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Blue has been with us for 2.5 months now. She is from rural Georgia and we live in a large town.
She is very fearful of city noises - buses, large crowds, the subway, any stairs or ramps leading down (up she will go, but reluctantly), large halls, corridors. She might stop dead/crouch reluctantly forward and/or shiver. She loves people but can get frantic around them (jumping, licking, getting real close physically with this nervous energy).
She is dry in the house, except for when some people come over (not all) or things get hairy with our kids (meaning when my husband or me raise our voices). She's been having accidents more often the past two days, and the only thing that has changed is that I am walking her to the busy town square and took her into the subway station for a brief moment (on my arms). She shivered through the experience and at times wouldn't even take treats. So clearly she was overwhelmed.
I know that the best way would be to keep the triggers low and a high intensity treat ready and expand on that. But how do I do that in city streets? A bus might come down the street we need to cross to get to the park.
Do I simply walk away when I see one to what I figure is a safe distance and reward with a treat? What do I start with? Should I work with her on this every day?
With our guests I have just started taking her out after they get here (about 15 min. into the visit) and then again just before they leave. It worked yesterday and she didn't pee anywhere. I also didn't have her with us the whole visit.
Do I stop having people over for a while, tone it down to a few but have those same people come often? Or just keep her separated in another room and only expose her to the guests for a little while?
Any advice would be appreciated. Including literature. I've read The cautious canine by McConnell but it is more geared towards dogs who are fearful of humans.
She is very fearful of city noises - buses, large crowds, the subway, any stairs or ramps leading down (up she will go, but reluctantly), large halls, corridors. She might stop dead/crouch reluctantly forward and/or shiver. She loves people but can get frantic around them (jumping, licking, getting real close physically with this nervous energy).
She is dry in the house, except for when some people come over (not all) or things get hairy with our kids (meaning when my husband or me raise our voices). She's been having accidents more often the past two days, and the only thing that has changed is that I am walking her to the busy town square and took her into the subway station for a brief moment (on my arms). She shivered through the experience and at times wouldn't even take treats. So clearly she was overwhelmed.
I know that the best way would be to keep the triggers low and a high intensity treat ready and expand on that. But how do I do that in city streets? A bus might come down the street we need to cross to get to the park.
Do I simply walk away when I see one to what I figure is a safe distance and reward with a treat? What do I start with? Should I work with her on this every day?
With our guests I have just started taking her out after they get here (about 15 min. into the visit) and then again just before they leave. It worked yesterday and she didn't pee anywhere. I also didn't have her with us the whole visit.
Do I stop having people over for a while, tone it down to a few but have those same people come often? Or just keep her separated in another room and only expose her to the guests for a little while?
Any advice would be appreciated. Including literature. I've read The cautious canine by McConnell but it is more geared towards dogs who are fearful of humans.