Chasing & Barking At Cars

[allthatbflat]

Hi there,

I really need a few ideas on how to stop or at least reduce the amount my 6 month old Shetland Sheepdog barks at/chases cars.

Whenever a car goes past while out on walks he is desperate to chase it, such that if I let go of the lead for a second I don't think I would ever see him again. He pulls on the lead as hard as he can and this is accompanied with plenty of barking, making walks along the main street in town a little uncomfortable.

I have tried telling him off (ha), picking him up when he does it, making him sit when a car goes past, and a few other things that come to mind at various times but none of them seem to have any effect anyway.

I would really appreciate any advice,

thanks

Paul

[Cosmolo]

How you deal with this will depend on whether the behaviour is based in fear (which can still manifest as barking, pulling and lunging) or comes as a result of prey drive. I would strongly suggest you consider a one on one session with a trainer to assist you with such a problem.

If the behaviour is prey driven, it won't improve over time due to the huge instinctual rewards that may be occurring each time.

[allthatbflat]

Thanks Cosmolo,

We have considered a trainer but our location (hours from anywhere) makes this a bit difficult. Nevertheless, I will see what can be done.

I would guess it is prey driven rather than fear driven in this case.

Edited November 6, 2008 by allthatbflat

[Jigsaw]

What is your dog like with cars moving slowly past it? My dog is only excited by fast moving cars - 60 plus - no barking just lunging. I am inclined to think the noise of the swooshing also excites her. It does make crossing a busy street difficult so I have started doing some distance work, so the cars are there in the background and she can see and hear them but we are not close enough for her to get overexcited and want to lunge at them (a park or service road is good). We will gradually work closer. A bit out of the square but I also now drive frequently with my windows down in the car as I realised that I usually drive with the radio on and aircon on and the dog is insulated from the noise of cars and trucks etc. She is usually dead to the world in the car but when I first started with the windows down she was up and watching and now after a few weeks she lays down and sleeps after about 5 mins of watching. BTW it's only cars she has a problem with, no problem with trucks, buses or bikes - both types. But if you can get to a trainer or behaviourist would be best.

My main problem however is crossing a bridge with her when the walkway is next to the road and when a car goes past on a bend and a dog barks suddenly (unseen) behind a fence - then she goes ballistic - she is very uncomfortable with being barked at. We'll work on the bridge later, I'm not sure how to go about the dogs barking though!! Maybe once the cars are better she'll react less to dogs barking!

[allthatbflat]

Well he is a little less insane with slower cars, but he'll still react quite a bit. The noise is definitely a factor, the louder the vehicle the more worked up he will get. He loves trucks! From 8 weeks old we took him on walks (carrying him) and so we thought it might be something he would get over in time. He used to bark in the garden to stir up the dog next door but thankfully he has stopped doing that now. I was hoping barking at traffic would be the same but unfortunately it hasn't got any better yet.

Edited November 6, 2008 by allthatbflat

[ILK]

Chasing cars is a drastic safety issue especially if your baby gets out off lead. This is cause for drastic measures.

I know you may not like what I am about to say, but It worked for me.

*A check Chain> I used to take my baby for a walk on a busy road every day. Each time he lunged at a car I checked him which would make it unpleasant for him to lunge at the cars.. I would make the check equivalent to the lunge. If he lunged hard at a loud noisy vehicle, I would check hard etc. It took about 1yr, but it has worked. He is now nervous around noisy vehicles but I can safely say I can have him off lead and he will not chase.

I don't use the check chain anymore and I only used it for his own safety.

[CP*]

Trucks and motorbikes are the worst - shelties and noise and movement are not a good combination (herding dogs and cars generally are a prob). I have the same problem. At some point he will prob try it with bikes, skateboards and scooters too. I brought a trainer in and the advice was pretty basic. Treats. Get the dog to sit. Hold a treat at his mouth and let him take it but hold on to the treat for as long as poss as the car goes past so he is distracted with getting the treat off you. It is hard if you are walking more than one dog.

Don't let him stay at the roadside for too long to practise - he will prob always have the herding inclination and you don't want to get him worked up. My male sheltie now stops as soon as he sees a car - whatever distance we are from the road. He seems to think car means he must stop. I occassionally treat still (just his kibble). My female sheltie is a nutter and goes wild at cars even from the back seat of my car. So I always have to carry treats (food or a ball) to get her across roads.