martySQ Posted September 7, 2008 Report Share Posted September 7, 2008 I know cars and car chasing are huge no-nos. I try to take pup with me to garden in front yard and she gladly accompnies me on a leash and gets all setlled down like a bunch of fellas for a Monday night football evening, fixateing on the passing cars about 500 feet to 1000 feet away. Should I not take her around to the front when I garden, and at all extremes keep her from watching the cars like they are her version of Monday night football? She watches my ducks and my son when he is working around the yard that intently from the confines of the deck. Thank you. (I did go back about 10 pages looking for a similar question before posting, but figured if it wasn't in that many pages back, if it had been covered, it might be time to cover it again.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue R Posted September 7, 2008 Report Share Posted September 7, 2008 This question, while a very important one, is not a Working Stockdog question and should be put in the General section, where you should get some very good input and advice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eileen Stein Posted September 7, 2008 Report Share Posted September 7, 2008 I have moved this thread to General Border Collie Discussion, because this forum deals only with working stockdogs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monicah Posted September 7, 2008 Report Share Posted September 7, 2008 I have a 4 months old puppy and she's like that as well. People told me to get an E-collar because that's the only way to stop it. She'd be a totally useless dog if not. I decided to take her for walks near the traffic. Every time she saw a car and tried to chase it (she was on a leash of course..), I yelled "NO!". If she did it again I grabbed her neck and yelled no again. I didn't hurt her, just scared her. It has helped A LOT! She knows she can't chase the cars and is busy sniffing the ground when we go for walks now. If a car drives by close to us, she'll go beside me so that I'm between her and the car. I tell her good girl and she wags her tail and is very proud of herself. She also used to chase the cars that drove past our fenced yard. Now she just looks at the cars when she hears them and then continue to play with her toy. Maybe you should try and get her attention when she's watching the cars. Give her treats for looking at you instead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Genie Posted September 8, 2008 Report Share Posted September 8, 2008 What she's doing now could easily lead to car chasing, which can be a fatal activity. Don't bring her up to the front yard when you're busy and can't work with her. Enroll in a group obedience class so that she learns basic commands and can do them with distractions around. Then take her in the front yard only on leash and only to work on other exercises. Praise/reward for focusing on you rather than the cars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Errol Posted September 8, 2008 Report Share Posted September 8, 2008 I know cars and car chasing are huge no-nos. I try to take pup with me to garden in front yard and she gladly accompnies me on a leash and gets all setlled down like a bunch of fellas for a Monday night football evening, fixateing on the passing cars about 500 feet to 1000 feet away. Should I not take her around to the front when I garden, and at all extremes keep her from watching the cars like they are her version of Monday night football? She watches my ducks and my son when he is working around the yard that intently from the confines of the deck. Thank you.(I did go back about 10 pages looking for a similar question before posting, but figured if it wasn't in that many pages back, if it had been covered, it might be time to cover it again.) When Keva was about that age I was also asking advice on car fixation. I tried prong collars,spray collars,tin cans with coins,yelling and looking her in the eye and telling her I was going to have her for supper. She is now 14 mo and I'am happy to say she seldom looks at a car.Patience Patience and more Patience and just keep letting her know it is unacceptable!. Good Luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seelie Fey Posted September 8, 2008 Report Share Posted September 8, 2008 When Keva was about that age I was also asking advice on car fixation. I tried prong collars,spray collars,tin cans with coins,yelling and looking her in the eye and telling her I was going to have her for supper. She is now 14 mo and I'am happy to say she seldom looks at a car.Patience Patience and more Patience and just keep letting her know it is unacceptable!.Good Luck. Ditto with Seelie. At four months, she was escaping from leashes and halters(!) to flatten herself in front of cars and try to stare them down. She got over it with training and perseverance. No shock or prong collars required, or excessively harsh correction. Just determination and consistancy. Don't let her fixate on cars for an instant it's just wearing a behaviour groove in her brain that you don't want. Don't take her out with you when you gaden if you don't have the time to side-track her. If she is within sight of cars, she's going to take every iota of your attention for awhile. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
in2adventure Posted September 8, 2008 Report Share Posted September 8, 2008 I have found that with obsessive behavior it helps to "work" through it. Make them go through their paces, such as sit, down, stay. rollover, shake, any trick they have learned and are happy to perform, while the object of OCD is in motion or sight. Grady started stalking cars when I first got him last month and I made him down or sit (all he really knew) everytime we saw a car coming. Now he throws himself to the ground or sits on his own when cars drive by (most of the time, sometimes he just stands and watches them go by). He was definately not chasing them after just 1 week. Lucia is the same way, but her problem is small fuzzy creatures. She knows more "tricks" which helps. I run her through them rapidly and repetively until she relaxes and her total focus is on me. Good luck! And I wouldn't let your dog sit on the front porch and watch the obsession drive by over and over again. It's really just feeding the problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doggietrio Posted September 9, 2008 Report Share Posted September 9, 2008 I have an Aussie who has become a horrible car chaser. My biggest issue is my neighbor's drive is next to our "back yard" (fenced dog yard) and he can see the cars go by. He's gotten to the point where he will tear out of the dog door to chase down the car when he hears (or thinks he hears) a car coming up the drive. If he can't get out of the dog door, he will bark and run inside the house while he watches/hears the car go by. I do not let him have access to cars - I confine him to one room in the house when I am not there, he doesn't get access to the yard, and when I am home and in the yard, I call him to me and have him sit stay while a car goes by. I can also sit/down him and he can stay at distance while the car goes by if I am quick enough to catch him before he starts his barking/chasing. Unfortunately, this isn't fixing the problem, only managing it. I do not let him off leash in areas where traffic is nearby. This is an issue that only started after we moved to this house, and he has generalized it to other vehicles in other areas - although not with nearly the same amount of passion/enthusiasm as at our house. I've been worried the BC will pick up on this car chasing behavior but she is too busy stalking/chasing him to see the car. Jennifer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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