Will not get in the car,,,,,?aggression vs. Play

[CherylHampton]

Well its been awhile, Shiloh is fully recuperated and we are having some of the same issues. First he still will not attempt to get in the car on his own. I'm very tried everything. Bribery with treats, sitting on the opposite end of the seat, providing him an easy to climb ramp so he doesn't have to jump in.  If I get something he really likes, he will prop up on his hind legs and look in bursts that's it, boosting him in is virtually impossible as he weighs so much. He's fine while riding. No whimpers or car sickness, most of the time he sleeps. Any other ideas? Spring is here and I want him to fish with me, that being said the last time we went to the lake, somebody had a small pup 6 or 8 wks old off leash and it rushed Shiloh, barking andbnipping, shiloh WAS NOT happy. I had to pick the pup up as the lady with him just looked on. I can't say for sure what would have happened except Shiloh had his mouth open and looked like he was going to scoop the little guy up.  He has a strong prey drive, serious about chasing things smaller than him, I.e rabbits and baby goats.. He hasn't  been tempted with my neighbors chickens though, or the squirrels at my moms and she has an infestation of the little fur balls. Any help as always greatly appreciated. I want him with me wherever I go but he's topping 60lbs. and just turned 6months old. I can't keep pushing him in the car(he doesn't fight to keep from getting in) its just that for some reason as smart as he is, he just can't seem to figure it out. I'm sure Im not helping the situation by continuing to help him. 

[Adrienne]

Hi Cheryl, welcome back!

I was wondering how you guys were doing. Glad to hear that Shiloh is fully recuperating. 

Please refresh my memory, but if I recall well, the issue with going up the car started when he injured his leg? I did a search on your posts and read that a while back you stated " He loves to ride in the car but won't even try to get in himself . I've got a ramp that will make it quite easy even with his leg issue, and vet visits are often right now. " So if that's the case, I would make sure that you mention this to the vet, especially since it seems like he struggles with the going in the car more than the car ride itself. We want to just make sure he doesn't have any residual pain going on and whether he has the all clear for jumping up in the car regularly and that he has totally recovered from the injury.

It is hard to know exactly what may have gone through Shiloh's mind with the pup without seeing the interaciton. It could be simply that now that he is older, he was trying to correct the puppy for barking and nipping. Usually, older dogs correct young puppies using a little growl and their mouths to nudge them away, but it should be all ritualistic, meaning more noise than real harm. It could be that now that he is an adolescent (I am guessing he should be around 6-7 months now) he is starting to get a bit picky on what types of dogs to befriend. You can read about the adolescent stage here: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/survive-dogs-adolescent-stage/ In any case, I think you did good to intervene just in case. 

[CherylHampton]

Well he was cleared by the vet and seems to be completely healed, so glad! During his convalescence  he found lots of ways to occupy himself. He's so funny. As far as the car goes, nope, no progress there. Its not as if he has a long jump to get in. He's plenty tall enough, just doesn't wanna go.  As I said he's great once he's inside. I got him used to riding when he was a much smaller pup, going short distances and he will ride to my moms  almost two hrs.  away no problem. He doesn't seem stressed in any way, and now  that he's tall enough to sit and see out the windows he likes to sight see. If not he  naps. When I start to get him in the car he backs away sits down and leaves all the work to me. I have a back issue so he's got to get it together. He loves being at moms because she has great places to explore, its becoming a second home to him. I  have to go often so any further suggestions on getting him in the car with no physical strain on my part would be great! I will put them to immediate use as I have a couple of weeks before we need to load up again😊 as always thanks for your help. I read another post about barking while in the car, Shiloh still does that but he's mega excited when he does, I think he's just wanting out to play as he does the same thing when we come back fro a trip and he spots the neighbors dog. He can't wait to get out for a play date!

[Adrienne]

Hi Cheryl, 

Welcome back! I am glad that the vet has cleared Shiloh and reported him to be completely healed. I hope you still mentioned to your vet his persistent reluctance to jump just to make sure we have all basis covered since some types of fractures can take some time to heal and there may be some residual pain. Even if there is no pain, some dogs may still be a bit reluctant to jump as they may still remember the pain. I hope your vet did a final x-ray just to ensure it's all 100 percent OK.

If all is good, then we must troubleshoot why Shiloh is struggling so much with getting in the car. Here are few extra ideas:

- Refresh him on how to jump in. Since you have helped him often get in the car by being lifted him up, it could be simply just a matter of him having no clue how to get in without your help so he just stands there waiting for you. In such a case, you can made need to "re-set him" and try practicing getting him to jump up on cue on a blanket placed on the couch by patting the couch, aiming for a very fluent response that will make him jump up with little thinking involved. Then, you can move the blanket to the car's floor (move the seats so he has more room) and then finally if you wish, after he's on the car floor, you can practice placing the blanket on the car seat and prompt him to jump up. *Do this only after talking to your vet, because this requires repeated jumping. Here is a a more in-depth guide:

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

-Make the car the greatest thing. In this case, let's skip the bribing, as it could be that in the past you have showed him food to get and he may have associated with some pain upon getting up and senses the presentation of food as a trap. Let's instead increase motivation. Keep the car door open, grab his food bowl, and let him watch you prepare something really, really yummy (like low-sodium organic beef hot dogs or break up some chunks of cheese) and place it in the bowl and then place the bowl on the car sit. To make him even more motivated, place some toys he never gets up there too and then step aside, away from blocking the door. See whether he'll get in on his own. If he does, be ready to praise your dog and reward him with high-value treats in the car, but don't go on a car ride yet. You want to establish a foundation of trust by transforming the car into a great place. So repeat this scene severa l times. Aim to create a conditioned emotional response with the car. Here's what we're looking for:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/conditioned-emotional-response-cer/

Then once out he is out of the car, make all the fun things abruptly end. Things get ho-hum... boooring. You want to make the contrast really obvious so to make it crystal clear that great things happen only contingent upon being in the car. 

-Offer an intermediate help. Sometimes further baby steps may be needed if he was used to being lifted. As a a little extra encouragement, but without picking him up, you can try one of those harnesses that go around both the dog's chest and hips with handles on top. You still have to do some lifting, but it does make it a bit easier on your back. An example of these harnesses is the "Help em' up" harness. Make sure to always praise and reward, even when you have to lift him up into the car, once he's in. Have a family member feed treats every few minutes during the whole ride to keep those memories of being great being in the a car in his mind.

-Organize prior to meal-time. To make the treats extra appealing, you can schedule your training first thing in the morning before breakfast when your dog is on an empty stomach and therefore hungrier.

-Pretend to not bring him along.  Have a neighbor (or any helper)hold your dog on leash and have him watch you and other family members get in the car and start the engine acting as if leaving without him. Many dogs at this point, will jump in on their own in fear of being left behind. You can even try having a trustworthy doggy friend on one side of the seat that your dog goes bonkers playing with (borrowing your sister's dog?).

-Make Sure the Car is Comfortable Cars can get quite hot as spring and summer approach. Dogs who are anxious or excited about being in the car, easily overheat too. To help them, make sure to cool the car a bit before trying to get your dog in. Also, remove strong odors like car deodorants and air fresheners as this can be too much for dogs who have extra sensitive noses.

-Stay calm and keep your cool. Helping a dog get in the car whether he is afraid or not, will require a good level of patience and understanding. Getting angry, frustrated or impatient will only make matters worse, further convincing the dog that the whole process of getting in the car is unpleasant and worthy of avoiding. 

I hope you find some of these strategies helpful, baby steps! 

Happy training!

Best,

Adrienne

[CherylHampton]

Thanks for the advice! I had considered getting his friend Sophie in the car as he "lives" for his doggie play date with her. They are great friends. I will try x me of the other ideas as well. I may not have mentioned but its just Shiloh and me so we will work it out. (I hope😊) nope, we will as we have no other choice. Thanks again and maybe next time I will have better news. Shiloh has been such a joy and my mom(who's not opposed to dogs) just the associated germs, put on a pair of gloves to pet him when we were last down. Talk about hilarious! I'm going to post about his "stick habit" as there may be someone else with the same issue, though Shiloh can be quite unique with his eccentricities 😊

[Adrienne]

You are very welcome, keep me posted on how things go. Watch for even the smallest signs of progress when gauging what approach seems to work best, that will tell you which one is worthy to keep pursuing. I will be checking here to learn more about his new "stick habit" or you can post it as a new thread. Send pats to him for me. 

[CherylHampton]

Well Shiloh is still very reticent about getting in the car, sadly I had a bad fall and have been recouping myself so we weren't able to do some of the training. He is how ever showing more interest as he doesn't back away and make it quite as challenging. He will come up to the door sniff, sit then looknto me as if I should pick him up and put him inside. Its been a challenge as its just Shiloh and myself but we are working hard at it. He really is a good boy, and becoming a bit protective of me, though not in an aggressive way, he will charge and bark at nothing  looking all the world like he's simply on guard duty lol. He can be so funny sometimes. My being infirmed didn't do good things for his feelings regarding a leash, but he's coming around. We practice all his basic commands daily, as well as play time. I'm having to helicopter mom him though as he's become quite fond of chasing squirrels. The issue there is he actually caught one. Not a happy boy when I had to take it from him, he pouted a bit but is back on "watch" duty and takes his "job" seriously. As always thanks foe all your good advice and suggestions. Will keep you posted😊

[Adrienne]

Oh no, so sorry to hear about your fall! It's so unfortunate going through all these mishaps between Shiloh's fractured leg and now you. I see more interest and not backing away from the car as a positive sign. I really admire your determination in helping him out. Let's hope he forgets all about being picked up so he gets motivated enough to enter on his own. 

It's interesting to hear about him acting protective of you and charging and barking at nothing. Does this happen when he is in the home?

When taking something away from him, please be very cautious. I hope you had something extra valuable to trade the squirrel for so to not pave the path to resource guarding. I like to have super high-value things (like bully sticks)  always extra handy, so that I can grab them at a moment's notice to entice the dog to have it and then toss it past a door so that the dog drops whatever he has, heads past the door to get his trade and I can close the door and safely remove whatever the dog had. 

Keep me posted on how his training to get in the car goes!