Training Your Dog To Ride in The Car San Diego Dog Training
As our dogs become more integrated into our lives we need to think about training for more specific activities than just how to behave in the house. The simple jingle of the key ring can send many dogs into a wild tail gyrating dash to the door.
The thought of that frenzy makes one start thinking of ways to sneak out of the house so the guilt of leaving the dog doesn’t need to happen for another day in a row. Instead of finding inventive ways to sneak out of the house without the dog knowing here are some tips on how to train your dog to ride calmly in the car.
The first thing to remember in the process of training your dog to be calm in order to go with you in the car is that dogs do what works. In other words, if you give in to the wild frenzy and allow your dog to go with you in the midst of knocking everything down in the path of the tail wagging demolition to get to the door, you loose.
Back to dogs do what works. Start with directing your dog to be calm from the moment you pick up your keys. If your dog is in the habit of going ballistic in the event the keys are picked up, be prepared with some item that is another reward for your dog. Treats or a favorite ball or toy for instance.
As you pick up the keys tell your dog to “sit”. The moment the sit occurs deliver the reward and snap the leash on your dog’s collar. Its a good idea to have the keys somewhere near the door in the beginning cutting down the amount of time it may take you to get the dog to the door in a calm state. The secret element is to not allow your dog to move forward unless there is a calm state in effect.
You may have to plan some extra time when beginning this training program. Go back to the fact that dogs do what works. If you don’t allow your dog to move forward without being calm its not long until you find your dog sitting and waiting until you move closer to the getting in the car. Guess what’s next? Same process. Walk a few feet with your dog on leash and go through the sit process again. Try to start the sit before your dog looses the calm state, however if your dog only makes it a step, no problem, go right back into the “sit” and don’t proceed forward until your dog settles into the sit. As with anything the first few times are going to be the hardest and you will end up moving towards the car at a slower rate than normal.
Don’t loose your cool, stay calm and keep practicing the same steps 3-5 feet at a time. It’s important to not move forward until you can get a calm sit out of your dog. If you don’t have the time or patience don’t start the process. It’s really important to remember that dogs do what works, leaving you with the same problem continuing if you get frustrated and give up in the middle of the exercise.
Practice makes permanent. Once you start training your dog to get to the car in a calm manner, don’t make an exception and let the wild frenzy go on because you are in a hurry. If you don’t have the time to work with your dog don’t ruin the work you have done by allowing the wild behavior to happen here and there. Again, dogs do what works and if you allow it sometimes your dog will at least give it a good shot every time. If you require your dog to be calm every time pushing the envelope goes away and getting to the car in a calm manner becomes a habit and you will find that you and your dog are walking calmly to the car every time.
Article by Jt Clough© 2009 www.SitK9Sit.com www.Twitter.com/GoTrainYourDog
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