Traffic phobia

Question
I have a 7 month old Bulldog who is gradually becoming more frightened of
traffic rather than more used to it. She has never really like passing traffic but
up until now has only stopped and stood still whenever a car passed.  For
some reason, over the last couple of weeks she has started to 'freak' when a
car goes past and tries to run away which just ends up with her thrashing
around on her leash.  It is horrid to see her so frightened but I resist
consoling her and just try to keep walking.  What more can I do?

Answer
Belinda, does it matter whether the cars are approaching from the front or from behind you? What kind of collar are you walking her on? What do you do when you know a car is approaching?

Some puppies go through several so-called 'fear periods' where they are suddenly skittish of things they have never been afraid of before. It could be that your puppy is going through one of these periods. One thing you could do would be to stop walking her where there is traffic, for a month or so, and then try again. During these fear periods, ANYTHING that the dog considers to be a traumatic experience can have lifelong effects.