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Preventing riding in car issues


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I can't really give prevention advice (since I'm the one with the problem!), but I can summarize some of the mistakes I made and lessons I've learned.

 

1) Use a crate. I started with my dog in a crate, which he was totally happy with. At some point I stopped using it (MISTAKE!). Without the crate or any other type of restraining device, I lost the ability to control Finn's movements and his access and ability to self-reward by looking out the window and barking. I'm sure every dog doesn't need a crate, but I yield to others in how to prevent bad car behaviors without it.

 

2) Invest time in training for behavior you expect in the car; have patience, and go slowly. I just transitioned from Finn in a crate to Finn being free without any kind of behavior training (MISTAKE!) Since you can't enforce much while driving alone if your dog is loose, his small behavior problems quickly escalated. I imagine (others please chime in) that taking some time to teach him what I expected (down/stay, no barking) and rewarding those good behaviors early might have helped.

 

3) Acknowledge when something's not working, and seek other tools. As a new puppy owner, I ignored small warning signs (e.g., fixating on things out the window, low growling as they went by). I thought it was cute... (MISTAKE!). This should have triggered intervention (e.g., back in a covered crate), but I let it go on until it escalated into truly horrific behaviors, making it even harder to desensitize and re-train.

 

4) Know your dog. I *wanted* Finn to be a dog that can ride calmly, unrestrained in the back seat with no issues. But, that's not him, at least not yet. I wasted a lot of time trying to do desensitization work with too many variables in play (e.g., used a seatbelt and window shades, but Finn could still pace a little bit and look out the front window). With his sensitivity to visual stimuli, we have to use a covered crate. Our training progressed much faster once I based my training decisions on HIM, not myself.

 

There are many others here more wise than myself, so hope they can chip in!

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FinnDog - sounds like great advice. For the past 10 years, I have always used crates in the car (for the safety of the dog), but what you say sounds very logical - even for other behaviors. I see no reason to ever have to train a dog to ride free in the car because I Iike to have them in crates while in the car. Having said that, I have a truck in which I occasionally transport the 3 dogs for a short ride.They are in the back seat and ride (fairly) calmly -- younger one is still a little rambunctious, but if we travel on a road (vs. stop-and-go city traffic), he will lie down and relax.

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I just want to chime in. Pivo does not have riding in car issues. But, we've have had major bike/skateboard/motorcycle issues. Basically, all of the above mistakes were made by me when dealing with this issue. We now are working on two years of counter conditioning (and reading Controlled Unleashed as well as The Other End of the Leash) and ALMOST seeking professional help (which I still may do). The situation is MUCH better, but I could have saved myself a lot of work, time, and frustration if I had noticed these things and nipped them in the bud early.

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Thanks for the great ideas! Zag use to occasionally snap at the windows, but not anymore. He goes with my husband any time it is practical. If I got a dog that wasn't good in the car my husband would blame me. Not that anything bad would come of that, but I don't like to make him unhappy. He would probably be unhappy if I had to put a crate in the car, but I would just have to ignore him. :huh:

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I use crates for safety (dog and human, in a wreck dogs can become projectiles, hurting them and also you if hey hit you, also I know in a small wreck doors and windows can pop open or break allowing an otherwise unhurt dog to escape and be running loose). They are tied down in the car.

 

That said, we have had to ride loose on occasion due to riding in another car, or some other odd circumstance. The first dog I had ride in a crate exclusively completely freaked out and panicked being loose the first time we had to ride without a crate.

 

So I have always taken puppies on short, low speed rides with another human on a leash, or seatbelted in via harness, with an extra person available to help the dog be still and relax. Its just a "add to your life skills in a proactive way" training thing, like taking my puppies to spend the night in a hotel in the off season when we can get a room without adjoining rooms and not actually have a competition of any kind the next day. Do it when you can control the circumstances and create behavior expectations before you end up in a position where you have to do this and don't have the control.

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