Getting over fear of car

FluffyHugs

I am so excited that my dog is on day 5 of her rehabilitation!

I have had my 7 month old Chow mix since Feb, taking her to my classroom everyday during the school year. Sadly, each morning she would sit on the ground and refuse to get in the car. I had to lift her into the car, and she would drool and cry on the way there.

The drooling and crying finally stopped, but now that summer vacation is here, I could work on getting her to jump in on her own.

I have been using hot dog pieces, a rare treat she loves, accomplishing these goals two or three times a day:

Day 1 - Walk up to car without resistance
Day 2 - Walk up to open back seat without resistance
Day 3 - Take hot dog off seat of the car (I had to sit inside the car)
Day 4 - Take hot dog off seat of car without me in it.
Day 5 - Put hot dog further in, she had to put her feet up in the car

She did that today, yay! (It was so cute to see her tentative paw testing to see if touching the car would be safe)

Ahh, she is making progress.

pawsitiveside

She is definitely making progress. You're doing a great job, and I love that you're being patient with her. Allowing the dog to go at her own pace is so important, causing most people to move the training along way to fast. Not you though - you're doing great! You'll have her in the car before the end of the week is over.

My dog loves getting in the car and going for car rides, but once we make it down the street, she starts whining. I've learned a few techniques that keep her from doing this:

1. Sit in the backseat with her (while someone else is driving of course)
2. Give her treats every few seconds while driving
3. Take her for a short walk up and down the street before putting her in the car

The 3rd is my favorite. It's sometimes a little too inconvenient to do the first 2.

kmes

I think you are on the right track!
Rewarding her while driving is a good idea!!!

Also be sure you take her to fun places! Always make it an adventure!
For too many dogs, the only time they ever get in a car is for a vet trip (which many also don't like!) They eventually learn that a car trip means they are ging someplace scary! But if they know that most of the time they are going to have fun, they tend to be far happier to ride in a car!

I know you said that you take her with you to work. That is really great! Just be sure that she has a blast there. And don't forget to take her other places.

fawkese1

you are definitely on the right track... ditto all the advice you've received so far

for now, i would just keep doing what you are doing and make sure that she is happy with each of these steps before pushing to the next... make sure you give her some time to just sit in the car with you, you don't even have to start the car... and you can give her treats... then start the car give her a jackpot then turn the car off, and call it a day... try to end the getting in the car game before she does, and always on a positive note...

good job btw...

FluffyHugs

Thanks for the advice everyone. I have been doing all the things you suggested. Today was a big milestone first...she jumped in on her own! (No baiting or leash encouragement) AWESOME! :P

I started celebrating...looking and sounding quite silly.... she just looked at me with a face that said..."What? No biggie...gimme hotdog." lol

Now on to closing and opening the door, sitting in the front seat w/o going any where, starting the car for a minute, etc...