Walking the Dog About This Page:

[Kruggie]

Kay gang....my newest nightmare occurs twice a day every time I grab the dog leash to walk the beast. The beast is only eight months old and weighs about 60lbs..hes a big dog...a big fluffy yellow lab with ears that are just right for squeezing (okay...I love him...can you tell). ANYWHO! I get the dog on the leash and he runs like a nut out the door....the whole time we are walking he is really well behaved except when a car goes by....he goes nuts trying to chase it and take me with him......I have nearly lost limbs trying to hold him back. His love of cars is grand....I take him to my mom's house as she has a large feild behind her place that is perfect for letting a dog run...I let him off the leash and he amazingly remembers exactly how to get back to moms and hit the highway after the cars. HE IS OBSESSED!
I wouldnt mind so much if I didnt live on a well traveled road.

WHAT is a girl supposed to do with her doggie that loves to chase cars....does anyone know how to break a dog of this behavior? My mom says have him neuterd but dh is really not into the idea (a man thing I guess).???

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Signed,
Too Old to be dragged down the street.

[AKLRULZ]

Hey there - as an owner of a Lab I hear your pain - although Chloe is more obsessed with other dogs than cars! I'm serious it is NOT FUN to walk with her if another dog happens to be in the same state!

I would consider having your dog neutered (GULP!)though, Kruggie. We have friends who just had their Lab neutuered and it really did help - and you won't ever have to worry about him aiding in the already overpopulated dog world. We had Chloe spayed when she was a pup.

Good luck - been there, done it and it does get better is all I can say! [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img] [img]graemlins/wavin.gif[/img]

[pflamingo]

We have this problem with George -- 80lbs of lovable-but-dumb lab/mastiff mix. I have 2 suggestions.

1) You can get a harness that goes around his legs and chest. It has a little lanyard-type thing that you pull when he starts to run or jump, and it stops him in his tracks. It doesn't trip him -- he just can't move anywhere. We got ours from one of the mail-order catalogs -- I think it was Foster's and something, or Dr. Foster's, and it's called a "no-jump" harness. It doesn't hurt the dog in any way and it works really well on George -- which is saying something. It was a bit tricky to get on him at first, though.

2) Take either a small squirt bottle (you want something that will give him a good squirt, not just a light misting) or a "shake-can" with you on your walks. (A "shake-can" is an empty soda can with 10-12 pennies in it. Tape over the top so the coins stay in. Most dogs hate this noise.) When your dog starts to run, spray him in the face with the water (don't drown him, just get his attention) or shake the can. You should try these out before walking him to see which one he likes least -- he should shy away from one or the other. (George isn't bothered by the shake can, but dislikes water on his face. My other dog is just the opposite.) When I use the water bottle, I also make a sharp noise, like "aa-aa-aa" -- I don't like to train with the word "no" -- that also gets his attention.

I'd start with the low-tech #2 option before ordering the harness -- although I was amazed at how well that contraption worked with George. Give him lots of praise and dog treats (yes, you have to bribe dogs) when he's walking correctly and not going after cars. When you do the squirt/shake thing, be sure to praise him and give him a treat if he doesn't immediately go after a car. You're trying to communicate to him that not running after cars produces better results ("ooh, I get doggie treats") than running ("hey I got squirted/rattled at!"). And lest anyone think that squirting is cruel, it's a lot less aversive than getting run over by a car -- which is the other way they learn not to do that. But that solution is a bit too permanent for my taste.

Anyway, I hope this helps! Good luck!

PS As the "mom" of two abandoned-but-rescued dogs (and a third, who died a few years ago after 15 good years), I'm a strong advocate of spaying/neutering -- regardless of whether it reduces this sort of behavior. If you aren't going to breed the dog, there's no reason to not do this -- guy-stuff included! [img]images/icons/wink.gif[/img]

[Dumbo]

We also have a lab mix that is hard to control on the lease. Thankfully we live in the country so we don't have to use the lease that often.
I to would have him neutured. There are way to many homeless animals. All of my fur kids have been spayed. (2 cats and dog) My last 2 dogs were also spayed.

[DVC_Don]

Pat, how did that harness work out? I ask due to a neighbors young lab. It has knocked down and hurt a couple of children (their own included) in the neighborhood and they were going to adopt out the dog, but are going to try this harness now. We have banned our kids from this yard for now (they do have the invisible fence setup that seems to work). They have not gotten the harness yet. Their last dog they adopted out also. It was a basset hound that attacked and bit their young sons face up! [img]images/icons/shocked.gif[/img]

[Prestidigitator]

The spray bottle idea is a good one ... I've used Tabasco and water in a spray bottle to stop nuisance barking effectively. It burns eyes and mouth but it gets a dogs attention and it works and fairly fast.

I also highly recommend obedience class. Teaching your dog to come when you call him, sit, stay or lie down on command can save his life. I have a boxer that is an escape artist (she scales fences and breaks out of crates). She can be in full flight chasing something though and, if I yell "down", she drops like a rock on command. I found the class to be a real bonding experience with my dog. The class was about 6 weeks long and cost about $50. We both enjoyed it and it was money very well spent.

I'm another spay/neuter advocate. We do boxer rescue. It can make a world of difference with things like "prey drive" and "marking instinct." Most notably though it GREATLY reduces your dog's risk for getting certain types of cancer. Retrievers (especially Goldens) and Boxers are the top two breeds for getting cancer in purebred dogs. The reproductive organs are often the areas where it manifests. Getting them "altered" can actually extend their lifespan.

They now just remove the inside parts (rather than taking the whole "item" off) so it is visually less traumatic for guys. They also make "falsies" out of silicon that you can check into if you want; they implant them and you can't tell the dog isn't "intact" to look at him.

Good luck. Car chasing is VERY dangerous. It's horrible for the person who hits the dog too. I hope something works!

[pflamingo]

Originally posted by Prestidigitator:
I've used Tabasco and water in a spray bottle

<font size="2" face="Comic Sans MS, Arial">No offense, but I wouldn't use tabasco sauce in a solution I was spraying in the dog's face. Red pepper in the eyes, even diluted, can be really painful. (I know, I've made the mistake of touching my face while cooking with chilies. Ouch! [img]images/icons/shocked.gif[/img] ) Plain water will work just fine. I have, however, smeared tabasco on things I didn't want George to chew. Unfortunately, turns out the big goof likes the taste!

They also make "falsies" out of silicon that you can check into if you want; they implant them and you can't tell the dog isn't "intact" to look at him.

<font size="2" face="Comic Sans MS, Arial">You're kidding. Jeez, now I've heard everything! [img]images/icons/rolleyes.gif[/img] This is such a human thing -- the dogs don't really know or care.

Obedience class is an excellent idea. We keep talking about taking George. Although I could do all this -- animal behavior was one of my specialties in grad school -- Dennis needs the training, too. (Not that he chases cars -- only airplanes, if you recall [img]images/icons/wink.gif[/img] ) Dennis has a hard time figuring out how to be consistent in correcting and controlling George, and obedience class helps humans understand how their dog's brains work.

Don, we haven't been very good about walking George lately, and I've only worked with him in the yard using the harness. I can tell you though, that George is a very exuberant dog, and within 10 minutes of working with the harness, I had him walking very politely next to me. I also use a training collar (inappropriately named a "choke chain"), and hold both the leash and the lanyard when I work with him.

I've got another idea for your neighbor's problem, but Dennis wants to go to Cracker Barrel for lunch -- PM a reminder to me and I'll tell you about it later. [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img]