22 replies to this topic

[Root Beer]

Well Brock is still very young, 15 weeks on Wednesday. I tried the 'look at me' along with treats and he did very well. Even worked on some basic commands and he kept his focus on me. He's extremely food motivated (almost to a fault lol) so if I have treats his eyes are on me!

"Look at me" is a good way to start, but it won't help him when you are not present, nor when you don't have treats on you.

If you want to create a different response to cars - being aware of them, not interested in chasing, not triggered by them, etc. - you will eventually need to move past "look at me". This is possible to do using treats or other reinforcers (and that is my own choice when creating a good awareness of cars, while teaching the dog to stay in his or her right mind around them), but it does mean eventually building on the foundation that you are setting now.

[Root Beer]

Thanks kristine for editing your post. I see you were trying to appease me and I appreciate the effort. I've been a bit sensitive in the last few days dealing with Jazz and her passing.

I can understand that very well. I am very, very sorry for your loss. There are just no words . . .

What I originally posted was meant to be like what Gloria has posted. I've seen first hand the tragedy that comes from car chasing. It is dangerous for sure and I agree with whoever said I want my dogs wary of cars not just not chasing them.

And that is one option, for those who choose to go that way. I do choose to handle this a bit differently. My goal is a dog who is aware of cars and knows to avoid them, but out of knowledge, not wariness.

Since I train on the road a good bit, and sometimes cars and other vehicles come flying by, it is important that my dogs know to avoid the cars. I do this using reinforcement just like everything else, and the dog having an awareness of cars and an understanding to stay out of their way is certainly a part of the finished picture.

I think some people - not you - get the impression that because some people use treats or other reinforcers to teach the dog to be calm and aware around cars that the dog ends up with no understanding of boundaries and how to stay safe. And that isn't the case.

Obviously, this isn't everyone's choice, but for those who prefer to handle things this way, there are options that a lot of people simply don't know about. And I hope that changes someday and that people who are dealing with these kinds of training issues for the first time will find it easier to know that these options exist.

[Sue R]

There's been a lot of good advice given here, differing approaches (and, depending on the person, the dog, and the circumstance, someone may find one approach to work better than another), and lots of hope that you will get this under control soon.

Best wishes!