chasing cars

[SheltieChe]

we have been going to the busy street and have certain amount of dry kibble hand feed while watching the cars. Che is much more responsive now to me and has developed pattern when he see a car he turns toward me looking for treat. He never lunged at cars but he was anxious and pulled his leash and generally was no fun to walk..
I know what you say about teaching everything at once, we have been doing the same, obedience, leash training, started agilitly basics but this is life and I do not think choosing a specific command a day will be way to go

 

[RonandJan]

Maybe try and sit somewhere where cars are passing and do no other training but that. We walk back streets to the post everyday, not many cars, but then MMM and I wait outside the post on a busy street and I let him watch the cars go by and have let him know that vehicles are absolutely NO.....no attacking....no barking....no chasing....no twirling.....JUST PLAIN NO!

...........now if I could just get him to stop ATTACKING, BARKING, AND TWIRLING at the man hole covers...........they are such evil things, you know..............*sigh*:sadsmile:

 

[clancyh8sabby]

My Abby will chase cars when she is loose in a fenced yard and a car goes by..but when on leash and a car passes us..she doesn't react at all...strange..
Clancy could care less about them except for extra loud ones..then he must tell them to go away..LOL

My two ding bats react to other dogs...at first I did the sit and look at me thing...kinda worked...Then I switched to click and treating them for looking at the dog and not going ape sh*t...works alot better...Now they look at the dog coming then look to me...its not perfect by any means!! Theres some dogs that just set them off...I'm sure I will have to start all over again after their long stay with Grandma...

About the training several things at once...As long as you are consistent with it and your timing is good...I think it will be ok...and if you also work on things seperately at quiet times...

I wouldn't avoid walking where there might cars going by...I think the more exposure the better...try to make alot more positive experiences with it as possible. Maybe if you can stay a distance from the road..where your dog can see the cars but doesn't react..then work up to getting closer.

woofs

Julie

 

[take4roll10]

Maybe try and sit somewhere where cars are passing and do no other training but that. We walk back streets to the post everyday, not many cars, but then MMM and I wait outside the post on a busy street and I let him watch the cars go by and have let him know that vehicles are absolutely NO.....no attacking....no barking....no chasing....no twirling.....JUST PLAIN NO!

...........now if I could just get him to stop ATTACKING, BARKING, AND TWIRLING at the man hole covers...........they are such evil things, you know..............*sigh*:sadsmile:

I used to have her sit in front of my house and watch the cars when she was younger. The thing is she doesn't chase cars when we are just walking on the side walk and a car passes by. That would be insane because a car passes by every second.
She only did it when we were waiting off the side walk, in the street for a car to pass, so we could cross. When a car passed near her, she started to chase it. So tomorrow, I'm going to go to the same spot and make her sit and wait. If she reacts then I will give her a firm "no". We will wait until she doesn't react, then I'll give her a treat and we can cross the street.

 

[Megansmom]

Bailey is not alone in her hot pursuit of chasing cars , Megan does it too!! I thought we had it "fixed", but today she proved me wrong . What I have doing is walking her on a harness and leash, when she goes to bark and chase, I have her sit down and regroup..Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. When she sits politely, I praise her than we keep going. She also pulls me like a mad woman while we're walking, same thing, make her sit and regroup. Boy oh boy, am I doing this right???

 

[BethH]

...........now if I could just get him to stop ATTACKING, BARKING, AND TWIRLING at the man hole covers...........they are such evil things, you know..............*sigh*:sadsmile:

He hasnt been watching the "Stephen King Movie: IT" has he?

 

[Megansmom]

I have to disagree with the harness over a collar. As I wrote in another thread a while back, friends lost a sheltie that got scared and backed out of a harness. Also, you want to be able to control the head of the dog first, not the body first. For me, and everyone is different, I train this behaviour just like I would a child. This is a stong "NO" and turn them away, and put them in a focused sit. Then praise. Barking and lunging at cars is non-negotiable.

I agree with the logic of control the head, not the body, but when I walk Megan on a collar/leash and not a harness, she chokes herself and hacks. I totally 110% agree that safety is completely non-negotiable, but how do get the pup to not chase/lunge/run after a car without her choking herself?

 

[BarbV]

I would:

- get a martingale (doesn't have to be from my FAV company! ) and make sure it's adjusted correctly
- practice sitting on a bench with pup at your side watching traffic go by. Reward calmness and "watch me".
- when walking, if a car is approaching, put dog in a "sit" and "watch me"
- eventually move to just a "watch me" while dog trots beside you.
- and finally, perfect your recall - this is probably the most important.

I agree that a dog lunging at a car is the biggest worry we all have....what if they actually do get loose!

 

[Caro]

Oh dear, I know all too much about car chasing. Spent quite a bit on behaviour consults over this.

If she is attracted to the movement then she can be redirected, if she is trying to herd, no cure. Tully has high drive and I successfully redirected her, Deska its herding instinct and the behaviourist said it isnt really curable.

Firstly, DONT TREAT! I made the mistake of doing this and was told by the vet behaviourist this is the absolutely wrong thing to do let a dog who is already excited by cars to then teach them to associate a treat with cars!

Secondly, definately a harness, and if it becomes too much a problem, the snoot loop as well. It is best to double lead them. We had a big discussion at the dog club recently over this. A dog that is lunging with a nose collar can do damage to their neck, so its best to also attach the lead to a harness or neck collar as well. At any rate, when Deska was reacting to cars on walks I used a gentle leader, but also had the harness on because I knew he would try to herd them and he can get out of a gentle leader.

Work out what distance she starts focusing on the movement and just before that point you can try redirecting her focus. You could just do obedience commands or, what I did with Tully was to throw a ball when it was safe, and if it wasnt then get the ball out and wave it in front of her - the promise of a ball was often enough. If you cant throw a ball, then bounce it on the ground or get a ball on a rope.

Tully only occassionally lunges at a car or cyclist now - when she is overexcited or hasnt had enough ball chasing. For her chasing something else satisfies her drive. Poor Deska though, he has a burning desire to herd moving things with people in/on them, I have tried 3 behaviourists so far and am yet to find a cure. It is really hard to override instinct if they dont also have a high drive. ATM I am working on Deska's drive, and plan to take him herding in winter.

 

[take4roll10]

Great advice caro! How can I tell if she is trying to herd the car or just attracted to the movement? Whats the difference?