Dogs and traffic

Hi

My English Bull Terrier doesn't like loud motorcycles, he stops and cowers.  I have found if you crouch down with one leg each side of him it calms him.  When he was a puppy I took him to dog training and the teacher suggested it as it makes the dog feel secure and protected.  May not work but got to be worth a try. 

Our last Border Collie was the same, and we tried all sorts to try to improve how she behaved but to no avail, is he from working stock?ours was, we were advised by a dog behaverist and a shepherd , that it was probably that she was trying to herd every thing in all other was she was wonder full but was not interested in toys or playing with balls, all she wanted to do is round up all the other dogs 

Ps she was a rescue

I think it takes a long time for young dogs to adapt to all the distractions they meet, especially in busy areas and anything with moving wheels. The best you can probably do is keep trying and reward the dog for good reactions.

One of our dogs was wary of traffic,so I found a busy road near us that there happened to be a bench near ,and just sat there and took no notice of my dog ,within a hour and a half she was just laying down and not bothered by the traffic ,obviously all dogs are different and need different methods.....

Thanks for the advice, I will give it a try. Bramble is from working stock so I know it could be an uphill task to get him used to traffic. He was terrible for pulling on the lead but that has now been sorted so fingers crossed we will eventually solve this other problem.

Have a read of 'Ceasers Way' he gives a good insight into the way dogs think, most importantly how they react to us and how our behaviours can contribute to how a dog behaves.

His writing style is a bit annoying at times but his methods are well regarded.

Glad you are having more success. Just out of curiosity, what method did you employ to stop the pulling on the lead?

We tried Bramble with an anti pull harness and it made a big difference. While he isn't perfect, he is still very easily distracted, it is a much better experience taking him for his walks.

Not being up to date with harness's, are they a lot different to choker collars that were used years ago and considered by some as cruel to the dog?

Have you tried clicker training?  I have heard great things about it. I think it works by you distracting the dog from the scary bit by clicking and rewarding at first, then you dispense with the treat and just do the click.  I have had friends use this method and its worked well for them in odd circumstances when they've been at the 'end of their tethers'.