Hi,

I have been reading your posts with interest and am new to this forum. Now, I wonder who can help me:-)
I have a lot of experience with dogs and have had many over the years, they are a constant source of amazement, love and education to me and i feel you are never too old to keep learning about them. I own a 15 month old briard who currently weighs nearly 8 stone (sorry,i only work in old money) He is a typical briard, inasmuch, he thinks he knows best, my problem is I cannot, under any circumstances get him to jump into the back of my car. I open the tail gate and he just plants his feet firmly in the ground and smiles at me. I have tried putting food in there (he lives for his tummy) water (he is a waterholic) I have climbed in myself and called him, put his favourite toys in, but nothing will work. He likes the car when he is in it and will jump out no problem, but as you can imagine, everytime we have to go in the car it has to be when my partner is around so that he can lift him in (he is on his way to a hernia) as i cannot even move his front paws. He goes out in the car regularly, we live in the country and you can only walk in fields, so if you want to go to the beach or highstreet, its the car. He is as good as gold in every other respect, apart from diving into the sea on very cold days after seagulls, but to his credit he does come out when called. I also own a GSD bitch, i cannot keep her out of the car Lol!! Normally he follows her when they are out playing but he wont have any of it when he sees her get into the car, I dont generally take them out together in the car at the moment as there is only enough laying down room/movement for one at a time, until i change the car. He seems to have got into the habit now and it is a habit i want to break, any advice please.

I sympathise with you as I also had a dog who would not jump into the back of my car.  I got him as a one year old and from what I gather he had little experience of cars.  I have a hatchback, hubby has an estate. As it falls to me to most of the daily dog walking it's my car he needed to get used to.

After weeks of having to heave him in my car we tried taking him out in hubbies car with our other dogs who all  jump in the back together.  (In my car 2 go in a dog sling on the rear seat with harnesses - the new one went in the hactchback 'cos he'd rather hang himself trying to get over seats to me than stay in the back!). He steadfastly refused to jump in either car.  It was a pick up job everytime!  Eventually he started following the others into the estate but still refused the hatchback. 

I started by lifting and placing his front paws on the back bumper, held the lead close to his collar with one hand and a tasty treat in the other as an enticement - no response.  I then resorted to holding the lead in one hand and pushing him up and over with my other hand under his bum.  After a few very undignified catapults into the back he finally decided it was in his interests to do the decent thing and co-operate. 

Now I just have to open the back and say 'in' and off he goes.  How long did it take - 10 long months and more than few back-aches!

If anyone has any good suggestions on cracking this one I wish I'd known about champdogs sooner.

I'm sure i've seen portable ramps somewhere maybe this may help?(Specially for dogs) Or a piece of wood maybe?

Actually i'm sure it was in this months your dog magazine (cos i thought it was a good idea)
I can find it if you're interested?

Yes, I've seen the ramps which I think are aimed at the older/infirm dog cost about 50 pounds or thereabouts.  They are advertised in dog magazines but also in other places Shires of Bath I think do them.

I suppose I ruled this option out because with 3 dogs to carry in the car there was no space left for even a foldingramp. I would have had to have taken it with me everywhere the dog went to get him back in the car to get home.  Good option for a one-dog car though!

The ad states that it lowers the chance of injury and cuts down on back strain at a cost of £124 (Flipping heck!! Where's that bit of plywood i had)

Probably completely the wrong way to do things, but when I've had a stubborn one before, I have just set an afternoon aside purely to teach this ...... no stress of trying to go somewhere, if it takes a few hours, that's fine.

As I say, probably a training no-no, but it's worked for me.

M.

Is there any possibilty that he c0uld have any hip problem? Hope not, of course!

Some of the ramps do fold up in half, in case you were considering one.

Perhaps some of the time he doesn't like to jump in so close to his friend the GSD.... and so it has become a bit of a habit.

Could you try feeding him in there all the time...maybe lifting him in to start, and then after a week or so, when he realises that is the only place he gets fed, seeing if he gets in himself once he understands that? :)

Lindsay

Hi guys,

I bought a ramp from Barjo at Crufts about 4 years ago- my mother in law and I shared the cost. At that time, she had two labs, one a little elderly and one adult bitch (litter sister to my Isla). Since then, its been used by both of us quite a lot, her before her old girl passed away, and then me when Isla was injured, then her again and then I had it to use with my new pup.  They are expensive and if I hadn't shared the cost, I may not have bought it, but it has been well worth having, folds up pretty small and will no doubt be used for many years to come.
Good luck and keep trying.
Ali :)

Hi Lindsey,

Thank you for the advice, i will give it a go with the food, as i said he lives for food :-) he has never been used to travelling with ella (gsd) so i dont think that is the problem, i just let him see her get into the car in the hope he might get the message, but he takes one look as if to say "she's an idiot, NOT FOR ME". I think this is a Briard problem more than a doggy problem, as all of my previous GSD'S used to sleep in the car if they got half a chance they loved it so much:-)

Jo

Hi, I have been reading your post and it reminds me of my dog. She wouldn't jump up into the car so I would shut the door and go back inside. Then try again 10 minutes later. It took a while but I think she thought I was mad in the end and just jumped up to see what was going to happen next. She still hesitated a bit after that but as soon as I go to shut the door she would jump in. Perhaps you should give it a go, if so hope it works for you.

I have a briard too and have also had this problem.  Saffy used to jump in the back okay until one night after ringcraft she decided not only would she not get in the back (I have an estate), she wouldn't get in any part of the car (she always tried to get on the seats before that)  Well, I was stuck, I thought I would be camping out for the night, (you know how stubborn they can be!) until one of the other members of the club came out (an experienced groomer) and just picked her up and put her in.  After that, I just sat in the back with the door open a few times, and some liver treats and tried to make it a friendly place.  She still wouldn't get in so I put her halti on her and told her to get in and threw a few liver treats in.  Then my partner picked her up and put her in a few times - now she hates being picked up even more than going in the car, so I think she realised I meant business and started getting in herself (after I threatened to get Daddy to pick her up).  Now, when I say get in the car (no lead on) she runs and hides, but as soon as she has the lead on and I say get in, she does! I think she knows when she HAS to get in there.  Usually she is going places she likes to go anyway, but I think she just does not like the car!

Fiona

Hi Fiona,

I think you may be right, perhaps my boy doesnt really like the car, he just tolerates it:-( He was a bit loose mouthed in it as a pup (I dont mean swearing, Lol, although at that time I think he would have done if he could have spoke) Just very dribbly but seemed to grow out of it several months ago and seems happy when hes in it. As i said earlier, its a briard thing and i am going to have to approach it another way, pleading, bribery and cojoling just arent working!! I think i will start to feed him in the back, if he thinks that is the only way of filling his tummy i'm sure he will think again :-)

Jo

Could it be that he may have knocked his manhood at some time getting into the car.

I started an earlier thread some time ago about the same topic :) My Aussie won't jump into the car either :) I've tried all sorts of suggestions, but she still won't oblige. She originally hated the car and would pull away from it and so had to be unceremoniously picked up and put in her cage :( Now she is keen to go out, but just waits to be picked up :)

Any other good suggestions welcomed but I am thinking of a hypnotist :D Just as well she is only 21kg and I have a strong back :)

Daisy

Have you tried just running at the car !  Obviously you step to one side at the critical moment :D
But hopefully the momentum will keep him going and he will have to jump in :D

She's not that daft :D Tried that one :D Tried the hula hoop (she does agility) - she can jump the garden fence chasing a fox :D

Daisy

Hi,

I cant think of a time when he may have knocked it Jackie, as he always been picked up when he has been put in, it has been protected :-) He's seems to be completely immune to pain, wish i had his pain threshhold:-)

We had this problem with buster. He loved the car but refused to jump in but would jump other things given the chance. The way we solved it was by me getting on to the back seat (estate) and having some hot chicken in my hand (he saw us cooking it and gave him some samples for good behaviour ie sit etc..) then hubbie would have him on the lead and run at the car with buster and me calling him being really excited showing the chicken. It only took a couple of weeks before he was jumping by himself to get to the chicken. Slowly we weaned him off the chicken and now he jumps when we open the door. hope this helps
sonya