Iris the Short Haired Pointer

Resolving Fear of Traffic with Iris the Short Haired Pointer

Today we were over in Whitley Bay to see Iris for her first session.

Iris is a very friendly GSP who is terrified of traffic from the moment she leaves the garden. Straight away her body posture is low, she pulls on the lead, licks her lips a lot, and tucks her tail.

Once she’s away from traffic her body language returns to normal, however she is very distracted by most things.

Iris also has very little focus on her guardians, she will run off and only come back when she feels like it, she’s a hunter and loves a good sniff.

We started by working on eye contact, but she really struggled with the pressure of this, so we made it easier and eventually got it, from there we were able to teach her a lovely focussed heel and then we started rewarding her check-ins to build foundations on recall.

Nb. These are the same games from our loose leash legends and rapid recall courses if you wondered where you could learn this too!

By the end of the session, she wouldn’t leave our side.

Focus and engagement are important foundations for working with fear and anxiety, I compare it to going to a therapist while you have headphones in. If your dog isn’t on board, then you’re not working as a team, and if you’re not working as a team then you’re only left with the option to punish dogs - which is the last thing we want or need to do.

Iris did awesome for her first session and will spend the next week playing super fun games to build engagement.

Well done Iris and co, you’ll smash this in no time

If this case sounds like your dog and you are having a similar issue, or a different issue entirely, book a FREE assessment call with us by clicking HERE.