Our dog has developed a fear of traffic. Since we live on a busy street, this is a problem. It all started when he was crossing the street with Carmen and a car went through the red light without even slowing, passing less than a metre in front of him and smashing into the side of another car just a couple of metres away. After that he wouldn't cross the street at that intersection, which is sort of understandable, but his fear quickly grew so that he would freeze up walking on the footpath beside a busy road. Did I mention that we live on a busy road?
Naturally I searched my blogroll for the solution and found this Brad Delong post---the answer is dog treats. Bribe him with yummy food and he'll forget about being being afraid. So I buy some Schmackos Bacon Bitz ("Dogs go wacko over Schmackos" it says on the bag.) I try bribing the dog. I let him smell the treat and stand five metres down the street and offer it to him. He comes forward and takes the treat. Success! Then he spits out the treat. Now this dog will eat anything vaguely foodlike and some things that aren't even food. But he won't eat these stupid Schmackos treats. They are the first things we have discovered that he won't eat. If you have a suggestion for a dog treat we could try, please leave a comment.
PS We don't actually know what breed he is, but the most popular theory is that he is a Great Dane/Bull Mastiff cross.
I don't know if they have these outside of the US, but we use "Pup-peroni" (Pep up your pooch with Pup-peroni - now with 10% more meat). They are the best smelling dog treat ever. One day I will have to eat one because my mouth waters when I pull one out of the bag.
Maybe you should get the dog used to eating the treats first before trying to bribe him to walk down the street. He might be too nervous to eat, and then he'll associate the taste of the treat with the fear he experiences from being near the road.
Little bits of chopped up hotdogs kept in a plastic bag are my pups' treat of choice.
How big is silas? He looks rather like a Catahoula (http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/catahoula.htm), which I'd find odd outside of the US South East. But it would mean he has a predispostion to catching hogs and maybe some hunting.
Silas is about 40kg and 69cm tall. Folks here breed Great Dane Bull Mastiff crosses for pig hunting. These dogs look rather like him. He certainly enjoys chasing rabbits in the park.
Damn you and your metric system, i had to look that up! Most hog dogs make excellent pets. I have an American Bulldog (similar musculature to the dogs in the link you listed). In the pic you posted, your dog looks thin compared to those hounds.
Yes, I think the ones in the pictures look a bit more muscular, but he could be the runt who didn't make it as a pig hunter.
Anyway, I bought some 4Legs Home Cooked Fresh Dog Food Chicken and Pasta, warmed it to blood temperature and it worked a treat. We didn't make it all the way to the Intersection of Fear before I ran out of food, but we went most of the way and he didn't freeze up coming home. He's lying at my feet stuffed full of treats as I type this, with a rejected Bacon Bitz in front of him. I'm thinking I could attach the Bacon Bitz to things I don't want him to eat.
Oh well, I haven't hit rock bottom yet-that comes when you post pictures of your pets on your blog.
Funny man.