[mjzrr22]

How do you train a 7 month old lab to walk on a leash when she is deathly afraid of cars and other noises? When you put a leash on her all she does is yelp and she won't move. She really needs to walk.

[MayfairLady]

I put my dog on the leash in the house and garden and just let it trail around after her for a while for her to start to get used to seeing it. Slowly built this up to walking her in the garden etc... it takes time and patience especially if your dog is nervous

[LankyMae]

Keep the leash on your dog all times till he/she gets used to it, and it will take patience for your dog to handle loud noises / cars.

[labman]

If she was OK earlier, it could be a temporary fear stage, and should go away. I doubt the problem is the leash, it is the traffic the leash soon leads to. Letting her drag it around in the house may do a little good, but likely not. Never leave a dog outside on a leash unattended. The dog could jump over something, snag the leash and strangle.

Find a place, maybe a park, where you can walk her away from traffic. After she becomes comfortable away from traffic, try to work her closer to it. Don't rush it, don't push her, and don't coddle her, that only rewards her for showing fear. Control your emotions, stress out over it and she will interpret it as from the traffic too. She may never fully accept traffic. If dogs aren't exposed to traffic and noise before they are 12 WEEKS old, they may never be comfortable around it. The dog guide school sends the puppies they breed to their puppy homes at 7 weeks with explicit instruction to immediately start exposing them to traffic. We don't start in town on the state highway where the big trucks are, but soon work up to it. My puppies get their first lesson on walking on leash the day I pick them at 7 weeks. When the paper work is finished up, I put the puppy down on leash and head for the door.

Better leadership would help too. The key to most behavior problems is approaching things using the dog's natural instincts. Dogs see all the people and dogs in the household as a pack with each having their own rank in the pack and a top dog. Life is much easier if the 2 legged pack members outrank the 4 legged ones. You can learn to play the role of top dog by reading some books or going to a good obedience class. A good obedience class or book is about you being top dog, not about rewarding standard commands with a treat. Start at Raising Your Dog with the Monks of New Skete For more on being top dog, see Establishing and Keeping Alpha Position, Letting your dog know you are the boss