Refusal to get into the car.

[JudyCollins]

Hi Adrienne

My 5 month old English Springer Spaniel weighs 16kg so is too heavy for me to lift into the car. He can jump in easily when he wants to, but often refuses, going away and lying down, making it impossible for me to even put his front paws up on the step so that I can lift up his bottom to get him up, (which is what I sometimes have to resort to doing). He doesn't mind travelling in the car and will lie happily in his crate for a 4 hour trip. I have even tried a harness instead of the crate but it makes no difference.

We only get in the car for things he LOVES doing, like going to the park or the beach or over to my sisters house where he plays with HIS sister. I have just been changing my plans and staying home so he misses out on his exercise. That doesn't seem to worry him, he goes back inside quite happily. However, now he has started doing it on my return from the park. He will jump in initially but refuses to come home. Then I am stuck! I have hurt my back trying to lift him so that is now out of the question. I have tried luring him with treats and with toys, which works sometimes but not always. Once a stranger helped me to lift him into the car. I am getting afraid to take him out at all.

I did consider getting a ramp but I don't think its the physical act of getting into the car that is the problem - he is just very stubborn and doesn't want to!! Any ideas? Should I just take a book and wait him out?

[Adrienne]

Hi Judy, 

If he is going to all these great places and is happy to come back home, I don't see why he would decide to turn stubborn for no rhyme nor reason and refuse to get in the car. I suspect there may be more to it. 

It may be that there's some component of the going in the car that he's not totally comfortable with. It could be he doesn't like to be lifted (as they get heavier it's easy to struggle with it and they sense it) or maybe isn't 100 percent comfortable with you placing his front paws on the step or lifting his bottom up. It could also be he didn't like that stranger lifting him up that one time. Or maybe one time he slipped a bit or wiggled a lot and didn't feel his body much supported and that was perceived as frightening. I know dogs who cringe and play hard to being picked up just because of their bodies not being well supported and them fearing it. Anything that may look quite irrelevant to us, can be quite a big deal with some dogs. And springer spaniels in general are quite sensitive dogs overall, so chances are, some component of getting in the car he isn't too OK of. 

I think it may help to increase his confidence into willingly jumping in the car so that you don't have to help him in. You can try following the steps outlined in the below article by practicing with a couch at first and then progressing to teaching him to jump on the floor of the car (move the seats back for extra room) rather than the actual seat.  I always recommend checking with a vet should the dog have some type of pain or orthopedic issue that may impede them from jumping up comfortably. 

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/fear-getting-car/

Other strategies that come to mind is having a helper hold him on the leash while you open the car door and place something your dog really loves and that he doesn't get often to tempt him. Then have the helper see if he would willingly jump in the car. If he doesn't, then you can start the car engine, and give him another opportunity, and then just leave with the car (even just a ride around the block) to teach him that he has lost a great opportunity. 

Then, you can rinse and repeat and try again, to see if he has learned his lesson. This strategy is similar to what many people do with dogs who refuse eating their meals due to being finicky. They'll place the food bowl down and if the dog doesn't eat within a few minutes, the food bowl is removed, and only offered again at next meal time. Rep after rep, the dog gets hungrier and learns to seize the moment and eat so to not deal with another lost opportunity. 

If you go to your sister's house, you can also try to use her dog as an example if she jumps enthusiastically in the car. Let him watch her with what ease she jumps in and out with no problems.  Many dogs learn best by watching other dogs. 

When you arrive home, if possible, you can try parking your car in your garage and then get out of the car and see if he'll jump out to follow you voluntarily inside the home.  No dogs like to be left alone, so he'll likely gain the courage to jump out. 

Always be ready to praise and reward for showing signs of confidence, no matter how small. These dogs need every ounce of encouragement.

Keep me posted on how things go, we can always do more troubleshooting if he's still struggling.

 

 

[JudyCollins]

Thanks Adrienne

I did get a few useful things out of your comments. One was to praise and reward him when he does jump into the car on his own. Funny I didn't even think to do that as I always reward him for other behaviours that I want. 

Secondly to move the front seat forward to give him more room and thirdly to try putting his blanket in the car. I will definitely try all those suggestions. Such common sense really, I don't know why I didn't think of them myself!

I don't know that I need to train him to jump up, as he jumps up on the couch with no problem at all. I only ask him to jump onto the base of the car, not the seat. My sister's dog is a female and much smaller than he is so I'm not sure she would be keen to do it (my car is a Prado) but Banjo really has no problem when he wants to get in. Getting out is no problem at all. In fact I have to stop him from jumping down straight from the seat as I am worried that such a big jump will not be good for his joints. I try to get him onto the base of the car first, or at least to use the step.

I will try those things you suggest and let you know how we get on.

Thanks again for your advice. You have helped me so many times!

 

[Adrienne]

You are very welcome!

I looked up the model of the car and it looks a bit high. I think some dogs struggle a bit also getting enough momentum to jump in and may not be comfortable if we are a bit in the way or interfering.  With some hesitant dogs, I sometimes find that staying a bit behind them while holding them by collar a bit at a distance from the car and preventing them to jump in while a helper opens the door.  This may build enough motivation for them to go in quickly once I release them. I like to say "up up!" excitedly as they go up so to associate the act of going up with the verbal cue which can come handy in the future. Of course, this may work well only with dogs we trust and know won't escape and go elsewhere when we release that collar!

Keep me posted on how things go, and we can always do more troubleshooting if he's still struggling. 

[JudyCollins]

Thanks Adrienne. I'll give it a try. I don't think the car is too high for him though as he has no trouble getting in when he wants to. This morning was good, I moved the front seat forward and I remembered to reward him for jumping in on his own. 🤞

[Adrienne]

That's great! Thanks for the update.

Keep it up!

 

[JudyCollins]

Hi Adrienne

I am very happy to report that my Springer pup is now jumping into the car with no help from me, nearly every time I want him to. I think tilting the seat forward made all the difference! I had always slid the seat forward to give him more room but since I started to also tilt the passenger seat forward,  I have had no more problems with refusal. I am also more careful to keep his play sessions a bit shorter so that he is not so tired as I think that used to be part of the problem when coming back from the park 

Thanks so much for your help.

Regards

Judy

[Adrienne]

Awesome! Keep praising just in case, to keep him motivated and reward as needed just to keep him motivated and boost his confidence.  

[JudyCollins]

Will do. Thanks for the reminder!

[Adrienne]

You're very welcome!

Best,

Adrienne