chasing cars

*Caro said:
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.
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Caro, I think this is really interesting. Sounds like Bentley and Deska have similar issues. We've also worked with a trainer and tried what feels like everything to stop Bentley's herding. Sometimes it's cars, but it's more often bikes and motorcycles. We have just gotten to the point that we try to tire him out with other things and hope he doesn't do it again (and make sure we have him on a secure leash).
 
Ashley - I'm the same, keeping him busy and tired is where I am, and being very vigilant. I'm hoping increasing his drive will give him other outlets to tire him out. At least since putting on weight he finds it harder to catch the cars/bike/skateboarders... I even tried an electronic collar I was so desperate but he gets so pumped up he didnt even notice!

The vet behaviourist diagnosed the herding and I can't really say how she defined it - but it did seem obvious at the time. All I can say is its easier to tell when they actually manage to catch up to a car or bike. He isnt in to chasing things (like balls) and is content to leave things alone if they are still, but if something with a human (his flock) moves away from him he tries to run in front and circles it to stop it moving - he trots back proud as punch once he has stopped it! On lead he carries on like hes barking 'get back here right now!' Deska also didnt develop this behaviour until he was about 2yrs old. Tully on the other hand chased things as a youngster but was easily redirected.

I would suggest redirect Bailey's attention onto something else moving, like a ball, and crossing your fingers you can get her prey drive transferred onto something else!
 
UPDATE on this morning's walk.

I used two leashes. Her main leash was the snoot loop. I also put on her martingale collar as a back up. I'm sure it looked crazy to people walking on the street. A few people even back away assuming she was vicious.

At first she was great. Many cars drove passed us and she didn't react. I had her sit and wait at the intersection she had a problem with yesterday. She didn't react at all to the first car that passed us. The second car, she just looked at it for a second and then looked back at me. I click and treated and then we crossed the street. On one of the quieter blocks we walked down, a car passed and I saw her look and pick up her pace a little bit. Another car passed right after and Bailey started running. I immediately corrected her on the leash and firmly said "no!". After that she didn't look or run with another car again.

This is a problem that only started yesterday. She's 9 months old and I've had her since she was 10 weeks old. I live in a car driven neighborhood, so at a young age she was used to cars. I think the recent problem may be the rain. It started raining yesterday morning and is still raining today. The tires on the wet road are making a louder and more annoying sound than when the roads are dry.

I will continue to work with her and hopefully, the problem will resolve soon. Seems like we are already making progress. Thank you everyone, for all your advice. :biggrin2:
 
Hey Randi,

Are you finding these 8 and 9 month olds are super smart. Yes they are up to their teenage antics, but McKinley is catching on to commands lightning fast.

That whole man hole cover deal.....today we worked on it and he just said, oh you don't want me to bark and kill it for you? ok good deal I will ignore them then.

I have taught more things in the last 4 weeks then in the entire time of training.
 
RonandJan said:
Hey Randi,

Are you finding these 8 and 9 month olds are super smart. Yes they are up to their teenage antics, but McKinley is catching on to commands lightning fast.

That whole man hole cover deal.....today we worked on it and he just said, oh you don't want me to bark and kill it for you? ok good deal I will ignore them then.

I have taught more things in the last 4 weeks then in the entire time of training.
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hmmm interesting question. I haven't noticed any intelligence difference in Bailey. I was also unemployed when I first got her, so I was with her 24/7. Now that I'm working and spending less time with her each day, it actually takes me longer to train her. :(

I'm glad McKinley is getting over the man hole cover. Maybe he thought sheep were down there? :winkgrin:
 
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