New at being a dog owner and one of them is terrified of car

[FreekierLeek]

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So I have two dogs and live in quite a built up area. I was taking them to a wooded area a few times a week on top of their daily walks. The big dog which we got from a shelter was never a great passanger but the last few weeks he willl lie down as soon as he sees the car or try to go in the other direction. I was carrying him to the car but this has really started to hurt my back.

I have tried to give him treats but he hates the car more than he likes treats. For example I was throwing lumps of beef every few meters towards the car hoping to lure him into it but he wont go past a certain point.

When I google this problem a suggestion is to try and make the car a nicer place so we adjusted the seats to give him more, then less room, but he doesn't like it either way.

Currently we were taking him to the car and when he starts to resist take him back in to the house, hoping that he will realise that he doesn't get to go to the forest without the car. But I'm just a bit worried that he wont actually realise this. Can anybody else think of a way to calm him down? I want my dog to be healthy so taking him for big walks was important to me.

Thanks lots!

 

[gypsysmum2]

You are right in thinking he will not realise he is missing a walk to the forest when he goes back to the house. In fact he will probably feel huge relief that he does not have to get in the car at that moment. Dogs live in the moment. They have memories of bad experiences and avoid repeating them when they can.

First, a vet check might be worth doing just to make sure he has no issues with his back etc. Ask the vet if jumping in and (very jarring) jumping out are within his capabilities.

I think trying to lure him when you have an agenda i.e. to go to the forest, may be counter productive. I would either give up the forest walks for a while or, if your back will stand it, lift him in for now. If lifting him do it very slowly and carefully as this alone can spook a dog into avoiding the car.

When you have lots of time and patience and your dog is in a happy mood try to make progress on his approach to the car. Do not have "getting him in the car" as a target. Just being able to reward a step towards the car is achievement enough for one session. You can do as many sessions as you like but try to organise it so that you end on a positive note. This could be just one step towards the car that gets a huge reward and then leave it there. It may take months. It may be that one day the penny drops and he regards the car as the means to get to the forest but don't bank on it.

Anything that lifts his emotions that can be tied to the car might help. So, if he likes a ball then perhaps play ball around the car. If he likes cuddles then cuddles around the vicinity of the car might help. If he will eat his dinner in the car then feed him there.

If it helps, my rescue dog was exactly the same. He had travelled by road from Romania

One more thing. Do check what his body language tells you about the boot closing. Does he look worried as you close it. My dog hated the vacuum pressure of the boot closing so we now open another door of the car to relieve that pressure and close the boot very, very slowly and carefully. It has made a huge difference Any negative experience will stay in his memory for quite a while before being, gradually, pushed out by good ones.

 

[FreekierLeek]

Thank you Gypsysmum2! How did you ever find out that your dog disliked vacuum pressure from the boot closing!? I'll have to give that a try next time. I feel so lost atm hopefully he progresses

 

[gypsysmum2]

It is all about watching the dog's body language all the time. We spent ages coaxing him into the car and going on short trips to persuade him not to be travel sick. We noticed, as we lowered the boot, his ears would go back and he would try to shrink away from the boot lid.

Any negative experience can put a dog off cars. Travel sickness, noise, pain etc. Then they remember the negative experience every time they go near the car and want to avoid it. The way forward is to replace the negative memories with positive ones. Once they fill the brain then there is no room for the negative ones