Bill asked this simple question relating to a big problem:

“I can not get my dog into the car to go anywhere.What can i do?.”

Strangely enough, this problem is quite close to home for me, so I can tell you what worked in a recent, real life scenario….

My brother rescued a Lab/Greyhound mix puppy called Logan, who had been dumped in a box and left to fend for himself.  Logan is now about 18 months old and rarely traveled in a car.  When he did, he used to shut down as you approach the car and had to be lifted in.  He then shook with anxiety for the entire car ride, no matter how short.  I was unaware of this until one day when I was visiting my parents, and my brother arrived with Logan to drop him off (my parents were dog sitting for a week while Jay went on holiday).  He looked petrified as he got out of the car, so I put on my busybody cap and asked what was wrong.  After hearing the full story of how Logan acts when it is time for a car journey (and knowing that he adores staying with my parents, so there was no fear of separation anxiety), I decided to have a nice surprise for my brother upon his return from sunnier climates…

My assessment of Logan’s problem was based upon two key facts.

1. He had been abandoned, so it could be that one of his first memories of a car was that journey that left him all alone without his human companion.
2. He was never desensitized to being in the car

My aim was to make cars a happy place for Logan, so here is what I did:

I parked my people carrier (minivan) on the drive with the tailgate open and put Logan’s bed in it.  The tailgate was left open and I sat on the bumper while I called Logan over.  When he came, I gave him a treat and let him go back to what he was doing.  I did this ten or so times.  The next step was to ask Logan to lie on his bed.  He was reluctant at first, but it had to be his decision to jump on his bed (and, by default, into the car).  When he did, I gave him some hearty praise and a big treat and again let him go back to what he was doing, repeating this about 20 times, gradually changing the cue to “Logan, in the car”, moving myself off of the bumper and finally getting him to jump in and let me close the tailgate (at first just for a second, then gradually enough time for me to close it and go to the driver’s door).

At this point I enlisted some help from one of my children, who sat in the rear passenger seat with some strips of chicken.  I asked Logan to get in the car, closed the tailgate and started up the motor, at which point my daughter gave him a strip of chicken.  We repeated this a couple of times, then started moving the car a few yards until eventually we had done a couple of circuits round the block.  In all I spent a couple of hours on this, and did two follow up sessions to reinforce the behavior.  My brother could not believe the change in the week he had been gone, and now Logan gets to go for walks in some great spots in the country, which makes him even more happy when going in the car!