Suggestions Needed from you GREAT people!

Ok Kodee is 11 wks and by all accounts doing great in so many areas. Today she asked to go out every time! What a feeling to see her scratching and whining at the patio door - oh proud mommy here! Her food issues are solved (thank goodness) and her stools have firmed up with the added pumpkin, no more Purina Dental Chews and going 50 Innova puppy 50 Canidae. She sits on asking, adjusted to an xpen 3x a day and plays nicely in den or kitchen. This site gave me 2 ideas to try for her shoe biting habit (bitter apple on laces!) and using food infront of her to practise loose leash walking.

BUT, aint there always a but.... cars. She is terrified! Not to be in them but to see them. She loves to go out to the backyard on a line with me - so much she spents 3x, 45 min playing since today was sunny warm. But I have had her out to front walk on about 4 times. Each time she shakes and I mean really really shakes as she goes around the corner or through the front door before I even get her down. Then when down she starts frantically running here and there like a mad woman. If she hears a car (even off in the distance) she flips (I mean that literally, somersaults). I cant figure out what set this off! She is brave, daring and inquisitive everywhere else - not a shy puppy. I am not sure what to do? Ideas? Anyone else have this?

Alfie was very happy in the back garden but really scared in the street.
What I done was to carry Alfie around the street without putting him on the ground for a couple of weeks. Then they can get used to all the new noises but feel secure. I dont know if this was the correct thing to do but he is much better now. Kodee is still very young and doing so well that taking time over getting her used to traffic noises will be worth it. By the way forgot to say how gorgeous she is.

he is very young 11 weeks its quite normal for puppies to be afraid of loud noise ...the best thing to do is get him out there every day for a couple of times just 10 mins each go .....just let him wander on the lead and talk to him all the time he may not want to walk but thats ok even if he sits and listens you will soon find he gets used to it

I would suggest you start by being in the distance of cars just far enough away that she is relaxed, hold her if need be in the beginning and have planty of high value food rewards.
Very slowly and gradually decrease the distance so you are becoming closer to the cars, praising and praising all the time and dishing out the food. This may take days, weeks or even months. You may be able to take only a few steps in the cars direction each day or time you do the exercise but gradually she will learn to associate the cars with the positive food reward. Then you decrease the distance and maybe start to put her down but don't rush it or push her. This is pretty much the approach for anything the little ones are scared of it is just like a trust building exercise.

Hope this helps I am no expert, this is just what I would do.

Poor little love I remember Maxx being terrified of cars when he was a puppy too. You take it, they've been indoors protected from all these nasty things until now and I suppose a car to them would look like a jumbo jet screaching past to us :yikes - can you now see why she's scared?

I think you're doing the right thing in taking her out the backyard on a leash. When she cowers because of a car don't soothe her as this will reinforce the fear. Just try and distract her and make out there's nothing there to worry about.

She'll soon get used to the huge metal beasts, just whatever you do, don't soothe her - I know it's hard :?

If you get down on the floor, you can see how daunting everyday things can look, even to an adult dog. I would carry her near cars, not in a protective way,mearly to raise her level, so she can have a good look/sniff, wothout being overlooked by the monsters.

I remember Cassie was like this - she would physically shake when she was near the road. We used to hold her in our arms and walk along the road and she soon got used to the noise.

thanks you have all relaxed me. I was worried she was overkill in terror here as most puppies i have seen just lop along more interested in leaves than cars. I thought maybe I was doing something wrong. Good to know other puppies freak with cars early on too. I guess a daily peak out the front door is in order (hmm with a green bean since its her favourite)!

Do you think it's the noise that bothers her? Maybe you could get one of those desensitisation cds (or make one yourself- all you'd need would be a cassette tape recorder!- and accustom her to the sound of cars inside where she feels secure- ie, high value treats, start the sound very very quietly and work up. If you combined that with carrying her near roads that could help. How does she react to someone driving your own car? Is it one car or many cars roaring past that frighten her?

There are some positives to this too. I know cause Grace thinks cars are friends which is why we've got a nice fence she can't get out of. Make sure the noise doesn't scare her but the fear of being in the road could be a healthy fear as well. See if you can walk her on the sidewalk.

Actually she was way way better today! I opened the front door and let her decide if she wanted to go that way. She slowly went out onto the landing then the other step to the walk. The warmer weather we are having helped as she loves being outside in it. The first 2 cars she sort of looked at, then the third she did the somersault, twirling again and then jumped off the path to the driveway meaning to chase it. :yikes (well she was on a lead). Not that its good, but that is more her personality, tackle what your afraid of - so it told me she is coming to terms with it. This one will be a car chaser if I am not careful!