Specific steps/tools to stop barking in car

[woward]

Bob, my 10 month old, intact boy has recently taken to barking aggressively while in the car. He gets upset and barks (and lunges) at dogs anytime he sees them, whether they are close or far away. When left in parking lots, he also barks at people who walk near (not necessarily right by) the car. He is not the least bit dog-aggressive when he meets a strange dog on the street or trail. And, he's sweet and loving to people when he meets them, even strangers. Maybe it's the hormones, but I'd like to break him of the behavior ASAP.

He's well trained in the normal obedience commands and, being an adolescent, is quite familiar with "No, Bob." However, he won't heed those words when used to try to stop the in-car barking. In the house it's easy to stop his barking by simply making him respond to nearly any command such as "sit" or "down." However, it's pretty tough to do that while driving.

Any suggestions of specific steps that I can take to stop the barking? How do you experienced trainers deal with this issue? Neutering him is not an option since he is being shown.

Thanks,

Bill

[JD102175]

What about having you in the back seat with him, on leash, while someone else is driving. That way if he acts up you can give him a correction and then be able to distract him from the dog that is making him go nuts. If he is in a crate in the vehicle put something to cover the sides of the crate so he can not see out the side windows.

Just my thoughts

Jaime

[Judi W]

If you can have a partner, it would be great, but it is not necessary.

Have a leash and collar on the dog. Start out on quiet residential streets where you can pull over and park quickly and easily. The minute he starts to mouth off, stop the car, pull his cute little butt out and give him some discipline until you see the look in his eye that says "oops, something I did was very wrong"........... Get back in the car and repeat this and repeat this and repeat this until all you have to do is say "don't even think about it" when you see something coming up that would usually stimulate the barking. Do not take him with you where he is going to be left in the car to do his thing until you have it completely under control when you are in the car. Then do a park and leave just far enough that he thinks you are gone and if he mouths off - pull him out of the car and repeat the tongue lashing. It will take consistency otherwise he will learn that he can act up according to the circumstances.

The reason you pull him out of the car each time is so that he is not acting up from a protected barrier.

[babybluetx23]

I saw something on Animal Planet about this.......It is some show that comes on from time to time and gives training tips.....Here is what they said about it.

Start out by putting the dog in the car, Sit in the back seat with the dog so you can correct him. Have a friend or Family Member that the dog is familiar with and give the dog a treat. Then have them go away and then approach the car again without the treat. If the dog does well Praise him. If not give a correction and have the friend or family member approach with a treat. Ect
Repeat this step with strangers if possible.

[papa bear's mom]

First I'd like to say that Judi's post sounds like an interesting option to try. I've never heard of that approach before where you physically pull them out of the car instead of just trying to address it in the car.
I had this same problem with Papa when we first adopted him. What worked for me is to have him in a crate. He can still see out of it, but he rarely barks when he is in the crate. If he does happen to bark, I just say knock it off. That usually works. I also carry a spray bottle just filled with water that sits in my cup holder. All I have to do if he is getting worked up is show him the bottle. Then he stops. Just from my experience. He's great to take in the car now b/c he's not driving me crazy barking and carrying on (and hurting my ears!) :p

[woward]

Thanks to all for the suggestions.

I've started keeping a lead on him in the car. That way, if there are two of us, one can correct him if he parks or acts up. Haven't tried getting him out as there's usually too much traffic around here to safely stop. I'll add a spray bottle tomorrow although he might think getting sprayed is fun. He's the first Rott of ours that really likes water and getting wet.

We're also using a pinch collar most of the time now. We've used them on all our prior rotties but have held off until now with Bob because of pressure from folks at the local Humane Society who abhore the concept of pain as a teaching aid. Our experience has been that the dogs love their the pinch collars. It means we're going to break out of the boring regular routine and do something fun. As a result all the dogs have loved the collar. So far Bob feels the same way about it. For us (Bob is already bigger than my wife) the pinch collar provides the advantage of leverage without hurting him.

I'll report back on how the various tactics work.

Bill

[Judi W]

Traffic is the reason I suggested actual training work and using low traffic residential streets. Another good place is parking lots after hours when there is some but little traffic.

The old saying that "every dog is brave in its own doorway" also applies to cars. That is why you haul him out of the car and do so immediately. BTW, this process also applies to dogs that act up when crated in public. It does work and fairly quickly.