Hello my name is Laura Im new to hear and really would like some help,
William is my 15 month old St Bernard who is rather large, i used to take him places in my car when i could fit him in my boot, i would have to lift him in the boot though front end first then back end as he would refuse to jump in himself, as he is no longer able to fit in my boot we tried putting him in the back of my husbands van so we can still take him out places but we are unable to get him in it, as soon as he goes near it he lays down and refuses to move and with a dog his size it is impossible to shift him. i have tried getting in the back first with the children calling him aswell, i have tried throwing meat in the back and it just wont work i really want to take him out and cant think of anything else to do Please help me.
Please Help
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Buddy'smyboy
- Posts: 179
- Joined: Mon Jul 19, 2010 7:17 pm
Re: Please Help
My dog also highly dislikes getting into the back of my mom's car, and he's a hundred pounds (about 45 kg) so I can relate.
Could you perhaps try a ramp such as these?
http://www.petclassics.com/Outdoor-Dog-Ramps/
I've never tried one with Buddy my dog, but if your dog doesn't want to jump in he could walk in on one of these and he wouldn't have to be lifted in either.
Currently what I'm doing with Buddy is using the clicker to help teach him to get in. My ultimate goal is for him to put his paws in the car so his front end is up so I can just lift his hind end in since he's uncomfortable with jumping in. If you don't know about the clicker here's a good link to get started:
viewtopic.php?f=20&t=513
Here's what I've done so far. I opened up the back of the car and then brought him over on his leash with a bunch of high value food (smoked sausage) in my treat pouch. I clicked and treated (c/t) him for just looking at the back of the car. I repeated that several times. After this he became much more interested in the car and began sniffing it so I c/t him. After sniffing it a bunch I upped the criteria. He had to actually touch the car. c/t. By this point he offered behavior on his own; Buddy put his paws up on the inside of the car- c/t. Then he realized he was getting loads of yummy sausage for just putting his paws in the car. How easy! He started doing this over and over again so every time I c/t him and praised him like crazy. So then I upped the criteria again. Now when he put his paws inside I waited for him to stay a little longer in there and I put my hand around his hind area, just putting them on him. c/t and repeat a couple times. Then when he got up I just put a little bit of pressure, not enough to lift his rear but enough that he could feel it. c/t. So far this is as far as I've gotten and I did this in about 10 minutes. Next steps after this are to apply more pressure up wards on his hind end so he gets used to that feeling as something that's alright. Then putting both my hands around his hind end without applying pressure. When he gets that I'll start applying small amounts of pressure and build it up again like I did before until I can lift his hind end up some, then more, then all the way into the car.
That is my goal and game plan and so far it has been working very well.
As for him laying down and refusing to get in the car, perhaps you can do something similar with what I did above. How about having him walk around and past the car instead of going straight for the back of the car? Just get him used to be near the car and give him treats for that. Then give him treats for standing next to the open back of the car, then a little closer, and a little closer. Get him to think, "wow, being around this hunk of metal gets me sausage/cheese/treats, how cool!" Then back up about fifteen steps away from the open back of the car and then take a couple steps like you're going towards it but then c/t him after a few steps then turn direction and start over. Take just a couple steps towards the car at first, then add another step, repeat, then another step, repeat, until you can get to the back of the car without him worrying. Then you can do something like what I'm doing with Buddy and getting in the car.
I do not know if this will work for your dog as your dog is different from mine, but perhaps a slightly different version of this might also work with your dog since he doesn't want to jump in either. I will let you know how the steps I haven't done yet work for us or need to be edited as I do them, but that is a basic plan you can try, and others will also come along with more advice and will be able to help better than me.
Oh and by the way, don't do any of these things when you need to get somewhere in a hurry. Do these things when you have lots of time on your hands and be sure you don't go too fast or it might make him more worried and that will set you back. Good luck
Could you perhaps try a ramp such as these?
http://www.petclassics.com/Outdoor-Dog-Ramps/
I've never tried one with Buddy my dog, but if your dog doesn't want to jump in he could walk in on one of these and he wouldn't have to be lifted in either.
Currently what I'm doing with Buddy is using the clicker to help teach him to get in. My ultimate goal is for him to put his paws in the car so his front end is up so I can just lift his hind end in since he's uncomfortable with jumping in. If you don't know about the clicker here's a good link to get started:
viewtopic.php?f=20&t=513
Here's what I've done so far. I opened up the back of the car and then brought him over on his leash with a bunch of high value food (smoked sausage) in my treat pouch. I clicked and treated (c/t) him for just looking at the back of the car. I repeated that several times. After this he became much more interested in the car and began sniffing it so I c/t him. After sniffing it a bunch I upped the criteria. He had to actually touch the car. c/t. By this point he offered behavior on his own; Buddy put his paws up on the inside of the car- c/t. Then he realized he was getting loads of yummy sausage for just putting his paws in the car. How easy! He started doing this over and over again so every time I c/t him and praised him like crazy. So then I upped the criteria again. Now when he put his paws inside I waited for him to stay a little longer in there and I put my hand around his hind area, just putting them on him. c/t and repeat a couple times. Then when he got up I just put a little bit of pressure, not enough to lift his rear but enough that he could feel it. c/t. So far this is as far as I've gotten and I did this in about 10 minutes. Next steps after this are to apply more pressure up wards on his hind end so he gets used to that feeling as something that's alright. Then putting both my hands around his hind end without applying pressure. When he gets that I'll start applying small amounts of pressure and build it up again like I did before until I can lift his hind end up some, then more, then all the way into the car.
That is my goal and game plan and so far it has been working very well.
As for him laying down and refusing to get in the car, perhaps you can do something similar with what I did above. How about having him walk around and past the car instead of going straight for the back of the car? Just get him used to be near the car and give him treats for that. Then give him treats for standing next to the open back of the car, then a little closer, and a little closer. Get him to think, "wow, being around this hunk of metal gets me sausage/cheese/treats, how cool!" Then back up about fifteen steps away from the open back of the car and then take a couple steps like you're going towards it but then c/t him after a few steps then turn direction and start over. Take just a couple steps towards the car at first, then add another step, repeat, then another step, repeat, until you can get to the back of the car without him worrying. Then you can do something like what I'm doing with Buddy and getting in the car.
I do not know if this will work for your dog as your dog is different from mine, but perhaps a slightly different version of this might also work with your dog since he doesn't want to jump in either. I will let you know how the steps I haven't done yet work for us or need to be edited as I do them, but that is a basic plan you can try, and others will also come along with more advice and will be able to help better than me.
Oh and by the way, don't do any of these things when you need to get somewhere in a hurry. Do these things when you have lots of time on your hands and be sure you don't go too fast or it might make him more worried and that will set you back. Good luck
