Dog terrified by sudden noises.

[ancientbuchanan]

A motor bike accelerating, a train, a lorry backfiring, and he's off. Today he was in the car, safe place, and a large lorry went down the hill with its hydraulic brakes making a sudden swooshing sound. If he could have run, he would have.

What do we do? I don't want to keep him on the lead all the time.

You might have to keep him on a lead I'm afraid.

Best thing would be to lead by example, ie not make a fuss of him if he starts to act up. Speak calmly to him and show him there is nothing to worry about.

Maybe a food treat for calm behavior so he concentrates on you rather than what is going on around him.

How old is he?

Try agility training. I know it sounds totally off the wall, but with our higly strung dog it really has helped her learn to concentrate on us, feel safer in unusual environments and we have plenty of play/tricks that she can do to take her mind off something that bothers her. Hasn't cured her, she is still a lead dog, but she is much much calmer.

Could be a sign of prior abuse, you'll need to keep him calm and establish some trust. Might take a while but I'm sure over time he will be OK.

Good luck :) Also, how old is your dog?

He's 3. He has been with us since 5 months. JRT.

This noise thing is quite recent, over the last year.

Needs lots and lots of security. Vet calls him a worrywort.

There are dog desensitising sound clips on YouTube, like other dogs barking, cats, cars, home appliances. Each lasting an hour. Maybe worth playing these while you play with the dog and training him. Increase the volume over time.

Good idea.

I took him into a park today and four trains went by. He was uncertain but coped, checking to see I was around.

It's the sudden sounds. Let's hope YouTube has backfiring cars, motor cycles etc.