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Dogs Chasing Cars

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Dogs Chasing Cars

Many dogs, especially those of the herding breed love to give chase to fast moving objects, unfortunately this sometimes includes cars! I have seen dogs that appear to be lying in wait just waiting for a car to appear so that it can give chase. One would wonder what the dog would do if it caught the car? I once worked with a Bullie that used to chase cars around the owners yard and when the car slowed, the Bullie would actually attack the tyres. In fact, it had started trying to bite the tyres while the car was moving!

I would imagine that from a dog’s point of view, not only is the chase good fun, they also ‘win’ – after all the car leaves when it is chased!  This would make the behaviour even more rewarding for the dog. If we add an owner that is screaming and shouting at the dog to stop the behaviour to the mix, then the additional attention received (to a dog attention is attention whether negative or positive), will further reinforce the chasing behaviour. And so a vicious circle begins!

If your dog is already engaging in this behaviour, don’t fool yourself, not only does the dog stand a chance of being seriously injured,  road users who may suddenly swerve to avoid the dog as well as innocent bystanders are being put at risk. This can be a serious situation and it would be advisable to call in a professional to assist you. You can find a behaviourist in your area by visiting www.animal-behaviour.org.za. If you are unable to find anybody here, then please just contact us via the site and we will do our utmost to put you in touch with somebody to assist you.

 Once the dog is chasing, it is a behaviour that is very difficult to change as it is so self rewarding and unless worked on constantly, this is a behaviour that dogs tend to revert back to, especially if they are stressed, bored or frustrated.

Reasons why this behaviour may develop

  • Chasing involves a dog’s natural prey drive, this is not only a game, and they are actually hunting.
  • Genetic -Some breeds, such as herding, sporting, terriers and hounds, have a higher prey drive and are more likely to engage in this   behaviour than other breeds. 
  • I have found that the majority of dogs that do exhibit this behaviour share the following traits – they ignore the owner and are seldom walked, there is a lack of stimulation and/or human companionship, they are bored, or frustrated. 

Prevention

  • Both you and your dog would be much better served by avoiding this bad habit in the first place by not giving chase to your dog if it steals something – rather call him back and reward him for coming.
  • Put in place an excellent recall. My favourite is the Real Reliable Recall, which, if the directions are adhered too and practised often, makes an excellent recall. 
  • I find that basic training, such as House rules help to prevent this problem from arising as the dog is more likely to listen to the owner. 
  • Make sure that the dog has regular outside exercise and supply plentiful chew toys etc, to keep the dog occupied in the yard.
  • Many breeds are bred to retrieve and actually need an outlet to perform same. If your dog is of this type of breed, then engage in a lot of object throwing which satisfies the dog’s natural instinct to retrieve, but also make sure that the dog brings the object back to you.

If you are out with your dog and it shows interest in a car for the first time – get in there quickly. Call your dog in a happy tone of voice, and as it turns to look at you, reward with both verbal praise and a treat. You will have to practise this often and get the dog to associate moving traffic with something good coming from you, so carry a supply of high value extra special treats on your walks.  You will find, if done often enough, that the dog will start to turn towards you in anticipation of a treat when a car is nearby.  If the dog does not turn towards you, wiggle the treat in front of his nose until he does, and then reward immediatly. A lovely tool to use here is the Watch exercise and you can link to the article to see how this is achieved. Basically whenever you say ‘watch’ the dog looks at you, thereby serving as a distraction and an excellent training aid.

If your dog already chases cars

As mentioned above, the modifications to change this behaviour need to be adhered to constantly and it would be advisable to call in a professional for assistance.  Many behaviourists prefer the ‘startle’ method of stopping this behaviour by way of filling a balloon with water and throwing at the dog as it gives chase, or banging something loudly, turning the hose pipe on it etc. Some people even advocate the use of either electric shock collars or an electric wire placed at the gate. Personally, I will only use a method such as above as a very last resort and if all else fails; I would rather train the dog not to chase. If you and the dog are Clicker savvy I would suggest using a Clicker where necessary.

These are the basic exercises I would bring in before starting on the modifications to teach your dog another way of acting around cars.

Management – if your dog is running out of your gate to chase cars, either close the gate or fence off an area that will stop the dog gaining access to this area.

Stimulation – Supply the dog with a variety of chew toys, changing daily, to provide entertainment and diversion while out in yard.

Human Companionship – make sure your dog is not left in the garden all day by himself. Dogs are social animals and need the human connection.

Exercise –Walk your dog daily. When out for a walk, do not let you dog off lead until the chasing behaviour has been dealt with. If the dog is trying to chase while on lead, rather drive to a park and walk your dog there until you have completed the modifications to change behaviour.

Training – if your dog is not listening to you now when you call him, your chances of getting him back when chasing a car are nil. It is imperative with behaviour such as chasing that the dog views the owner/s as pack leaders and will listen to them. Here are some of the modifications that I recommend:-

  • House rules. Bring in the basic House Rules as in the article, doing a lot of the ‘work to earn’ exercise utilizing the recall in this regard. Feed all your dog’s daily requirements by hand, getting him to come to you for every single morsel of food, when you are not at work. Included in these is the NRM (non reward marker), which is good to bring in as you will be able to give your dog feedback as to what behaviour you like, and that which you don’t, in an everyday interaction. Once your dog understands this new cue and is proficient in it, you will be able to use it when you start the serious training to stop the behaviour.
  • Watch/Watch me. Being able to get your dogs attention on you at all times, will give you a huge advantage in getting his attention when a car is in the vicinity. With this exercise, start in the home (even using some of the ‘work to earn’ exercises to practice the Watch exercise). Don’t expect your dog to watch you in the street initially – practice in the home, in the garden, in an area without cars etc. This will help you to be successful when a car is in the vicinity.
  • Real Reliable Recall. This is an exercise that results in a dog having an excellent recall if the modifications are adhered too – a must with a dog that is a chaser. As in the point above, this is practised and perfected in the home and garden and places where it will be easy for the dog initially. When outside, I would suggest that you keep the dog on a long-line to really become proficient in this skill before attempting it without a long line or lead. There is an excellent article called Recall using the long line on the site which will help you to achieve this.
  • With a dog that was previously a chaser, it is vitally important that the dogs natural chase instinct is met with plenty of objects being thrown and brought back to you. I would suggest keeping the dog on a long line until your dog is proficient in this exercise to stop the dog running off with the item. This will also raise you in the human/canine hierarchy. There is an article on the site called Fetch – Teaching your dog to fetch, to help you with this.

Behaviour Modification for dogs chasing cars.

By now you will have brought in the changes and exercises above and it is time to start with an actual car. It is much easier to have a friend with a car help you with this exercise as you can then control the speed; how many times the car drives past and make sure you do not do more than your dog can cope with. This needs to be practised over and over again – doing only 5 times in one day is just not enough.

Start this exercise in your own driveway entrance as it will be much easier for the dog, and that is what we are aiming for – success. Starting this while out for a walk will offer far too many distraction initially.

  • Have the dog on lead near your open gate with a plentiful supply of nice smelly treats situated about your person, and a couple in your hand for easy access.

  • Ask your friend to drive very slowly past the entrance of the gate and as your dog turns its head to look at the car, use your Watch cue in a happy voice. As the dog looks at you, reward immediately with several treats and verbal praise. The reason for several treats (jackpot) is to really get the dogs attention and let it realize that looking at you is more rewarding than looking at the car. Repeat this exercise several times.

  • If this is too hard and you cannot get the dog’s attention, then go back a step and ask your friend to park the car in the road at the bottom of the driveway instead and practise as above.

  • If at any time your dog ignores you and tries to pull away towards the moving car, shout your NRM of ‘uhuh’ at the top of your voice, even giving a quick jerk on the lead. The second the dog stops trying to get to the car, offer treats and praise lavishly. By this time your dog should be totally familiar with the NRM as it will have been used by you daily.

  • When your dog is watching you each and every time your friend drives slowly past, ask her to go a bit faster and repeat the exercise over and over.

  • Your next step is to take a few steps outside the gate, closer to the road. When we change the location, we always go back to the beginning, so this time you will repeat as (b) above, asking your friend to drive past very slowly. Once your dog is proficient at this, request your friend to drive past faster, repeating as above.

  • Next step is to start walking your dog along the pavement and again you go back to the beginning of your friend driving past slowly and gradually increasing as the dog becomes more and more proficient at this exercise.

  • When you have mastered the above, choose another location to practise in, again starting from the beginning.

  • The key to success is as Gary Player, the golfer once said ‘the more I practice the luckier I get’.

  • When your dog is ignoring the car in the above situation, then it is time for real life. Choose a street that does not have cars whizzing past, rather find a quieter street that has speed bumps to force drivers to slow down. If your dog finds it too hard to walk in this situation without trying to chase a car, then go back a few steps, and ask the dog to Watch you from a standing, or sitting position, gradually building it up as you did above. 

Always use your judgement and if you feel the situation seems too tempting, too distracting or too stressful, don’t ask your dog to perform miracles. Practice with him daily and with every opportunity that arises. All dogs learn at different speeds and in the case of a dog that has been chasing cars, it will depend on how ingrained the behaviour is.

When your dog is ignoring cars while out for a walk and you want to take the training of this further and allow your dog once again off lead, then I would suggest you use a combination of the Recall using the Long Line together with the The Real Reliable Recall, starting off with a very short distance and gradually allowing the dog to get further and further away from you.

When you eventually let the dog off the lead completely, start at the beginning again, and don’t allow the dog to get further than a few steps away from you before calling back. Again you will build up the distance accordingly. When starting this exercise, I always advise owners to first walk the dog to tire it out a bit – nothing wrong with prevention!

Personally, I never allow my dogs off lead in any area that could pose a problem where traffic is concerned; rather look for parks that are fenced, on a beach, soccer field etc. With a dog such as this, where you know there could be possible problems with chasing, keep your eyes peeled for possible cars that could trigger the impulse to chase and call the dog back before it starts chasing. Don’t forget to do plenty of fetch exercising in your own garden. 

By Scotty Valadao : Accredited Animal Behaviourist (Cn) (ABC of SA™): TTouch Practitioner

Source: Friends of the Dog

My Dog Attacks Other Dogs at Gates

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My Dog Attacks Other Dogs at Gates

One minute your sweet loving dog is lying relaxing in the sun outside, or playing happily with your other dog, and the next minute he is tearing down to your gate, looking like he is going to kill the dog walking by with his owner – how dare he come near my gate, just not acceptable, I will make sure it does not happen again – the behaviour says!

This behaviour does not only occur at gate – you may have a dog that is inside the house, and a security gate is preventing it going out, or it occurs when the dog is looking out the window – in all these situations, the dog tends to go bananas as another dog walks by. 

This is not an uncommon event with dogs, and in dog behaviour terms is known as either barrier aggression, fence aggression or barrier frustration. What is interesting with dogs that behave in this manner, is that often they are totally friendly and sociable with other dogs they meet – not all however!

Why Does This Behaviour Occur?

Very often a combination the factors below could be the reason. 

  • Frustration is a common reason – it could be that the normally friendly dog is totally frustrated not being able to go and say hello, however, the behaviour can easily and quickly escalate. 
  • Frustration and Boredom – the dog may not be receiving sufficient physical, mental or even social interaction. It has found a great way of entertaining itself, although we humans and the dog and owner on the other side of the gate may not find it entertaining!
  • Fear – yes fear can be a factor! Approximately 98% of aggressive behaviour is due to fear, just the behaviour exhibited has gradually increased from perhaps a growl until it looks like a full blown attack taking place. Think about this from a dogs point of view – if I appear big enough, nasty enough, the threat will leave!
  • Owner inadvertently reinforcing the behaviour by shouting, screaming at the dog – remember that to a dog, attention is attention, whether negative or positive!
  • Previous experiences. The dog may have been attacked himself when he was out with his own owner, and by exhibiting the aggressive behaviour the dog is trying to ensure it will not happen again – he is behind a gate, so is safe.

​Can this behaviour escalate?

Most certainly yes, and these are some of the things that can occur:-

  • The behaviour can become more and more extreme. Each and every time this aggressive behaviour occurs it tends to escalate, and again, from a dogs point of view, the perceived threat left, so the behaviour worked and will be repeated.
  • There are other dogs in the home and they come down to see what is happening and start to bark and act up as well. The initial dog’s arousal levels may get so high that it will exhibit what is called redirected behaviour, and in total frustration will turn on the other dog. This can end up with serious consequences. 
  • The owner tries to interfere to stop the dog – dog turns on the owner and a bite can ensue – the arousal levels have just gone so high that the dog is reacting, not thinking at all. 
  • Not all dogs walking by will accept the aggressive behaviour and may react with aggression in return. This increases aggression in both dogs and the likelihood that they will become aggressive to other dogs when out for walks, and even other dogs in the home.
  • If it is a small dog on the other side of the gate and it is reacting back and there is a gap in the gate at the bottom, or the bars are set wide apart, the small dog can be pulled under the gate or through the bars – this happens, and mostly when it is one of the fighting dog breeds involved. 
  • The gate may open unexpectedly! One of two things normally occurs in this situation – either the aggressing dog will run back towards the house, or heavens forbid he will go through the gate and a serious fight ensues. It is not unusual in these circumstances for the owner walking the other dog to be bitten trying to stop the fight – this is a serious and very dangerous situation. 
  • When engaging in gate aggression, both adrenaline and cortisol are surging through the dogs body and it is in an aroused state and may even be over threshold. Although the behaviour may stop, it does take time for the adrenaline and cortisol levels to drop, and there is always the chance that the aggressive behaviour could occur in another situation.

Not all owners realize that instances such as above can occur and it is of the utmost importance that behaviour such as this is stopped immediately.

Management and Prevention

  • Deny the dog access to the gate – put the dog in another area of the garden where it cannot access the gate.
  • Often suggestions are made to put shade cloth or similar against the gate so that the dog cannot see outside. In some instances this will help to prevent the behaviour, however, with some dogs it can actually increase the frustration.
  • If a situation where the dog goes nuts when inside but is prevented by going outside by a security gate – either keep the main door closed, put shade cloth or similar over the gate to prevent the dog seeing out. 
  • If the dog is engaging at the behaviour at a window, keep the dog out of this room, or shut the curtains. 
  • Ensure that the dog is receiving regular walks and mental stimulation such as safe chew toys, digging pits

We believe any situation where aggression is in place, that a professional should be called in and below will give you an idea of the work that may be done to change the behaviour. 

Changing this Behaviour

We believe that all aggression should be handled by a professional behaviourist, and one with sufficient experience. A trainer is not a behaviourist, and neither is somebody that has done an on-line course over a few months. Becoming a behaviourist involves at least 2 – 4 years of study – understanding dogs – how they think and act, in-depth knowledge of body language, practical experience, understanding of stress, arousal, threshold, triggers that could be contributing towards the behaviour, as well as knowledge of all the modifications that can be used. It is up to the owner to request a copy of the behaviourists qualifications to ensure that they are entrusting their beloved dog to somebody that has the knowledge and experience to change the behaviour and that the behaviourist works only with positive reinforcement methods. Anybody that suggests alpha rolls, jabbing, aversive equipment such as shock collars etc, should be totally avoided. These are the old fashioned methods of working with dogs, and can cause untold long term harm and totally damage your relationship with your dog. 

The first thing the behaviourist will do is to determine why the behaviour is actually happening, and that the dogs mental, physical and social needs are being met. They will also examine your overall relationship with the dog and see if any factors in this regard are contributing to the behaviour and show you how to change same. 

After the above has been examined and any modifications needed brought in, the behaviourist will probably use a method called counter conditioning. Simply put, counter conditioning involves changing the way a dog feels about something – they are going to change the trigger (the dog on the other side of the gate) with something the dog loves – food, and not just regular old kibble, something delicious such as biltong or liver bread or some other favourite treat – this will change the dogs feelings towards dogs going by the gate. 

The owner will probably be given knowledge and tools to be able to call the dog back successfully in the event it does dash towards the gate. 

What is important, is that if a dog is engaging in this behaviour, that owners get help as soon as possible – the longer the behaviour is in place, the longer it can take to change, and the more difficult it can be. 

Source: Friends of the dog