This topic has been on here before and I have tried the suggestions but they havent worked. My 11 month old dalmation won't jump into the car. I have a hatchback car and drop the back seat so she can go straight into the boot area but she refuses to do so. I have to pick up her front paws and place them on the seat and sometimes she goes the rest of the way but 90% of the time I have to lift her in. She is getting heavier and I'm finding this very difficult to do. I've tried food, toys etc. My son has even got in the boot to coax her in but she refuses. She hasn't hurt herself getting in the car that I'm aware of. I don't have to go to the trouble and inconvenience of getting a ramp when I think shes just being stubborn. I don't live next to where I exercise her so she has to go in the car at least twice a day to get exercised and if I go to the shops, friends etc. I like to take her with me but she gets left behind a lot because of having to lift her in. She jumps out no bother. I've seen her jump fences, high wallsetc. so I know she is more than capable of doing this. Shes been going in the car since I got her (@5 months) but I must admit I used to lift her in because I didn't want her damaging her legs. Any good suggestions apart from a ramp.

I may be way off-beam here, but a thought occurred to me. When you have been encouraging her to get into the car (your son in the boot etc), what have you been saying? If, when she has been refusing to get in, she has been told anything along the lines of "Good girl, in you get, it's all right, good girl" then she may well assume she's being praised for refusing ....

God you are a genius. I'm due to take her out shortly, gonna go armed with biscuits just say her name and not tell her she's a good girl till shes in the car. You always come to my rescue. Will let you know how I get on.

I have the same problem with bradley. Ive even put a piece of meat in the boot. He will willingly put his paws up. Then feebly raise a hind leg. Being 28 kilos of shere dog its part of my weight traing regime now.  But I think my boot is a little hiegh for him. Or it could be that he is spoilt.

to get mine in i started off with someting just a small distance off the floor and walk them over saying 'up' the height slowly got higher so eventually it was the height of your average boot (a garden bench for example) and now when i say 'up' they jump either into or onto whatever it is im telling them to do, bruce though only being a baby is lifted in and out, while the others can easily jump into a estate or 4x4 just by using the commnd 'up' :)
tanya

Well - I still can't get mine to jump into the car :( Tried everything :( She drags me towards the car and then puts the brakes on :) When she was little, she hated the car and so dragged away from it and had to be picked up and put in the cage. We solved the problem of not liking the car by not using the cage :) But she still won't jump in. Oh well - I will persevere, we'll get there in the end :)

Daisy

Start off with a command, I use "Over" for all jumping. I have my dogs jumping all manner of things on command, foot high fallen branches, three foot high fallen trees, four foot fences. Work your way up. Once you have your dog jumping on command, and almost all dogs love to jump, then jumping in the car is easy.

The problem Jeangenie outlined is called "Fault Training". Training exactly the opposite to what we intended to train. Something to guard against in all training.

Best wishes, John