pollylolly Posted June 19, 2007 Report Share Posted June 19, 2007 Help please someone - Jed is 2, he is a great dog, we love him very very much, his behaviour overall is fantastic but he is dreadful in the car. he barks at every thing - starts of usually with seeing a dog, then its everthing, at night my OH and son take him out and its really getting them down - I have him fastened in my car but in OH's he is on the back seat and we are going out tomorrow to get him a harness as he is going over and looking like he will go through the back windscreen Its a nightmare and we really need some help with it - hehas never been food led - but we did find him really really taken with tuna loaf and I wondered if there was a way I could use that to get this under control ? I spoke with a friend yesterday who has a GSD and he does the same and he is much bigger than Jed and they are having no luck either - its worse for them as he is making his sister bark too Any advice most gratefully accepted please ??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smirnoff Posted June 19, 2007 Report Share Posted June 19, 2007 My friend had this problem too. It was impossible to reprimand him because he stopped barking whenever they stopped the car so it was always too late to tell him no. She tried a crate and covered it up (like a parrot's cage) and that seemed to work. Diane Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenix Posted June 19, 2007 Report Share Posted June 19, 2007 my GSD never used to bark in the car but the last few months it seems to be every time i start the engine, i have since discovered that he must have just felt too claustrophobic, because i now have a bigger/ higher crate for him & hes just fine, the results were almost instantainous, fussy doggy :biggrin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K9Fran Posted June 20, 2007 Report Share Posted June 20, 2007 Some dogs from the herding breeds find the stimulation of the moving traffic just too frustrating - covered crates/windows often work well for this sort of barking. Some just get so excited by the whole idea of going in the car, a period of 'you bark, we go nowhere' teaches them. Some are stressed (often accompanied by drooling and/or vomiting) in which case modification of driving technique and/or putting the dog securely in the passenger footwell can help. Getting inside the dogs head and finding out *why* is often the solution to many problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pollylolly Posted June 20, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 20, 2007 I'm going to be really honest here and say that this is making me not want to walk him - and my OH and son cringe at taking him out its not just in the car its onlead too We have had him a year - had a bit of a false start with the socialising as one of our , many(ask Helly lol) kids , broke her leg and was laid up for weeks - dog walking/training was not regular due to this so in no way am I blaming Jed - he is an amazing lad he really is. He barks onlead - offlead he is fantastic but obviously he canot always be offlead ? I was given advice from one of the rescue bods for sheps to take a squirt bottle out with me and do that each time he barked - yup it will shut him up a bit BUT this does not help in the car so I stopped doign this - mixed messages as it were I met up with a girl from DP who is fabulous, she has lotzadogz - he is fantastic out and about with them, no problems - he jumps in the car and wham it starts again even after a 3 hour hike. G had him for a weekend for me in April and took him with her to a dog show - he was satuarated, her idea was 'be quiet you get what you want' which was a sniff and say hello of the other dog - she had a fab weekend with him . But she was working with dogs she knew, owners she knew and tbh I understand why some one would not want their dog to be greeted by a barking mad dog with his fur up - and it IS excitement we know this I had a behaviourist out - nice guy was totally honest with him - we went out Jed was great, barked at a few things a skip, the builders lol the guy said thats not acceptable which is fine - he went nuts when we saw a dog - he showed me how to make him sit' pay attention to me and slowly this is working bu the is I'll be honest NO pleasure to walk and as I've got a really bad foot at the moment I'm struggling with the pavement/socialisation stuff as it is but HOW do I stop it in the car ? OH's car is just a car - no room for a crate - mine is a pajero - he is in the back with one seat up but no crate room as we have so many kids lol . He would not sit still in the footwell I know this BUT do you think it would be better if he were on a seat with me when we are alone ? harnessed in ? This is the one thing that I am really struggling with - the behaviourist told me that 95percent of his clients would kill for a dog so good - my DP freind tells me how good he is but this is reallly geting me down Thanks for listening or reading lol its appreciated as is the advice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reds Posted June 20, 2007 Report Share Posted June 20, 2007 Does he bark continously whilst in the car or only at stimuli such as passing people, motorbikes etc? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pollylolly Posted June 20, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 20, 2007 He is great getting in the car, settles down, ears up a happy lad and does not bark until he sees the first dog - then he hardly stops lol - I don't yell at him - I firmly tell him Quiet and as soon as he does I tell him what a good boy he is Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reds Posted June 20, 2007 Report Share Posted June 20, 2007 I can't recommend this as it depends entirely on your dog's nature and likely reaction and only you will know that but it's something that has worked for me. It's from the Company of Animals and is called the 'Pet Corrector Spray'. It just lets off a hiss, no adverse scent or actual spray. Ted. had gotten quite bad at barking at stimuli such as the drivers in van's alongside or behind when in traffic cues, cyclists etc. I had to do something as I was worried he would not only hurt himself (he'd fling himself as well as bark) but might even cause an accident/trouble by the shock of a dog suddenly barking like mad as someone was passing. I simply sprayed it the moment he barked and then really rewarded and titbitted him when he was quiet (which was instant). The sound of the hiss was enough to startle him and make him stop what he was doing (the mad barking and flinging!) and then I could get his concentration back onto something more postive. I only had to use it 2 or 3 times for it to cause a few seconds hestitation before he started barking (at things he would have gone for immediately beforehand) and if I show him the canister then that stops him so I don't have to use it much at all. As I said though, I only used it because I was pretty certain that Ted. wouldn't be freaked out or respond badly to it and only in that situation as there was a good chance it would be effective as it's a fairly controlled environment. I have seen the spray in Pets at Home but have a look at the Company of Animals' website. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pollylolly Posted June 20, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 20, 2007 Thanks He is not easily spooked so will check that out especially for son and OH to use with their being two of them they could work on this easier than I can travelling alone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K9Fran Posted June 21, 2007 Report Share Posted June 21, 2007 All I can say is that the Pet Corrector spray is not on the list of devices an APDT trainer would use......... You'd also have to be careful if you travel with more than one dog in the car, as a quick blast of this could upset another dog in close range (like any of the remote anti barking devices) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pollylolly Posted June 21, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 21, 2007 I don't have another dog and have used the water spray method with him which worked but then gave it up for the APDT methods which are not working unfortunately. I'm not into cruel methods I respect him too much but I REALLY need to sort this out. What I am worried about is supressing a behaviour that should not be suppressed and I'm not that good at this that I can do this alone. Are the DAP ? diffusers any use in situations like this ? I'm just looking for thoughts here that we can work with that are going to be right by Jed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cafferysmum Posted September 3, 2007 Report Share Posted September 3, 2007 Hiya Polly i know how you feel, we have 7 dogs and Millie was a bloody night mare in a car, we went out to macclesfield tegs nose and by the time we got their i could have easily lt her outside the dogs home... she was absoloute murder barking I had a smacking headache hubby was stressed driving... So whats the alternative do not take her out on journeys? we tried treats in crates with others, still continued. raising crate up still continued covering crate up still continued but it did settle the others down So we sat her in back and she was murder out of crate bouncing around everywhere and barking.. So we decided she was better out of crate than in it and we got her to settle down... We blocked our ears and turned radio or music on and as time went on, and armed with paracetomol for us, she started to get better.. we went to Gloucester yesterday and travelled 400 miles she sat in back and only came through a couple of times to say hello and went back in the back, she barked if we harnessed her as well, but it took a long time and lots of headaches but we found out finally how she settles down... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurel n Hardy Posted September 10, 2007 Report Share Posted September 10, 2007 have heard that telling them to be quiet or calming them down makes you interact with a barking dog, apparently interaction ony enforces the fact that this is acceptable behavour in the dogs eyes Ignoring seems to work but it can take a long time, good luck, hope you can get this resolved sooner rather than later Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pollylolly Posted September 23, 2007 Author Report Share Posted September 23, 2007 Well its no better but thank you every one - OH usually pops him out at night with both our grown lads and he can only go with one and the other wont sit in the back seat with J behind as its far too painful to the ears ! Took him out yesterday myself (first time for me for ages) I have a pajero so its higher up and he cannot throw himself against the back window like he does in OH's hatchback. I have him on a short lead fastened to the back of the car to stop him jumping around - he jumped in, ears up, no problems. First dog we see and he's off, then its over and over at dogs, people, prams and bikes anything and everything arrrrrrrrrr. Same on way back from walk despite him being worn out - not sure what to do as I'm on my own so the 'stop.quiet ./reward is hard to do and to be perfectly blunt his is NOT food oriented at all - I could have liver on my head and he would ignore it at this point . He is also harder to reach when in the car once he starts than walking when the squirt bottle gets his attention . I never have to use it any more and as long as he does not bark I let him 'talk' but once he is quiet he gets a huge rub on his ears and told how good he is. I did ask a friend if she thought a soft muzzle would stop the full on barking - she was unsure and not something she would try - so not sure on that one. She used the stop the car and no move till quiet method - ha if I stop the car Jed thinks its great as he can really see what he is barking at - I'm hoping he will grow out of it as I'm 100% certain its just plain old excitement. Will keep trying - thanks for the tip on interaction - this is so very very hard to deal with and it really is getting me down - we dont' have any where nice to walk next to us so the car journey is a must really. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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