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Nervous Nellie
I have a client whose St. Bernard was in the car when he had a fender bender and the dog is now resistant to getting in the car. I have used treat reinforcements and verbal praise once she is in the car and she will now go in if we have a leash on her and he or I coax her through the opening. I also showed him how to throw the leash through to the other side and shut the door so that he can clip her leash and call her from the other side to get her to jump in but I’m. It sure that he is doing that. She is not highly treat motivated in this situation but will take treats once she is in. Any suggestions on how to help her jump in more easily? Her owner is handicapped so he needs to have her get in willingly without me there to assist.
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25 Replies
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Oh, poor dog. I can only imagine how scary that was for her. You’ve given some good details… can you add some more? How old is the dog? How frequently had she gone for rides in the past? Where do they usually go? How often does the client need the dog to get into the car? This will help guide those with recommendations for you. I’ll jump in and tag a few folks when you’ve given a little more history and shared the goals, @tammy . Thanks for bringing this case!
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She is three. He used to take her in the car 1-2 times a week just for a drive and she had been fine. It took him a couple months to get his car repaired and he couldn’t take her in the rental so she had a time after the accident where she was not riding. With me there she has gotten into the car on 4 visits and we drove around the neighborhood on one of them. She showed some panting and restlessness while we were riding but still took treats. She is only showing signs of mild stress (ears slightly back and some panting) when she is in the car and it is not moving. She will take treats and stay in the car even if we move back so she is t scrambling or trying to get out. The problem is just getting her in
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Do you think it’s because he hasn’t been in the car for a while and needs to get used to it again? This is random but I’m in south Florida and it has been so hot. If the seats are hot – my dogs do not want to jump in. I have towels everywhere. I also wonder if the dog understands “go to place” on a towel if he would do that on a towel in the car. With high value treats on the towel. My dog uses a towel for her “place” mat. You could move the towel on different surfaces in your home – a chair, a bed, and then he may understand he needs to jump up in certain things -like a car – to get to his place. Just a thought.
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Such a great point about the car possibly being hot, @JCongdon . I’m working with a client now whose dog was reluctant to get in their car. They go outside first (without the dog) to run the A/C to cool it down before they work with the dog.
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What a poor pup! That must of been really scary!! Do you know if the dog was checked after the accident? Was it a small fender bender? My thoughts are first any pain? Maybe even hip area? If that’s all cleared. I would start from basics. I would watch body language closely to see if my steps are too fast and start with just approaching the car. Walk towards car treat and walk away. Once that is done many times. I would open door-step near car treat and walk away. (So not even going in car) then walking in car and getting out. Small steps because emotions are connected to this I am sure…keep building until you get a more acceptable entry into the car. I have a sensitive guy and have to really break things into small steps and build and watch closely to body language. Let us know how it goes!!
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Thanks for the suggestions everyone. The car is in the garage so not too hot. She is large so we tried the tailgate to give her more space but she will only jump in through the door. She goes in for me with a leash attached and some coaxing but the owner is struggling to get her in. She doesn’t seem to be in any pain and he is trying to take her to the vet to get her nails trimmed. He hasn’t followed up with my suggestions for coaxing her into the car and reacclimatizing her to the car so she hasn’t been in it much. When asked to get I. The car she goes the other way. When led by a leash and coaxed from the other side, she gets in for me and for him when I’m there. Not sure why he is struggling when I’m not there except he may not be following my advice when I am not there.
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It may be difficult to practice since he’s in a wheelchair. Can he be in the garage with the doors closed? If so, he could open all the car doors and feed her in the car. If that’s where her meals are, then it should get easier with time… and I’d bump the bowl value for awhile with fresh food toppers to help her.
If he can’t/won’t do that, then perhaps a mat game they can play in different parts of the house. If he can train and generalize her to go to a mat, then put the mat in the car… maybe that can work? There may need to be some approximations of the mat being in the garage or near the car before an actual jump in. If there’s anything raised in the house, like a bed or couch, I would put the mat on that to practice, after she has the initial go-to installed, to give her the “up” idea.
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@zaneb – Didn’t you have a similar case, awhile back? Do you have any ideas?
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Hi @catherine and @tammy ! Yes, I did have a case like this. The only difference is that there wasn’t a fender bender or anything like that involved. In fact, we are still working on it but my client and his dog have made amazing progress.
Through the process of elimination, we came to the conclusion that the fear/hesitation issue is actually due to not wanting to leave the “fun place” a.k.a. the dog daycare he goes to. I mean, I can’t blame him because honestly if I had 8 hours of fun with some cool friends of mine, I wouldn’t want to leave either! 🙂
In my mind, what’s happening is that being taken away from the daycare is like negative punishment to the dog, and of course in this case, it’s not warranted or deliberate. So, I have instructed my client to bring high value treats to the daycare when he picks him up. The theory is feeding him on the way to the car and once he gets in the car will help the hesitation become less and less.
Time is definitely a factor, I’ve learned from hard experience that you have to be patient when it comes to things like this.
I like the idea of calling her to the other side. If I may, one bit of advice I have is that I wouldn’t do too much coaxing (unless the dog is responding to it). My dog has become hesitant to do somethings so I am giving him the choice not, but if he does, I praise and reward him happily. Gradual baby steps and you’ll get there.
Hope that helps!
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Hi @zaneb – so good to hear from you! – you are so right about patience and choice – key concepts in cases like this. I can see why leaving the daycare is tough for your client’s dog… is there anything the dog can have in the car that equals that motivation? How can we bump up the value of going home?
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@catherine Perhaps a chew toy/frozen kong/kong/filler toy that he can work on during the car ride home?
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Great to hear from you and all the progress, even if it seems slow to us, the fast-paced, Amazon-ordering humans. We are a world of “want it now”…????
I love that you deduced the dog’s trepidation of going home as negative punishment. That’s something we don’t always pick up on, that home may not seem like a reward after all that fun.
I also think that treating to get into car and advise against coaxing will help this current case.
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Thank you @bernerlabreclectus ! I appreciate the positive reinforcement! 🙂 I just had another session with my client this past Saturday and he gave me a great status update. Since the daycare parking lot is enclosed by fences/gates, he has been letting his dog have a bit of freedom, while still on leash. He has been sitting in the hatchback area with some yummy high value treats and just waiting for his dog to come over (the power of choice).
His dog is now jumping into the car of his own accord and the hesitation is getting less! Once his dog does get in, it’s HV (high value because I don’t want to spell it all the time, even though I just did lol) rewards all the way, then they go home. I may even suggest that once they do get home, that they play a quick game of tug when he gets in the house, or allow some other natural reward to happen (grabbing a toy that’s in the house, or directing him to grab a toy and initiating a game).
Good stuff all around!
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@tammy ⭐️You are doing such a great job with this. I was actually in a fender bender myself last December (cars totaled, but thankfully we all walked away un-injured). I was pretty scared to get into the car again after that, although we know as humans (and trainers!) we have to, for work, food, etc.
It is incredibly frustrating when the human component isn’t following your great-laid plans for success. (((Sending you lots of patience and energy!)))
Post Traumatic Stress can affect our pets, as well. I have read that PTSD in pets can take awhile to overcome, if they do overcome it at all! Poor sweet St. Bernard! Maybe more reading for you you and more work for your client.
Maybe essential oils used to scent something in the car could work? I’m throwing that in, although I haven’t used essential oils, I have heard they can definitely calm our pets.
Is there a family member or friend who can sit in back with the dog and feed treats? Sometimes having company and giant dogs like to “lean” on their humans for emotional support. My old Berner liked to do so.
Maybe you stated this earlier, but is she clipped into a harness and tethered into a seat belt? Maybe that measure of security could help eventually, once she gets used to the car again.
Please keep us posted! Lots of empathy for all involved. ????
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Slowly making progress and she will now get in the car and much more willingly and even lays down in the back while they are driving.
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Great news, Tammy!
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Another thought, since you are rebuilding this car riding behavior…
I had an SUV while my (RIP) Berner was a puppy and in his adolescent years, then had a Jeep Wrangler Unlimited. He could jump in, no problem, up until he was 7. Then it became VERY difficult to get him in and out, at 120 pounds. Lots of stress on joints to jump and sometimes he would jump up to get in, but then couldn’t get out, due to pain in joints and back issues.
If you are taking this effort to build the car entry from scratch, perhaps use of pet stairs or a ramp would help, for “down the road”, when she’s older. I know I wish I had done so.
Just my 2 cents. It’s hard for these giant breeds once they get older…
@pawsup What do you do with Mack?
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@bernerlabreclectus Absolutely! If i had a higher car, I would train Mack on steps or a ramp. You are very smart to mention this! I am very lucky to own a Traverse that is not that far off the ground and he comes in from the side. Great point @bernerlabreclectus
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Thanks. Cheerfully calling her from the other doorway seems to work to get her in but she is still nervous. I think we just need time and repetition. I found out that the owner tried to lift her in which probably set us back a bit so I’ve encouraged him again to practice what has been working.
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The concepts of choice and agency are SOOO important when overcoming fear… I find helping people understand that can make a difference… I try to bring up something like being “force fed” a piece of cake rather than enjoying it on their own time… or something similar that they may relate to…. in this case, maybe sitting in a dental chair is a better analogy. You have to do it but there’s a big difference between getting shoved into the chair and strapped down vs being asked nicely and choosing to do it.
As always, pick your moment carefully to get the most buy-in, but maybe a conversation along these lines can help create empathy.
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Force-fed cake is a great analogy. I’ve never thought along those lines, but it is a great visual to share with the humans. ????
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Yep – creating empathy is key for helping people work through the emotions that are affecting their dogs’ behavior. I LOVE that AHA! moment, when I see the light of understanding in their eyes… and an apology to the dog often follows. Beautiful stuff. Again, choose your moment carefully. If they are not ready to receive the idea, it may backfire.
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