Any tips for this? My Labrador puppy of 1 year and 2 months has been refusing to get into my car in the mornings and when he does, he refuses to get into my car from the park (so afternoons, too). I take him out twice a day for exercise, he gets a bone after and then falls asleep. He is getting his rest. No, I have not recently taken him to the vet. This winter especially he has been more stubborn on getting into my car. It seems he would rather walk around my house instead, smells something interesting but this is also coming from the dog park, he would rather stay much longer. This cannot always work the way he wants it to, though. I have tried tossing in treats, coaxing him, throwing in his favorite squeaky balls, getting gin the back seat myself to get him to come in. I do not know what on earth to do now. He is a family dog.
Re: Refusal to get into car WITH treats and toys? Hmmm :-\ I think I'd be tempted to try several random timed sessions of training out by the car - sit, stay, down, shake etc with a clicker....treating after each successful command....and then work on luring or shaping him into a "hop in" skill, with HIGH VALUE treats when he gets it right....practicing this new "hop in" skill at random times but ALWAYS with high value treats and do it many times throughout the day when you have no plans of going anywhere. Then toss in the occasional quick trip around the block, where he is rewarded famously for "hop in"...has a pleasant but quick trip, and then back out, with a couple more hop in/out times when you return. Getting him to see that hop in is a good thing, and sometimes will lead to good off lead walks, and sometimes will just be a quick trip to the store....will hopefully improve the reliability of him getting in when you need him too. Heidi & Bella an 18 week chocolate beast
Re: Refusal to get into car WITH treats and toys? I'm sure that is making life difficult at the moment!! What are you using to restrain him in the car? Has he ever been carsick?
Re: Refusal to get into car WITH treats and toys? We have this to some extent with Poppy... She doesn't like the boot of OH's car. She's fine with my car, and fine if she is getting into the back to sit on the seat. But if OH tries to get her to jump into his boot, she really doesn't want to. We think the reason is that when she was little, he shut the car door on her by accident... She wasn't hurt, but it gave her (and him) a nasty shock, and she's never been keen on his car since! For a while she got into a terrible tizzy about any car, and refused to get in at all. Like you, I tried everything - I fed her in the car, put toys in there, lured her in with treats, even got into the boot myself - all to know avail. I eventually read somewhere that this might actually be making the situation worse, and I decided to change my tactics. I just started to walk up to the car, BELIEVE she was going to get in, and said "hup". Blow me down if she didn't jump in! And it continues to work. I refuse to contemplate that she might refuse to get in, don't make a fuss, and just treat it like going through any other door. It works for us!
Re: Refusal to get into car WITH treats and toys? No, he is not car sick but really not fond of car rides. I have tried turning it into a game - giving him the command up and having him go in to get the treats and come back out. I noticed he has the fear that I will shut the car door and that he will be forced to endure the car ride to the park. The park isn't far at all - usualy 5-10 minutes. Of course, I do make some stops like my coffee drive thrus...but other than that... He is just SO reluctant to go in now that I do not know how else to exercise him outdoors. We cannot have our dogs off leash, unfortunately laws prevent us from doing so and careless drivers do not care who or what they run over.
Re: Refusal to get into car WITH treats and toys? What is his absolute FAVOURITE food? Roast chicken? Bits of smoked salmon?? I would try taking some and luring him in with that. Something really, really good he doesn't get at any other time, except in the car. Also, think back to what could be causing this. There must be some explanation (as with my Poppy).
Re: Refusal to get into car WITH treats and toys? Maybe some time of get in the car, treat - you join him in the car...treat....stay calm in the car...treat....get out on command....treat... rinse and repeat ad nauseum until he is not reactive to sitting in there with you.....and of course then work up to actually going somewhere. You may have to treat along the way too...keeping him calm and attentive. <shrug>
Re: Refusal to get into car WITH treats and toys? I've tried getting in the car, treat but...yes I was thinking about that as well, Karen..I started to analyze what could have gone wrong..perhaps I may need to wash my car and he doesn't like the smell that he made from taking him out too much (the car is filled with dog hair and some mud from his paws!)
Re: Refusal to get into car WITH treats and toys? I also wonder, in training, when is using a firm voice necessary? Sometimes...they tend to have a mind of their own, even with a desired treat! :/
Re: Refusal to get into car WITH treats and toys? OK, so this might be a stupid suggestion but just in case it helps... When Pongo was smaller, he happily jumped in the boot. Then he started to refuse. No apparent reason. Treats didn't work, begging didn't work. He'd put his paws up on the boot sill, but no way would he jump in. We finally figured it out: now that he is larger, the back seats of the car look too close to his nose as he jumps in (does that make sense?) so he feels like he is jumping at a wall that is going to smack him in the face. We folded one of the back seats down so it wasn't 'in his face' any more.... and hey presto, up he jumps happily into the boot. Is there any chance that your boy is in the same position?
Re: Refusal to get into car WITH treats and toys? [quote author=Oberon link=topic=9488.msg136811#msg136811 date=1421180404] What are you using to restrain him in the car? [/quote] Just wondering about this - how is he restrained? Where does he sit in the car?
Re: Refusal to get into car WITH treats and toys? Hi there! Well, I have a long leash and I let him sit in the back where its more spacious and i tie the leash onto the front seat car next to the drivers seat so he has room. He used to just sleep curled up in the front but now he goes to the back...I have noticed as of late, he goes from the front to the back of the car anxious for us to get down. I decided to play a game/mental exercise - wit a long leash, have one or two car doors open - give the command 'UP' of course..he will be reluctant, doubling back,etc. Toss in a different, higher value treat or make sure you keep a toy prior to the mental exercise so that when he gets in, he will have found the toy inside the car and associate new fun things with the car. So far, it is working and I was able to take him for a 30 min walk at a park to test it out yesterday...btu training takes time so I am taking my time on actually taking him out to a park. The dog park may be off limits for a while since its more stimulated, more interesting/distracting than the car. I think he associates going to the car with end of fun. Well!! How is that for re-assessing and analyzing the situation!?
Re: Refusal to get into car WITH treats and toys? I take it that we are talking about getting the dog into the boot of the car and if this is the case then there is an easy solution. Open the boot of the car, put the dog on the lead and get it to sit about 3-4 metres behind the car. Take the lead and run the dog at the boot and voila he will jump in; reward. Do this a few times until he gets the message, problem solved! Roger
Re: Refusal to get into car WITH treats and toys? Yes however, when I take him to an actual park, he would rather be at the park than get the incentive of a treat or new toy which i tried yesterday. I fear that if I take him to a park, I cannot trust he will go back and I stress over this. I then feel guilty that he isn't getting his exercise.
Re: Refusal to get into car WITH treats and toys? Homer started rolling on the ground wanting his tummy rubbed, sometimes for quite a while, before being enticed into the car. Sometimes simply refusing altogether and had to be lifted in. Our solution, we got a new car! - even though the new car is higher he jumps straight in every time. We neded to get a new car any way, not just because of the dog
Re: Refusal to get into car WITH treats and toys? [quote author=TigersMom link=topic=9488.msg139583#msg139583 date=1422218477] he would rather be at the park than get the incentive of a treat or new toy which i tried yesterday. I fear that if I take him to a park, I cannot trust he will go back and I stress over this. I then feel guilty that he isn't getting his exercise. [/quote] Can't you just put your dog on a lead and lift him into the car? Obviously, if he is so scared of the car this would be traumatic, then this is not an option, but if it's just a case of not wanting to go home...
Re: Refusal to get into car WITH treats and toys? [quote author=TigersMom link=topic=9488.msg139583#msg139583 date=1422218477] Yes however, when I take him to an actual park, he would rather be at the park than get the incentive of a treat or new toy which i tried yesterday. I fear that if I take him to a park, I cannot trust he will go back and I stress over this. I then feel guilty that he isn't getting his exercise. [/quote] I gave you the answer above!! Practice it at home before you go to the park. Roger
Well he refused to go in for 2 months of dealing with this until I got used two leashes - one on the collar and one on the harness incase he gets out of the collar and pretty much forced him in. That worked for several months until my mother loosened up his collar and he found he didn't have to go in. Now I do not have any other options to try. I've already tried giving him a calming aide, buying a spray as well but this did not work. Yesterday the only time he got up was when I put a new bone I bought him near the edge of the car seat - he hopped in only with two front paws enough to retrieve the bone and jumped immediately right out. Yes, it seems he is very fearful of the car. Any options? Also, it seems my mother seems to think not training him is fine...I'm just bummed that I can no longer take him places and our neighborhood is not safe.
