle is approximately 5 yards.
Pandora would not walk to the back of the vehicle. There were times Pandora wouldn’t even step out the front door. The constant training and luring were often soul-crushing events. I first started trying to lure Pandora with tiny nibbles of bacon (no, not the best option, but I needed the big guns of treats). She wouldn’t even take the bacon. That is an example of how difficult this fear has been.
Some days Pandora would get to the back bumper and then fully regress for a few weeks before stepping back out the front door.
One piece of advice I heard regularly was, “Ask your vet.”
So I did. And I asked a second vet. And eventually a third vet. I am not happy to report this, but the whole “ask a vet” is a bust. The vet is only going to rule out any physical issues. Then they’ll recommend you to a dog therapist. If your dog is a nervous wreck about a particular thing, just save yourself the vet visit money.
Call around to dog trainers who specialize in nervous behaviors or extreme fears. Just know, the fee is going to be expensive. The Dog Behaviorist that my vet recommended wanted $450 for a half-hour consultation. If I had that money, I would have taken Pandora for a visit. But that was not in my budget.
What I Tried to Help Pandora with Her Fear
I’m not putting down any dog trainers, therapists, or behaviorists. They may be phenomenal at what they do. And if you have the money, by all means, it may be the best route to go. I can’t say one way or the other because I took on the challenge of a lifetime.
I scoured the internet looking for all the helpful tips I could to help Pandora. And I even got creative and cooked up some ideas myself.
Desensitization
Pandora hated the loud trucks, especially the garbage trucks. So I found YouTube channels with 4 hours of garbage trucks doing their thing. And I played those videos over and over, and each day, I increased the volume until eventually, it sounded like those trucks were hoisting garbage right out of my kitchen. I put on motorcycle and car races. And it worked a bit. She stopped freaking out when the garbage truck came by the house.
Luring with Treats and Frisbees
Again, I used bacon as the first lure. Then I used chicken, cheese, and even her frisbee to get her up the driveway.
Took Her to Places with Minimal Traffic
I would take her to areas where there was traffic and would try to get her to go further and further.
Give Her Breaks
When Pandora was overwhelmed or seemed to be regressing, I’d give her a few weeks before going back into the training.
Take Her to Fun Places
I would take Pandora to pet stores for treats, to dog parks to play, to friends’ homes that she loves. Pandora had to walk on her leash to get into all these places. Friends and pet stores were the main attractions and she never waivered. She was terrified, but she’d do it. Dog parks, sometimes she wanted to, sometimes she didn’t.
We’d Park
I’d park at a park, or the store, and we’d sit in the car just watching everything. Sometimes I’d sit outside the car at the park and I would leave the door open in case she wanted to come out. Spoiler, that was a rare event. She’s good at ignoring me when she doesn’t like my ideas.
Try, Try, Try
I keep trying anything I can think of that may be helpful for Pandora’s fear of walking near vehicles. I’m always asking people with dogs for tips they’ve used when training their dogs. And I still scour the internet looking for new things to try.
There’s Always Progress
One thing that used to discourage me was that it felt like we weren’t making progress. But then I realized that there was progress, I had just missed it.
It starts with one extra step. It’s hard to see one step beyond where Pandora would stop normally. Make sure you have a solid marker to notice those small steps. One day, Pandora made it to the power pole. A whole ten yards further than before. Another day, she may have gotten just her nose beyond the power pole.
One of the biggest indicators of progress was the kind of treats I was using to lure her. Remember, when I started I offered bacon. And she refused. But eventually, she took the bacon. During one particularly frustrating day, when I was feeling like we’d never make any more progress, I realized that I was using dog treats to lure Pandora.
Basic dog treats. Nothing of high value. She was willing to go to this point with the most boring of treats. That is an enormous giveaway that progress is being made.
Where We Are Now with Pandora’s Fear of Walking
Well, we’re still working on the same issue. Pandora just turned four and we are still making small strides.
Our newest method is, well, kind of embarrassing. For a person with an older dog that has difficulty walking or a small dog that can’t walk as far as their owner, a dog stroller is a handy tool. For a cattle dog who is young, healthy, and loaded with energy, it’s a tad embarrassing. And yet, that is our new plan.
I can’t get Pandora to go far from the house. However, I can get her to go back to the house. So, I borrowed my friend’s dog stroller and I now put Pandora in the stroller and walk her about a half mile from home. Then she gets out of the stroller and walks home on her leash. She’s not excited about the situation, but we are making progress.
When we started I had to zip the stroller shut to keep her from going bonzo and trying to escape. Now, I don’t have to zip it up.
NEVER GIVE UP
I can’t stress this enough. Never, ever give up. Dealing with a dog with a major fear is hard. And if you can’t afford to get help, just keep trying. We are making progress. Did I ever think it would take four years? No. Did I want to give up? Yes.
Will we ever get to the point that Pandora will just walk with us anywhere? I don’t know. All I know is that we can do way more than we could four years ago. And I’m okay with that.
