Car Chasing

[Eyerman]

I am a new member and love the forum. I look forward to being part of such a great forum. I have two female Rottweilers one is 19 months old and the other is now 12 weeks old. My 19 month old named Bailey has one problem. She likes to lunge at cars and try to bite them. Obviously this is a great concern! She has no aggression problems beside this. Matter a fact recently she just earned her Good Citizen Title. Any suggestions? I work with a trainer and we got her to stop for a while but is back doing it again. She does this on a leash and while going for rides.
Appreciate any suggestions.

Chuck Eyerman


Bailey-- 19 month old female
Zoe---- 12 week old female

[mark_sherry]

Chuck,

What did you and your trainer do to get her to stop doing this a while back? And what happened to cause her to start again? I think these are important questions to answer so we can help you narrow down a possible solution.

Mark

[Eyerman]

We used a shock collar. When she would lunge at the cars we would shock her. The behavior stopped for a month or 2 then she started lunging again and wasnt getting the shock because she didnt have the collar on. I was also told that :

Have someone drive down the road and through a telephone book out the window when she lunges. The noise may then frighten her and deter the act.

Any one heard of that?

I am open for any suggestions. The shock collar worked but I am going to have to buy one thats around $150. I was looking for a less expensive route first.

Thanks

[Miabella]

I do not believe that a shock collar is the solution here. It sounds like the trainer was trying to take a shortcut. A shock collar should never be the first thing tried. It should be the last, and it should only be used by an experienced trainer. If I were you, I would start looking for a new dog trainer.

I would suggest that you work on her heeling around distractions, teach her good "leave it" and "watch me" commands, and get a prong collar. I was able to stop my dog's lunging at other dogs while on leash this way. And get her back into classes with a new trainer.

[Vivianne]

noottt thhhe ddreadedddd shockkkk colllarrrrr!

Sounds like its back to basics for your Bailey. Miabella is correct in that a shock collar is not the way to go. Proof of that in the wrong trainers hands is your poor Bailey.

Desensitizing the dog to cars is what you’re after. Not via shock, but rather positive reinforcement of correct behavior. Get either a new trainer or into obedience classes to learn how to correct your dog without the use of the shock collar.

And also, by having someone drive by and throwing a phone book out the window is setting your dog up for failure not success. Start out slow, one vehicle at a time, preferably stationery to begin with. Walk by the vehicle and watch her reaction, if she’s good reward if not correct the dog, using a prong collar would suffice.

[mark_sherry]

Chuck,

See, that's why I asked you for the additional information. That helps others help you identify and correct your problems easier. Both Vivianne and Miabella make very good points. The shock collar is not the correct solution to your problem.

About the phone book, I hope that wasn't the trainer who suggested that either. This does set your dog up for failure because it could make her more fearful of cars. This in turn could make her more aggressive towards them as a fear response to the situation. It could also take away her confidence when you and her are out in the "real world" away from home, and you do not want that to happen either.

The best solution is to find a new trainer and get her into obedience class once again. Personally, I have never needed a prong collar, but I know they work for dogs that are difficult to handle and are recommended by a lot of great trainers. I think the important thing is to work her slowly by taking her to a street that has very little traffic and putting her in the sit position at the heel. Whenever a car approaches, you must be prepared and correct the problem before she lunges by keeping her in the sit/stay position. If she makes a move, correct her firmly and be very consistent. Consistency and firmness is the key. And by firmness, I mean by giving a leash correction with a "sit" command or a "heel" command or a "no" or "stay." Whatever you decide will work for you best, and whatever you will stick to. It's important that she know what you mean when you correct her, and she needs to know what you're correcting her for. When she exhibits the correct behavior, you must also praise her for that behavior.

I'm sure that I've left a lot of holes in my advice, but that's what the forum is for, and I'm positive that you'll get many more tips that you may be able to use that can help you stop this behavior in an effective way.

Mark

[rott&pitincali]

Sadie likes to chase our ATV's tires, and bite at them. I think it is the sound that she goes after more then the movement. She perks up as soon as we turn them on. It is like a game for her. I seriously doubt throwing a book out of the car would make her stop, if anything she might just go after the book. Maybe finding a way to desensitize your dog to the sound would help. How does she do with riding in a car? Does she go nuts?

I believe I read somewhere in the forum about shock collars and the dog associating it with the bad behavior as not a good thing. It may aggrivate the situation, so I would definitly rethink the shock collar thing.

[Judi W]

I guess I'm not sure where she is when this is happening. Is she behind a fence? Tethered in the front yard? Out front and loose?

If she is also lunging when she is out with you on leash, correct her and give her an alternate command to follow BEFORE she is engaged or focused on the vehicle.

[Rottnlove]

I was thinking the exact same thing as Judi W.

This behaviour wouldn't be happening if the dog was not allowed access to the street...it sounds dangerous and your dog could get hit by a car.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but it sounds like the dog is outside in the front yard loose, where it has access to the cars driving by?

[mark_sherry]

Or it could be that the dog is doing it while being walked on leash out in the street. I had a problem with Brita doing this when I first got her. She would lunge and snap at every car that drove by us from the rear. I think she must have had some trauma in her past because I believe this was a fear reaction at the time. After working with her for a few days and getting her accustomed and confortable with traffic (and after she had some confidence in me), she stopped doing this. If the dog is doing this on leash, it could become a problem for the handler if the dog is so big and strong, and it could become dangerous for the dog as well.

[Carolina]

Iby had this behaviour but with motorcycles, not cars. And it happened when she was on leash, she never had any previous bad experience with them, maybe she just though it was fun to chase them
So I began getting her used to them, first I introduce her to a parked one, then to a parked one but with the motor on, then to a slowly moving one, and finally to a speeding one. When she tried to lounge I said "no" with a stern voice and a lil snap of the leash, when she ignore the byke I tell her "good girl" and pett her. I ask for help to a pizza delivery store two blocks from my apartment, they loved Iby so gladly helped. It took patience and consistency but we succeded. One day a motorcycle almost pass over us while walking on a sidewalk, and she didn't move a muscle, of course I shout at the jerk for driving it in the sidewalk

She also had the same issue with bikes and skateboards, she saw them as prey, and I used this same approach. I asked for help to the neighbourhood boys, they were thrilled to help, and were proud when Iby finally got it. They told their parents they helped train Iby and were really proud of it :D

You can use the same approach with your girl. It's the noise, the speed that thills them. But be patient, it takes time, but eventually they get it :)

Good luck,

Carolina :)

[mark_sherry]

Carolina,

I think you've hit on a very good point here. I think that most of the time, this behavior shows that they are very prey driven. Brita is very prey driven, and it could have been that she was just going after the kill instead of acting out of fear. To think of it, I've never seen her in the typical fear-strike mode, so you're theory is probably right. Either way, it takes the same method to correct the behavior.

Mark

[Eyerman]

Thank you everyone! She only does this behavior on a leash when we are on walks at the park or on the street. She is not allowed by the road where cars are when she is loose. She doesnt seem to do this out of fear but for fun! I will try all your suggestions. It sounds like the same problem Brita had at one time and the same case as chasing motorcycles. Great forum thank you!

Chuck Eyerman

[mark_sherry]

Chuck,

Treat the symptom, and you'll be OK. It sounds to me as if you're seeing what I saw with Brita too. She was doing it for the kill. At first, it was cute, but then it started to wear out my elbows and shoulder! :D Stop it for your own health!

[Judi W]

The reason I thought the dog might be off lead when this was happening was the indication of "what to do?". That idea was reinforced with the statement that the e collar was used for corrections.

If you have a leash and collar - use them. Why not use the obedience you are training, to give a command and correction before the dog is in drive? Practice at a bit of distance from where cars are going past, then moving closer over time. Put the dog under command and correct for breaking that command. Place yourself and the dog in a static position (dog in a sit) and correct before the dog lunges. I would use a flooding technique for something like this. Start at distance until that is mastered and move closer until you are able to stand at the edge of the road without the dog lunging. Shouldn't take more than a couple of weeks of meaningful work.