# Vizsla is SCARIED of cars on walks.



## Lindsey1420 (Jan 28, 2012)

Hey there. I'm so glad I found this forum! This is my first posting.

My vizsla, Jack, is 6mos old. Loves him to piece. Jack is my first Vizsla. At first when I went to take him for a walk he would not leave the yard. I had to pick him up and walk him half way down the block. By day four he left the yard on his own. The next problem is that he is scaried of parked and moving cars. When he hears or sees a car coming he freezes and gets low to the ground but in a scaried way. Then as the car goes by and passes us he freaks and runs, pulling my arm (almosting feeling like its going to be yanked off my body). When we go to walk pass a park car he pulls trying to go to the other side of the road. 

I have tried having him sitting when car passes, but he still tries to dart off. I have also tried to keep walking and ignoring this "scaried-cat" behavior. When it comes to the park cars, I grip the leash tight and shorten it and make him walk pass the car and stop by the car so he can see that it wont hurt him and there is nothing to be scaried of. I NEVER yell during any of this. 

I have a fear that he is going to hurt me seriously on one of this walks because he is scaried of cars. We have a park but there is a road that goes past it and the cars are probably about 50 yards away and he still does the same stuff if the cars were 5ft away. He normally walks well any of time but he still pulls.

Any advice to get him not to be afraid of cars would be WONDERFUL! (and advice to have him stop pulling, or what my dad says "he is walking you.")


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## Ozkar (Jul 4, 2011)

You need to relax. Increasing the tension and grip on the lead will send a message to pup that there is something to be fearful of, as mum has just pulled me in tighter. Just walk, ignore the bad, praise the good. He's only 6 months old, exposure and more exposure will get him out of it. Just be patient and persistent.


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## vicwineguy (Jan 27, 2012)

We had one that was afraid for quite a while. We walked miles down roads and walked in the direction so I was between him and the cars. It got better each outing but very slowly. Trucks, buses and motorcycles took a long time but eventually I could walk with him nearest the road and he seldom startled.


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## redbirddog (Apr 23, 2010)

http://redbirddog.blogspot.com/2009/06/importance-of-mastering-art-of-walk.html

http://redbirddog.blogspot.com/2010/12/i-walk-therefore-i-am.html

http://redbirddog.blogspot.com/2010/05/busy-city-street-walks.html

Look these posts over on redbirddog and see if there is something there you can use.

If you can for now go out and walk AWAY from traffic and people. Just the dog and you. Go on a LONG walk (2 hours +) somewhere where he can see nature and smell things and both of you can enjoy the walkng experience. If he keeps associating walking with tension on your part then why would he feel comfortable around things that are causing tension, i.e. cars and trucks?

You have to be the Alpha in your pack. Best way to establish this is by mastering the walk. You are the confident leader and your dog is the happy follower. If your pack dynamic stays that way the pup will grow into a confident happy dog.

Good luck and keep reading. It takes YEARS of study to think like a dog. It ain't easy. ???

RBD


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## Lindsey1420 (Jan 28, 2012)

Thanks for the advice thus far. 

To Ozkar:
I just recently within the last four walks started the tension thing. I read about it online. I think that is what is confusing when raising a dog. There is all this information and some say do this while others say do this. We have had Jack since he was 3 mos. I have been taking him for walks almost every day. (I live in the midwest and winters are bad. Although not as bad as normal this year.) He was so quick to learn others things I guess I thought walking would be easy too! 

I walk Jack with a harness, because he was pulling and was choking with the collar. I recently bought a headcollar. Do you think that would make a difference with the walks?


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## polkan (Dec 29, 2011)

It sounds like you may have a somewhat reactive dog that hasn't been taught an alternative to "flight response". 

A reactive dog would be constantly reacting (and, subsequently, over-reacting) to stimuli but not know how to _adapt_ to them and _cope_ with them; and a fearful dog would quickly graduate from freezing to fleeing something it considers dangerous, unless other behavior choices have been taught in a productive way. Petting a dog that freezes or tries to run away often reinforces the behavior.

A dog that's leashed and prevented from escaping in such situation is really only given two choices: attempt to run away but now at a cost of pain from leash pressure on the neck, or do nothing. But since it has become sensitized to cars, the "do nothing" isn't a real option to a dog that's aroused. That emotional state needs an outlet and "do nothing" literally does nothing.

In my opinion, you need to temporarily stop forcing the dog to tolerate cars. 

Instead, I would suggest the following plan:

1. Train the dog to give the attention to you, whenever you ask for it. It will be hard if you have a reactive dog that's habitually pulling on leashed walks and finds smells and novelty more interesting, but it can be done. At a very basic level, it means simply training the dog to look at you when you call its name, in increasingly distracting environments. When you have its attention, reward it and proceed with 2, but make sure you really have the dog look at you attentively first. It sounds easy but if a dog pulls on leash in a park, you'll see it takes some work. Simply rewarding the dog for looking at you is good enough and can be difficult depending on the dog's temperament and excitability when outside.

2. Train the dog to _hold_ the attention on you. This is the basic obedience training component. You train a dog to sit, stay, down and so on during walks and you reward it frequently with play (tugs, jumps, etc) and food. I would also consider using a longer line instead of a leash for this and, like with the 1 above, starting at low distraction places and gradually introducing distractions. Sit-stay should be especially focused on, because to execute a stay well a dog needs to learn to control its own impulse behavior. 

3. Once you feel you're able to control you dog's attention and are able to engage with it (basic obedience or short play breaks) in mildly distracting environments, you begin to train it to give the attention to you when there are cars at a distance. When you're able to have a dog come to you, sit and stay when it's aware of cars at a distance, you move to a new spot where cars are a little closer. And so on. If the dog suddenly goes back to old behavior, you've just reached a threshold, so you return to a previous spot and repeat there a couple of days. 

The goal is to obtain the dog's attention reliably whenever there is a negative arousal and then to offer the dog an alternative behavior, such as coming to you and sitting down, down stay or some sort of play. 

The same exact logic applies to anything else that a dog has become sensitive to and the most common problem is dogs are not taught a preferred alternative behavior - so an internal conflict is created whenever you force a dog to stop the behavior without channeling the arousal into something else.

Good luck!


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## Lindsey1420 (Jan 28, 2012)

Thanks Polkan for the advice. The 'come' command I am still working on. So I dont know how your advice will do without Jack having "come" down. I take him to my parents, who have lots of land, to practice "come" and it hasnt gone well. Just another issue I'm trying to work on. 

Thanks!


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## polkan (Dec 29, 2011)

Lindsey: Two more thoughts on your situation:

If a dog is reacting/over-reacting to a negative stimulus, the training to that stimulus has to fulfill two requirements: it has to be highly controlled (e.g. cars at a distance) and it must offer the dog a very consistent and reliably positive alternative (if I come to my owner and sit down, I get rewarded; if I try to run away, my neck hurts, etc). Trying this during regular walks, when cars drive by unpredictably breaks the first of the two principles and it will take a lot longer to convince the dog that your preferred alternative is consistent and reliable as a behavior choice when it's highly aroused.

If your dog doesn't yet come when called, my suggestion would be to focus on attention and obedience first. Do it indoors for a few days, then in the back yard and so on. But coming when called amid distractions is a bit like a graduation exam to then proceed to training against negative arousal.

Every dog has a unique temperament and neuro-biological predisposition to certain types of responses. If your god appears at times to be overexcited or overwhelmed by stimuli and have a somewhat cautious/nervous reaction to unfamiliar things, your number one goal is to train impulse control, in a positive and constructive way, followed by highly rewarding alternative behaviors in unfamiliar situations. 

Obedience training and holding the dog's attention reliably are the fundamentals to impulse control and confidence building.

Start slow, do short exercises and switch them constantly and don't be discouraged. 

Gun dogs are predisposed to high reactivity because they must be able to make quick decisions and react to stimuli overload in a split second when hunting.

Your dog is very young and if you grasp the overall approach and commit to it, you'll be surprised at how quickly you'll start to see progress.


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## threefsh (Apr 25, 2011)

Can you enlist a friend or family member's help in training him? I would take him out front and have someone drive by very slowly - while they are driving by give him a massive amount of small treats, one at a time. Repeat this a couple of times and see if that helps him to associate cars with good stuff.


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

This is my first post on the forum. I am owned by 2 vizslas and the caregiver of a 3rd one while my daughters away at college.
My daughters pup was scared of cars also. What I did was buy her a Dog Appeasing Pheromone collar to help with the anxiety on walks. Paid no attention when she acted scared on walks and made sure I kept her tail up. I would physically keep her tail up. At first I would walk one of the other dogs with her to help keep her mind off the cars. She still has a weary eye on passing cars but is not scared anymore and does not try to run from them.


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## jld640 (Sep 29, 2010)

Yes to all the great advice above. You can also do a couple of off-the-wall things to help if you make sure ahead of time they won't startle your dog. 

For parked cars - teach a command that says something can be explored without being a threat. I use checkitout. Savannah knows all the cars that are supposed to be on our street. A new car will almost always cause her to stare and occasionally give a soft woof. We walk over with the command 'checkitout' given in a happy voice. We also have to do this on windy days when the garbage can lids flap. Balloons tied to mailboxes require a 'checkitout'. And - believe it or not - when the pumpkins here started ripening last fall, we had to approach those scary big orange balls very carefully. 

For moving cars, as you are working on desensitizing her, you might also think about what you can do to show that you are relaxed. If you can keep control of her, you might try sitting down next to her and cheer softly as the car goes by...'yea car...good car...what a pretty car' - that kind of thing. I cheered garbage trucks for a while. No problems now, but at the time it was less than funny.


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## redbirddog (Apr 23, 2010)

> This is my first post on the forum. I am owned by 2 vizslas and the caregiver of a 3rd one while my daughters away at college.


Welcome TexasRed to the discussion. Lots of good folk from all over the world owned by their Vizslas.

RBD


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## Crazy Kian (Aug 10, 2009)

I was looking for a video online of the Dog Whisperer. He worked with the owners of a female V with pretty much the exact same problem.
I have narrowed it down to Season 4. The Vizsla's name is Ginger, so if you can find it online then it might be beneficial to watch and get some pointers.

Good luck.

Oh and if I find it I will post up for you.


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## Vizsla Baby (Nov 4, 2011)

Take along a big bag of treats and reward him whenever you see a car coming to distract him. After a while, he'll probably learn to "tune them out". 

Our Sadie is still afraid of lawn mower, blowers, etc. Don't know why, she just is. We haven't worked with her on it much because we just keep her inside when the yard work is being done (its safer for her anyway).

Good luck!


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## Linescreamer (Sep 28, 2010)

Ozkar said:


> You need to relax. Increasing the tension and grip on the lead will send a message to pup that there is something to be fearful of, as mum has just pulled me in tighter. Just walk, ignore the bad, praise the good. He's only 6 months old, exposure and more exposure will get him out of it. Just be patient and persistent.


Exactly. Be patient and work on it twice daily. Start in a parking lot next to a field with NO moving cars. Slowly move to a sidewalk or grassy area near a very slow moving road. In a month or so you will see a big improvement. All activities should be confidence building with MUCH praise!


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## Lindsey1420 (Jan 28, 2012)

Thank you all for all of the advice. 

I think I did miss lead about the tension on the leash or maybe "You need to relax." statement is getting to me. As we approach a park vehicle I make Jack stand next to it with me and in a soft, nice voice I say things like "its ok" "wont hurt you." And when he finally lets up I tell him "Good boy" I dont ever let Jack now that I'm 'stressed' or make the walks not enjoyable. 

Its funny though. He isnt scaried to get into the car at all!


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## littlelulu (Jun 21, 2011)

Lots of great advice here! My 2 year old V female, Lulu, has also been a bit nervous around fast moving vehicles lately. She’s a bit nervous in general and can also be leash-reactive around strange dogs and people so we do lots desensitization/counter-conditioning work which can be applied to any trigger/”scary” thing, as mentioned by others here. The best thing for Lulu’s edginess around traffic has been teaching her a good alternative behaviour that she can perform on the move (we run together a lot). For us, it’s a nose touch, which Lulu loves and has been heavily rewarded for during our agility work. It just involves her repeatedly bopping her nose against the palm of my hand. When I think she might be getting uncomfortable, I engage her in a little game of nose touches, saying in a fun, but relaxed tone “Can ya touch? Can ya touch?” and she bops away until I see her tail wagging. We probably look crazy to onlookers, but I got over that a while ago . It prevents her from fixating on anything and channels her nervous/aroused energy very well. The key is to play the game (or whatever you choose as your alternative behaviour) all the time and establish a happy connection to it before you use it in nerve wracking situations. I ask for nose touches all the time when we run or walk, not just when she’s nervous. The last thing you want is only to practice it when something scary is going to happen and have them conditioned to expect bad things when you ask for the behaviour. We use nose touches in play far more than in “scary” situations. As she matures, I’d like to transition to Lulu just focusing on me without the nose touches, but for her age/energy level/intensity level, actively doing something works better for her right now. Also, as far as traffic goes, I’ve found it easier to go against the direction of traffic and, as someone else mentioned, I try to keep myself between her and the vehicles. If somehow we end up with the traffic coming up behind us, she is much more nervous. I think she thinks the cars are chasing her or are going to “get” her . I’ve also found, like jld640, that “cheering” strange dogs, people and objects helps sometimes, too. Oh, the things we do for these dogs. Good luck! These things get better slowly, but they do get better!


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