Now that all of her puppy shots are done, Phoenix was able to start taking her first real walks last weekend. It has made such a huge difference in her level of calmness in the house. Playing in the yard was just not cutting it.

It has been so much fun getting her out to walk! We've been getting her out for about 20 minutes three times a day. She is really giddy on her first walk of the day, but she acts much better for her second and third walks. At first she was really spooked by faster moving traffic on the main road (which she is only on for a minute or two) but she has already gotten a lot less stressed after just a few days.

Her conformation training starts on Saturday. We can't wait! Just wanted to share.

Haha, I remember socializing my pup to traffic. He grew up in rural Oregon. I started taking him on public bus rides at like 3 months old.

Good luck with the conformation training.

Layla was the same way with traffic about that age. We have a good-sized driveway further back from the road but to get to the sidewalk we have to cross the street, and the road we live on often has large delivery trucks and semis going up and down it. She would freak out and refuse to cross the street or even go near the road for many months; I started to think she'd never be able to go down the driveway and cross the road and we'd have to drive her everywhere for walks/jogs. Luckily she grew out of it by about 5 or 6 months of age, and now only the really large vehicles like buses, delivery trucks and semis freak her out a little as they pass, not nearly as badly as they used to, though.

Good luck with conformation. Curious to learn how it goes. Keep us updated!

LOL, Jeff. For some silly reason, I never anticipated the traffic aspect. She tried to back out of her harness a few times, which was scary. I crouched down near her and encouraged her when big cars/trucks would race by. Now I just have to tell her "Good girl. It's just a truck," and she is much more calm than before. Although I think it is more about tone than the words. It would be incredibly difficult to acclimate them to traffic when you live in a rural area. I don't think we'd ever get off the bus if we tried that -- we barely make it half a block before everyone wants to stop and pet her.

That must have been really frustrating, Liz. I'm glad she grew out of that phase. It would be really annoying to have to drive somewhere to go for walks/jogs. I've noticed it's just the really big diesel trucks that bug her now, so I try to keep an ear out before they get too close, so I can talk her through it. I also choke up on the leash and get ready for an escape move on her part. I still don't think she is totally over it, so I don't want to grow complacent.

I'll keep you posted about her conformation training.

We carried Simon around everywhere before his shots were done and took lots of car rides so he got used to traffic before his shots where done. But the first time it was windy and the trash cans blew around he totally freaked out. Those first few walks are a lot of fun

I guess I got lucky, as Wolf has never had issues with loud noises, such as traffic. Even my motorcycle doesn't bother him; he just tilts his head in curiosity. I did, however, discover about a month ago that he had a fear of orange traffic cones. Wouldn't go near them, and was upset if I was by them. He's getting better, though. Being able to exercise them just makes a world of difference behavior wise. When Wolf broke his leg, that was a trial in patience.

Hi Elise,

We carried Phoenix around as long as we could, LOL, but she got big fast! She was just a few ounces shy of thirty pounds at her 16 week appointment for her third set of shots, so it was tough getting her out to socialize. She loves car rides, though. We haven't had any issues with trash can lids -- yet -- sounds like one more thing we need to keep an eye out for, haha!

LOL about the orange cones, Graham! That would be a sight to behold, I am sure! Sounds like Wolf was pretty acclimated to loud noises from a young age. I wish we'd thought of that sooner. You'd think our very loud kids would be enough, but alas -- me thinks we need a motorcycle!

There's a beautiful Pit Bull who walks around Seattle off leash with his owner all the time and he is constantly carrying an orange traffic cone. It's pretty amazing.