Dog chasing car....

Anyone cured a dog from car chasing??? My 16 month old Heading Dog is bad. A car or bike goes past our place and she fence runs chasing it. She will also chase in our orchard but we have blocked the parts of the fence she can go thru.

She also can be bad on a lead, lunging at cars and just about tripping me up. I have tried long lines, treats etc and as she will sometimes yip, putting a bark stop collar on - that got her a couple of times and she quietened down a bit but she is smart and knows not to yip when chasing to avoid the shock. She has been alot better in town on the lead as I walk her around to desensitise her but I cant trust her.

She also chases cars from inside the car when we are out so has to travel in a crate - annoying as it takes up space and she is starting to get a bit big for the crate. I have a harness for her but she spins and gets all tangled up with the seat belts. As the harness is new I am still working on this as a solution.

I am frightened she will work out she can jump our fences and get herself killed. I am trying to borrow a remote control electric collar at the moment as I suspect its the only solution

Getting hit by a car usually cures them but not always. I heard a story years ago of a dog that chased log trucks. One day the dog got hit and crawled off into the bush seemingly to die. After some considerable time the dog reappeared running quite well on three legs and still chasing log trucks.

Hi,

An outrigger hot wire at "dog height" on the inside of your boundary fence, connected to an ordinary electric fence charger should convince your dog to respect the fence [}]

As for using a remote controlled electric collar, you need to make sure that your dog associates the unpleasant shock with the undesirable behaviour, and not with the collar or with you! (aversion training - when I chase cars it hurts!).

eg call your dog to you, praise it and give it a treat
put the collar on your dog, then praise it and give it another treat
get a favourite toy out and have a game with your dog
Do this every time you put the collar on your dog to make it think that having the collar put on is a really good thing!

Then, put the toy away and go about your business (with the collar remote close to hand).

If/when your dog tries to chase a car, don't say anything, just turn the shock intensity control (if the remote has one) all the way up and trigger the collar (it's best if your dog cannot see you or you are at least no where near your dog).
Don't hold the button down any longer than you have to (these collars really do hurt!) - when your dog stops running, or yelps, or stands up on its back legs (a typical reaction to a strong shock from a collar - it hurts!) then you must let go of the button without delay (The aim is to make the dog think that chasing cars hurts, not to torture the dog).
By now, you dog is probably a bit bewildered, wondering what is going on, so go outside and call your dog to you, then reward your dog immediately with a treat or a game (or both). By the time your dog has returned to you, it has forgotten about chasing cars and is anticipating the reward for coming when called.

Do not shock your dog with the electric collar when it is in a vehicle with you- if your dog thinks that you are responsible for the pain especially whilst it is trapped in a confined space with you, it may panic and lash out with it's teeth!
If can you convince your dog that chasing cars along the fence hurts, it will probably also loose interest in trying to chase them whilst in your vehicle.

Cheers

My dog a Border Collie was going to get herself runover chasing cars, milk tankers, anything with wheels.

Recluctantly I borrowed an electric collar. We staged it. Hubby drove around the tanker loop while I had the remote. She chased the car and got a shock, yelped not knowing what got her. 2nd staging a few minutes later she went after the car again, again she got a shock yelped and came racing back to me she has not chased a car again. For some time when she saw our car she would look away from it.

I know it seems mean but I knew I had to be cruel to be kind.

For goodness sake - are you suggesting that because she is a heading dog you have no control over her. So what have you been doing with her for the past 13 months? It's called training your animal from a puppy (unless she is a rescue) and no, I do not apologise for saying that.

I see so many lovely well kept border collies at the botanic gardens

Hi, have you tried putting one of her front feet in her collar so she has to exert a lot more energy to run or go anywhere on 3 legs, this slow them down and especially if they are going to chase vehicles or jump fences. Cheers and good luck.

charlotte1;462248 wrote: My dog a Border Collie was going to get herself runover chasing cars, milk tankers, anything with wheels.
Recluctantly I borrowed an electric collar. We staged it. Hubby drove around the tanker loop while I had the remote. She chased the car and got a shock, yelped not knowing what got her. 2nd staging a few minutes later she went after the car again, again she got a shock yelped and came racing back to me she has not chased a car again. For some time when she saw our car she would look away from it.
I know it seems mean but I knew I had to be cruel to be kind.

QUOTE=DiDi;462250]For goodness sake - are you suggesting that because she is a heading dog you have no control over her. So what have you been doing with her for the past 13 months? It's called training your animal from a puppy (unless she is a rescue) and no, I do not apologise for saying that.[/quote]

Charlotte, you were lucky that it worked. This is a horrible Border Collie trait and is very hard to break and in some cases, impossible.

Didi, that is a very unfair statement. The NZ Heading Dog has a large amount of Border Collie in it's makeup and it's part of what makes them the brilliant working dog they are - I should know. However, many have inherited the chasing of moving objects, and chickens and wheels are high on their priority list, along with sheep and cattle!

Both my remaining dogs, one a BC, the other a heading dog, chase vehicles and to that end they are confined to the house section when not being used to stop them eating the tyres of visitors as they come up our 120 metre drive. Neither go on to the road or show any inclination to want to to chase the large number of trucks and vehicles that go up and down it daily. I have run Sock's nose over so many times with the Mule it's not funny. I don't slow down for her and she comes up with a bloodied nose and usually a mouth full of cowshit. She still hasn't learnt.

Ccrk9, try Charlottes method or a combination of Charlottes and Sparks. I also have to ask if this dog is working? A bored dog of this breed will cause problems if it doesn't have enough to do. If you actually have no use for a heading dog, could you consider passing her on to someone who will before she gets too much older, and consider getting an older, retired working dog? Just a suggestion because I don't know what your doing or what your set-up is.

Cheers,
Ronnie

The shock from the collar is strong at the high setting, I know because I tried it on myself before I would try it on my dog, but be aware that some dogs will still ignore it if they are very keen on something. I adopted a dog with a bad habit of running after things it shouldn't, and the reaction to the collar shock on the highest setting was a shake of the head, and the dog kept on chasing.

Dogs that chase cars are extremely dangerous....if you cannot train her out of it I would be getting rid of her.
we have a length 15m, of thin nylon rope, attached to the collar and around your arm or waist...(fencepost would be better but not easy too take for a walk ....when our dog took of at full speed after a sheep, she was jerked hard back when she reached the end....and together with a sharp NO, she stopped after one very painful episode.
PS it really hurt my arm

DiDi;462250 wrote: For goodness sake - are you suggesting that because she is a heading dog you have no control over her. So what have you been doing with her for the past 13 months? It's called training your animal from a puppy (unless she is a rescue) and no, I do not apologise for saying that.

Didi, She knows come, down, sit, stand, wait. But come when a car is around is pretty well impossible. As to what else I have been doing, I had over 6 months in total last year unable to walk or on crutches or a walker - in between trying to die so I guess her training got interrupted and I am still not up to full strength.

And please don't take that tone with people you don't know. I am well experienced in dog training and qualified in dog behaviour, including having dogs for over 40 years and being a qualified veterinary nurse for over 20 years. If I ask for help its because I needed some positive input on a problem, not remarks made like that when you didn't even bother to enquire why I might be having the problem.

kindajojo;462294 wrote: Dogs that chase cars are extremely dangerous....if you cannot train her out of it I would be getting rid of her.
we have a length 15m, of thin nylon rope, attached to the collar and around your arm or waist...(fencepost would be better but not easy too take for a walk ....when our dog took of at full speed after a sheep, she was jerked hard back when she reached the end....and together with a sharp NO, she stopped after one very painful episode.
PS it really hurt my arm

Lol. Been there done that with the long line. She is good with our sheep and has the idea about sheep and has started on more exercise now her bones are developed. She had an issue with her front legs so I couldn't push the exercise thing when younger. I have had Border Collie X and a farm Beardy before and not this much trouble sorting their chasing out (we lived in town in those days). I did try and re home her but no takers and its to late now- she is part of our household.

I agree the only answer is to get rid of her. She will always be like she is if she isn't responding to the things you've tried. Better her dead than some poor motorist going off the road trying to avoid her or given a surprise by her antics.

Looks like a remote control electric collar first before decisions can be made. It would help if I still wasn't weak from last years medical issues - and she knows it! Out riggers on the fences are also on the cards just in case she works out she is agile enough to jump over....

There is something on better homes and gardens this Friday that is about teaching dogs not to chase cars and dr Harry thinks its works 99% I will try and watch it and fill you in.