Always barking while driving

[shannonc]

I tried searching for an answer on the site but couldn't find anything.
I have a 9month old Rottie that everytime we take him in the car/truck to go to the park or even a long drive to go somewhere he starts barking - loud right in your ear. I have tried providing treats in the car, toys, talking to him but nothing seems to work. We are now wearing ear plugs when we drive with him because it's so loud and distracting. When he hears us start to talk he thinks that a good time to start barking and it's hard to get him to stop at time.
Any suggestions would be great

[Ayoka]

Originally Posted by shannonc

I have a 9month old Rottie that everytime we take him in the car/truck to go to the park or even a long drive to go somewhere he starts barking - loud right in your ear.

If he's barking in your ear I can only imagine that he is not in a kennell in the car...maybe the whoel experiebnce is too visually stimulating for him...have you tried putting him in the car in a covered kennell? If you think a big kennell can;t fit in a car, think again...my dog bear's varikennell 500 serious fits quite nicely on 2/3ds of the back seat of my Ford FOCUS and it fits into the back seat of a corolla and a PT cruiser too...Mind you, I do have to get in there piece by piece.

I might also add that having him in a kennel is safer for you AND for him in case of an accident!

[shannonc]

I thought about the kennel that work for the truck as it could go in the very back of the truck but not in my 2 dr honda civic. My boy is over a 100lbs and him alown takes up most of the back seat.
thanks for the help

[hokisteph5]

If a kennels not an option, there are also harnesses you can buy that work with cars' seat belts to buckle the dog in.

When you say you've given treats, are you rewarding him for a behavior (e.g. "hush") or giving him the treat to see if that'll quiet him down?

Right now, he seems to be dictating the car behavior since he gets to bark all he wants and the humans have taken to wearing ear plugs.

I would personally lose the ear plugs and begin training the dog that barking is unacceptable. I would tell him a command like "hush" or "be quiet" and when he stopped barking, he would get the treat. Towards the beginning of training, I would give him treats a lot, but would slowly taper them back so he doesn't come to expect a treat every time.

[Ayoka]

Originally Posted by hokisteph5

If a kennels not an option, there are also harnesses you can buy that work with cars' seat belts to buckle the dog in.

When you say you've given treats, are you rewarding him for a behavior (e.g. "hush") or giving him the treat to see if that'll quiet him down?

Right now, he seems to be dictating the car behavior since he gets to bark all he wants and the humans have taken to wearing ear plugs.

The harnesses work....IF you don't have a chewer on your hands...Bear has chewed through 2 harnesses and a seatbelt! Of course if the dog is busy barking he's not likely to be chewing!

Training him to NOT bark of course is better in the long run...I just wonder what MAKES him bark....is he stressed, excited or trying to ward off passing cars/people?

[shannonc]

I'm not sure what causes the barking, he starts out ok but then after a few minutes of realizing where he is he just starts barking. He seems like he wants to come to the front of the vehicle so maybe the harness/seat belt would work for him or it may cause him to bark more.
I do have a word "enough" that I use when he starts barking but that doesn't seem to work for him. I'm not sure he may be stressed as he will sometime nip your arm to get your attention. Once we get to where we are going he is fine. I'm just concerned as we have a long drive coming up in August in which he is coming so it may turn out to not be very enjoyable.

[SABELLESMOM]

My girl was always well behaved... until one day! Fortunately I was on my way to agility class with her, so I had high value treats and a clicker.

The problem began when a motorcyclist with a black mirrored helmet and full visor approached our rear. She didn't like the look of it and began incessantly barking. He followed us for what seemed like an eternity! It was a loud and annoying bark and it continued for miles despite what ever I did.

Then it hit me! "Reward only positive behavior!" Now let me tell you how tricky that was! It was like waiting for her to take a breath. I armed myself with a clicker in one hand and the open treat sac by my side. as soon as she stopped for a breath, I clicked. The first time she was dumbfounded and slow to come for her treat.

Again! And again, I repeated clicking/treating when there was NO BARKING, only. The spaces between barking became longer and longer. Then she stopped so I clicked and gave her a mother-lode (handful) of treats. She "got it!" And yes. He was still behind us! YAHOO!

Now, if you've never used clicker training, this could take a bit longer. My girl is used to the getting it right sound of a clicker. And my girl had only become uneasy over this motercyclist issue, causing her barking. But I couldn't let it become a habit.

I submit your dog is uncomfortably uneasy about riding in a car, altogether. Very likely it does have to do with visual stimulation. But if you work at it it can be cured.

First, find a crash tested seatbelt harness like: Vehicle Restraint - Training Harness Cutting down on his movement in the vehicle also helps cut the stimulation.

If you do opt to use a crate in the back of a truck? For obvious safety reasons, make sure to secure it to the truck bed. GOOD LUCK! I hope this works well for you!

[aquarius3079]

Link decided that he did not like it when we drove on the highway and trucks would pass us. He would bark and attack the door to get out. I am not sure where the behaviour came from but it was not ok with me. So now he is in his harness in the backseat (he weighs 103 #) and I sit with him. My mom drives us to class every week. I tell him to "leave it" when the truck is spotted and if he looks away and at me he gets a treat. I then treat him as we pass the truck. We have been working on this for about 5 wks and on Wed when we went to class and he was great. I only treated 1 out of 4 trucks and all he needed was a "leave it." Next wk I am going to try sitting up front. If he is not ready, we will start over. It is a slow process but it is better than him ripping apart my car and behaving very badly! I know this is not the same circumstance but this same idea could work for you. Quiet behaviour is rewarded. Barking is not. Good luck!

[Cherry Heart]

Arwen is a very good "car dog". She had a 10 hour drive home from the breeder at 8 weeks and a 2 hour (each direction) drive to training classes that started at 16 weeks old. She has been in the car more then what I would imagin most dogs are.

She is buckled into the back seat with the "travelin' dog" harness, we purchased it at petsmart for her it was less then $30. This keeps her to where she can JUST rest her head on the back of our seat if shes standing, she can lay down, sit and look out the back window, but she can't crawl into your lap (which she would if she could). It works wonderfull (kept her in the seat when we were rear ended).

We also have a "big dog" nylabone in the back seat that is KEPT in the car, it is only for trips and she hops right in and starts chewing before the car is even started because she doesn't have one similar to it at home. Have you tried finding a really special toy to keep your dog busy? (No Cuz balls..... oh goodness!)

[shannonc]

Thanks for all your input on this one. I'm going to try the harness that so many of you suggested. He does have a habit of trying to get to the front so this would put a stop to it quickly. I'm also going to try some clicker trainer, I'm not sure why I didn't think of this as I have done clicker training in the past.
I'll let you know how things work out.