I have a toy poodle, and he is very energetic. He goes on an off-lead walk around a quiet countryside area - lots of long grass to run through and a pond to paddle in. It's a short trail, and I go in the evenings after work with him. My only concern is it's very quiet there - most of the time there is only one or two other dogs and they are off in the distance.
I have also been trying to walk him around our neighbourhood in the mornings to get him exposed to more things but it's a disaster! He has been walked around the neighbourhood since he was 10 weeks old (in my arms) at quiet times, so he has been exposed to all the sights and noises regularly, but he just seems very agitated. He will be ok with cars but then one will be too noisy or just be the trigger and he will lunge towards it. Even though he's tiny and easy to hold him back, it's really scary. I always make sure we're far back from the road, with usually a grass verge in between but it's not always possible. Then after that there'll be a bike on the path coming towards us, then a child on a scooter. It just feels constant. This is at 7:30 in the morning, so not peak rush hour or school run time.
I'm really not sure what to do. I don't want to only take him on quiet countryside walks as surely I'm meant to be continuing to expose him to things like cars and bikes? But it's not enjoyable at all and I don't want to cause more damage. I'm thinking of replacing the morning walk with just sitting on my driveway, there's enough going on that he'll hear and see things but from a distance. Does that sound like a good idea? Is there anything else I should do? I'm worried I've misesd the window of socialisation, even though he has been socialised with these things gently and regularly since I got him at 10 weeks old, with the support of a trainer...