Northern Inuit scared of bikers - advice please!

Just been out for a walk with the dogs. Had to walk past a man in a motorbike helmet getting money from a cash point. We had to walk between him and his bike. Tymber our NI got really frightened and wouldn't walk passed. Eventually I managed to get him to move, but haven't experienced this with him before.

We have an organised bike night in the town soon and I was planning to take him. Not sure whether this would be a good idea or not. There will be hundreds of bikes and bikers. I don't want to make him any worse, but this could solve the problem if he realises there is nothing to worry about.

Any views?

How old is Tymber?

He is 1 yr old and we have only had him about three months - not sure if he had any problems previously???

If it was me I would make a point of taking him anywhere where there was a motorbike and asking the person if they would make a fuss of my dog and give treats etc. (You may end up with a dog that launches itself at all bikers in the hope of treats though ) then gradually do a lot of crossing of roads where there is really noisy traffic, in the end they just build up a tolerance to it.
I think the helmet scares them to be honest as well, as to a dog it must look really wierd, probably thinks aliens have landed!
I am lucky in that Eldest Son is a biker so they see and hear it all from a very early age as helmets and bikes are a frequent occurence when he comes over usually with friends.

TW - thanks for this. He is fine with all other traffic. Buses etc went passed today and there was no problem. I think it is the helmets that frighten him. I will take him to the bike night and get some of the bikers to give him a fuss.

Thanks

just be prepared to be towed down the road when he associates the helmets with treats and cuddles........
My girls adore Bikers because they think they are going to be played with for hours.

LOL... better that I think than him trying to pull off his lead in the opposite direction!!

Well you get some pretty strange reactions from perfect strangers when they are accosted by large dogs that look like wolves

Just my opinion, but I would never 'flood' a dog with whatever it might be nervous of. Introduce the feared object gradually and make sure that it is associated with Good Things.

Put me in a room with a hundred tarantulas and I would lose my mind

I agree with not flooding, often the dog can shut down and appear to be OK when in reality he is not. I do think though that perhaps being at a distance from the bikers and feeding tasty food treats (something really special, not winalot packet stuff but warm roast chicken) will help to gradually desensitise, then you gradually move closer (usually over a period of weeks not hours or days) and always work within the dog's comfort zone

Hope things get better, good luck to you