Annoying Behavior In Ute

[RL1]

My dog has an annoying ( to me ), but strange behavior happening when he's in the

back of the ute.

Whilst moving he is fine. Whilst stopped he is fine. The problem starts as soon as the

vehicle moves. Whilst stopped at traffic lights ect, he stares at the car behind.

Not a second before, but as soon as i take off, he lunges towards the back

and has a bit of a growl. This annoys the hell out of me.

Does anyone have any ideas on how to get him out of this habit ?

[cavNrott]

You could put him inside the cabin. Or you could have a crate attached to the floor of the ute for him to travel in safety.

[RL1]

You could put him inside the cabin. Or you could have a crate attached to the floor of the ute for him to travel in safety.

No, i refuse to put the dogs in the cabin anymore. They destroyed my last car doing that.

This time i went out and spent close to $2800 on a canopy, on top of the cost of a new ute, and he still carries on like a moron

in the back.

I want to upgrade to another ute now, but i really don't want an ugly canopy on the back.

I just don't know how to calm him down. I feel like an idiot driving around with him acting like

he does everytime we take off from lights or a stop. It's also not a good image for the breed.

Edited October 26, 2009 by RottyLover01

[Erny]

You could put him inside the cabin. Or you could have a crate attached to the floor of the ute for him to travel in safety.

No, i refuse to put the dogs in the cabin anymore. They destroyed my last car doing that.

This time i went out and spent close to $2800 on a canopy, on top of the cost of a new ute, and he still carries on like a moron

in the back.

I want to upgrade to another ute now, but i really don't want an ugly canopy on the back.

I just don't know how to calm him down. I feel like an idiot driving around with him acting like

he does everytime we take off from lights or a stop. It's also not a good image for the breed.

So go for the crate as suggested by cavNrott. You need to be in a position to stop the behaviour to cure it.

Is this your boy that you had the behaviour issues with? My guess is that you moving off and adding distance to the car behind is akin to the dog that chases after a dog or person has passed by. From his point of view the car behind is running away. Can only guess at that, though.

Edited October 26, 2009 by Erny

[WoofnHoof]

You could put him inside the cabin. Or you could have a crate attached to the floor of the ute for him to travel in safety.

No, i refuse to put the dogs in the cabin anymore. They destroyed my last car doing that.

This time i went out and spent close to $2800 on a canopy, on top of the cost of a new ute, and he still carries on like a moron

in the back.

I want to upgrade to another ute now, but i really don't want an ugly canopy on the back.

I just don't know how to calm him down. I feel like an idiot driving around with him acting like

he does everytime we take off from lights or a stop. It's also not a good image for the breed.

OMG wash your mouth out canopies aren't ugly! Get a carryboy they are really good looking canopies

[RL1]

So go for the crate as suggested by cavNrott. You need to be in a position to stop the behaviour to cure it.

Is this your boy that you had the behaviour issues with? My guess is that you moving off and adding distance to the car behind is akin to the dog that chases after a dog or person has passed by. From his point of view the car behind is running away. Can only guess at that, though.

Yes, it's the same dog.

I already have him inside the canopy that cost me $2800. I don't want to have to attach a crate inside that.

OMG wash your mouth out canopies aren't ugly! Get a carryboy they are really good looking canopies

Sorry, but to me every canopy is ugly. Someone told me about those Carryboys after i bought my

top of the range ARB smooth finish, colour coded, standard roof ect ect crap crap........

I only bought it for his benefit. I now drive a wagon, not a ute

[huski]

I already have him inside the canopy that cost me $2800. I don't want to have to attach a crate inside that.

I think Erny meant to use the crate instead of the canopy (seeing as you aren't keen on the canopy).

Edited October 26, 2009 by huski

[Kelpie-i]

The more he does it, the better he gets at it..

I would guess that the visual is also a contributing factor, any way you could block off the visual aspect of it? Perhaps some pretty curtains Seriously, try blocking his view and see if that changes anything.

[RL1]

I think Erny meant to use the crate instead of the canopy (seeing as you aren't keen on the canopy).

I'm not keen on removing it now.

The more he does it, the better he gets at it..

I would guess that the visual is also a contributing factor, any way you could block off the visual aspect of it? Perhaps some pretty curtains Seriously, try blocking his view and see if that changes anything.

No, i don't think curtains would sit too well.

You can't really block the view, that would be illegal.

Edited October 26, 2009 by RottyLover01

[huski]

I think Erny meant to use the crate instead of the canopy (seeing as you aren't keen on the canopy).

I'm not keen on removing it now.

The more he does it, the better he gets at it..

I would guess that the visual is also a contributing factor, any way you could block off the visual aspect of it? Perhaps some pretty curtains Seriously, try blocking his view and see if that changes anything.

No, i don't think curtains would sit too well.

You can't really block the view, that would be illegal.

Didn't you said you want to upgrade to another ute, but didn't want to go the canopy? A crate would be something to consider when you upgrade. You could also put a crate cover over it, to block the view, without doing anything illegal

[Kelpie-i]

You can't really block the view, that would be illegal

You're in a little bit of a tough situation then since most of the suggestions are out of the question. As Erny said, you need to be with the dog in order to make him stop which is not possible when he is in the back of your ute.

The only other way is to break the habit by putting him the car with you, at least whilst you are traveling and then transfer him to the canopy when you need to pop out of the car for whatever reason. It's a bit of juggling, but you are removing him from the the stimuli and triggers that are keeping the behaviour alive and well.

What's wrong with pretty curtains?

[RL1]

Didn't you said you want to upgrade to another ute, but didn't want to go the canopy? A crate would be something to consider when you upgrade. You could also put a crate cover over it, to block the view, without doing anything illegal

Yes, i want to upgrade to another ute, i just don't want to spoil it with an ugly looking, crappy old mans

canopy.

I'd like to buy something nice for myself, without having to take into consideration the dogs for once.

You might have a point with the crate idea, but i wouldn't be keen on drilling holes and bolting it to the floor.

If i could work it out so i could remove it, i'd go for that idea.

You're in a little bit of a tough situation then since most of the suggestions are out of the question. As Erny said, you need to be with the dog in order to make him stop which is not possible when he is in the back of your ute.

The only other way is to break the habit by putting him the car with you, at least whilst you are traveling and then transfer him to the canopy when you need to pop out of the car for whatever reason. It's a bit of juggling, but you are removing him from the the stimuli and triggers that are keeping the behaviour alive and well.

What's wrong with pretty curtains?

You're correct. When he was inside the cabin with me, he doesn't say boo. I think he's too attached to me.

As i'm driving, he's looking through the canopy at me, until he spots something interesting. Then it's back

to me again.

And as for the curtains ??? If i go that route, I might as well mount a fan on the dash and use an Orthopedic Seat Cushion.

I'll leave the curtain idea until i'm retired.

[Staff'n'Toller]

Yep, you can't block your rear vision through a canopy.

I've seen a lot of custom signs though on the rear windows of cars that you can see through- I wonder if that would work.

You can always fit a tubliner to the new ute and attach brackets to the tub liner- not the tray.

Edited October 26, 2009 by Staff'n'Toller

[huski]

Didn't you said you want to upgrade to another ute, but didn't want to go the canopy? A crate would be something to consider when you upgrade. You could also put a crate cover over it, to block the view, without doing anything illegal

Yes, i want to upgrade to another ute, i just don't want to spoil it with an ugly looking, crappy old mans

canopy.

I'd like to buy something nice for myself, without having to take into consideration the dogs for once.

You might have a point with the crate idea, but i wouldn't be keen on drilling holes and bolting it to the floor.

If i could work it out so i could remove it, i'd go for that idea.

Maybe there is some way you could tie it down or attach it to something? Not that I'm an expert when it comes to utes

[Serket]

The other option is....does the dog NEED to be in the ute at all if his behaviour is so troublesome?

Otherwise, having him inside and then moving him outside when you're not there sounds like the easiest solution for you

[Miss B]

And as for the curtains ??? If i go that route, I might as well mount a fan on the dash and use an Orthopedic Seat Cushion.

Coffee splurk

I feel your pain. I've got a ute with a canopy for the dogs, but damn it's ugly. When I don't need it, I take it off and store it out of sight in the garage It's a pain in the arse taking it off and on all the time but it only gets put on the ute for dog shows.

[persephone]

Get a good strong harness for him and then attach him to the front of the ute ..so he he is right up near the cab(and you) No running backwards and forward then!

[Guest Pandii]

Leave him at home

Edited October 26, 2009 by Pandii

[Clyde]

I had a Rotti who would do this even in the car. If a car came up behind us too close she would go off her tree, growling, barking etc - it was very annoying. In the end I had to muzzle her and tether her low on the back seat, although I'm quite partial to the idea of curtains.....

[Erny]

I think Erny meant to use the crate instead of the canopy (seeing as you aren't keen on the canopy).

I'm not keen on removing it now.

Yes I did mean instead of the canopy. I thought you were saying you were getting another Ute and didn't want an "ugly" canopy on the next one.

But that's really beside the point.

Obviously your dog has the freedom of space within the canopy to exhibit the behaviour. You need to limit that. IMO a crate is the way to go and as Kelpie-i has already suggested, you would then be able to cover the crate to limit view, at least at first to stop him practicing and therefore ingraining this behaviour more than he already has. If you use something like a harness, that sort of restriction can serve to frustrate more than if in a crate, which doesn't help the situation as much as a crate might.

With that in place (ie confinement) I might also try something like a sound aversion therapy, but I don't know your dog and it is very much an individualistic thing as to whether it will work. It is LESS likely to work though, if your dog is too aroused. This is where confining/restricting his movement would be helpful. And if you try the sound aversion therapy beforehand you might find that by the time you relent to following the confinement advice, you have desensitised him to the sound aversion, so it will be of lesser effect if of any effect at all.

I guess you need to decide what you hate most. The thought of the solutions that have been offered, or your dog's behaviour.

Edited October 26, 2009 by Erny