I have a 3 yr old yellow lab that I got from the humane society. Her family was moving and couldn't take her. She's pretty well behaved except in the car. When I brought her home, she never made a peep. Now she cries, barks, and acts very nervous. I don't even have to move the car before she starts. I have tried a new toy, an old toy, treats, bones, and gave up and used a shock collar in desperation. Nothing has worked. I'd love to take her with me but even going to the vet, she loves the vet, is a loud experience. It isn't traffic or people going by the car, it happens in the garage. My car is quiet but she isn't afraid of loud noises. I have taken her for short walks, had her go potty, and then sometimes she even goes in the car! Then when we get home, she won't get out of the car. I finally have to leave all of the doors open and she eventually gets out. I don't know what to do next. Any suggestions?
Please, don't ever use a shock collar again on any dog. They are cruel and unnecessary. Start with very short periods(less than a minute) in the car, stationary. Lots of treats. Gradually increase the time in the car. Try feeding her in the car to make the car a good place to be.
https://thelabradorforum.com/threads/pup-does-not-like-the-car.22457/#post-344195 This links to a thread on puppies who hate the car and it strikes me that your dog is in a similar position to a puppy, although she’s three. She’s had a big upset in her life and needs lots of patience and gentle care. I’m sure by associating being in the car with delicious treats and very slowly extending the time that your lovely girl will gradually become desensitised to it.
Thank you for your advice. I will definitely try this. She's such a good friend and I'd like to take her with me.
I think you need to get out of your head that she is misbehaving. She isn't. She's obviously distressed for some reason. Using a shock collar will just exacerbate this distress, even if it covers up the symptoms, you won't be addressing the cause. This is the problem with using positive punishment to solve behaviour issues; you might have perceived success if the behaviour stops but, if you haven't addressed the root cause then you haven't helped your dog cope and you're more likely to find that other problem behaviours surface. It has been shown that there is a significant link between using positive punishment and dogs starting to show aggressive tendencies, often towards their owners. Instead, you need to work on changing her emotional response. If it's distress (which it sounds like it is since she's evacuating in the car), she needs to learn that the car is a good and safe place to be and that good things come from travelling in it. If it's excitement, you need to train calmness in the car. The approach can be similar in both situations; feeding for calmness will help her be calm and relaxed. You need to do this very slowly, at a pace she is comfortable with. Don't try to force it and give up on the idea of taking her out for drives for now. Make all interactions with the car short and wholly positive. Feed her her meals in the car then take her out again straight away. She can learn that the car is a good place to be in time, but if you force it, you will likely make it worse. Can I ask how she travels? Is she in a crate, on the back seat, behind a guard?
She is in the back seat. I have thought of a harness thinking she would feel more secure if she had a padded harness and secured to the seat but I haven't found one that looks comfortable for her. Got any suggestions?
I have used the Allsafe car harness in the past but if I were buying one now, I'd probably go with one of the Sleepypod Clickit harnesses: http://sleepypod.com/ That aside, your goal is to change her emotional response to the car and that will take time, as I said above. The harness will not cure this, even if it does help. You need to take the desensitisation training really slowly, because every time she has a bad experience it just compounds her feelings that the car is a scary place to be. You have to change those feelings to get her to believe the car is a GREAT place to be.
As @snowbunny says desensitisation needs to be very slow with no new steps forward until she is 100% happy and relaxed. I would also add a note of caution that due to her recent experiences, particularly with the shock collar, she may never come around to the car is a great place to be.
This makes perfect sense to me and we will start as soon as possible. She is so eager to please and quite smart, I'm hoping she'll come around eventually. Thank you so much for the harness recommendation. I really don't like her not secured in the back seat. I will let you know how things are going. Tika
We're going to have to work very gently and slowly. Thank you so much for the advice. Since I didn't use the shock collar very often, I'm hoping she'll come around. She's eager to please, loving and smart so maybe we'll be ok. I'll keep you informed on her progress as we go. Thank you so much. We do have to wait til it warms up a bit. I'm anxious to start.
No time like the present . You could just practice in and out of the calm and reward for calm getting in and out of the car . Only need 1 or 2 repetitions in a day to start making a difference
