Help in the car

[Drea]

I have a similar problem with Tucker (97 pounds of mostly Anatolian Shepherd) when we pass by our neighbor's yard and dog. If Buddy is outside, he'll chase the truck and Tucker goes ballistic inside the cab (I have a Xtra Cab Tacoma and Tucker rides with me up front). Lately I've been working with him to "get in the back" which means behind the front seats (the Xtra Cab space), but if Buddy is outside, Tucker will lunge across me to try to get at Buddy. Funny, it's only Buddy that sets him off, and we have to pass by his yard to get to the street (we share a private road).

I've been considering getting a calming cap, but I realize that it won't "fix" the problem, and is a pain to remember to put on for the times we have to pass by the neighbor's house. Thoughts?

[Chris]

Originally Posted by Drea

I have a similar problem with Tucker

Well you are lucky it is only one dog, my Ty reacts to every dog he sees but after chatting with Neil about this and how Ty was telling me he could not cope I covered all the windows in the back of the wagon and a curtain across the back seat. It's heaven, it becomes Ty's little den and drives in the car have been quiet and safe ever since.

In time with more NDT work I'm hopefully he'll cope with seeing dogs from the car without reacting. He's better out on walks so soon I'll try opening the curtain a bit. Sorry can't help on those caps I've never tried one, I know I wouldn't want to wear on in a moving car myself I'm sure it would make me feel sick not seeing.

[Drea]

From the little I know about the calming caps, they don't cut out all sight, just minimize it. But, again, it would be a pain to have to put it on for the short trip out the driveway and then to remember to put it back on for the short trip into the driveway. Tucker is fine looking out the window at other dogs and people and places, even cyclists that pass by the truck as we are driving. In fact, if Buddy isn't in his yard as we pass by, Tucker will just look out the window without any of the added behaviors. After reading through some of what's been said here, I can see how it's his comfort zone and energy that's in play.

As an aside, I've been playing a lot of tug with Tucker, and Moses, and Missy, and my biceps are sore! Of course, I just got through moving boxes from one storage unit to another, so that may have something to do with it.

[Sang]

For a dog that has reactivity issues to other dogs, among other things, riding around in the car and looking outside can be too much for them to handle. Blocking off access to seeing the outside world by using curtains and such is a great idea. You can also achieve the same effect by just having your dog ride in a crate in the back, which automatically limits his access to seeing the outside world. Also, the closed quarters of the crate will help him settle down and feel safer than just letting him be loose.

The real problem is that Tucker doesn’t have the emotional capacity to handle Buddy’s antics. So until this is resolved, letting him have free roam in the vehicle to bark and lunge at Buddy when he starts chasing the truck is only deepening the channel through which he is currently resolving his tension.

In other words, Tucker right now has a limit on how much stress or “charge” he can handle emotionally. When he sees other dogs or people, that amount of energy and input is something he can handle. But when Buddy comes charging along, with all of his energy being directed at you guys in your truck, that’s more energy than Tucker can handle, so he needs to release it. On top of that, there is history between them, and that past history would also only add fuel to the fire.

I would focus on resolving his energy with you through the pushing exercise outside. The barking and lunging at Buddy in the car is a symptom, but it’s not the problem, which is the stored up stress and built up charge he has towards Buddy. Once you deal with the problem at its roots, which is to resolve that stress, the symptoms will slowly start to go away. In fact, it might not even be that slow.

Keep in mind that the “form” of the trigger isn’t what’s important. It doesn’t really matter if your dog gets triggered by a jogger, a pedestrian, another dog, etc….they have all become release points around which he can now release his tension. But the ultimate problem and goal for him is to release that tension. So if you can replicate the feeling he has when he sees those triggers, and then give him resolution for it with you, then over time they will start losing their charge.

To give you an example to see what is possible, one of my dogs has always been incredibly anxious and nervous in the vehicle. She would constantly whine and dash around the vehicle. Anyone she saw was a reason to bark. And if she saw another dog, all bets were off. If she was loose in the car, and she saw another dog, there was the chance you could get bit when she got emotionally overwhelmed. I took her to Kevin’s place. We had only been there a few days, and were working with her, triggering her deeper energy. We decided to take a drive to tour Vermont a bit, so we piled our dogs into the van and headed out. This same dog that had been like a tornado in the car on the way out to Vermont, was completely calm and relaxed in the van as we drove around Vermont. No whining, no anxiety, no stress. She just laid down in her spot, and chilled out during the whole drive.

I tell that story to make the point that the form of the trigger doesn’t matter. It always comes back to the need for the dog to resolve his energy. If he can resolve it with you, even if it’s out of context, then he won’t feel the need to do it with the dog chasing the truck, or the joggers running by, etc….

So I hope that helps.

[Chris]

Once again a big thanks Sang, your comments are always so helpful.

[Drea]

Originally Posted by Sang

Keep in mind that the “form” of the trigger isn’t what’s important. It doesn’t really matter if your dog gets triggered by a jogger, a pedestrian, another dog, etc….they have all become release points around which he can now release his tension. But the ultimate problem and goal for him is to release that tension. So if you can replicate the feeling he has when he sees those triggers, and then give him resolution for it with you, then over time they will start losing their charge.

This makes so much sense! I'll start pushing tonight's meal. Thank you, once again.

[neilsattin]

I agree with everything Sang said.

One extra thing - a lot of that charge, from your description, seems to be coming from the fence fighting issue. It's actually a perfect opportunity for redirection (I'll address this more in your "fence fighting" post). And you will probably find that as you use that opportunity to rechannel Tucker's energy in the moments when he's most attracted to Buddy - at the fence - that there will be less and less of a charge.

As an example -

When I lived in the city, there was a fenced-in yard that I always walked by. And behind the fence there lived a Chow, who would seemingly lie there in wait, all innocent, until the moment when we were just getting to the corner of his yard - at which point he'd launch himself at the chain-link fence in full-on attack mode. I used the "advanced aggression" exercise that I detail on the blog each time we walked by (at first without the owner's knowledge, but ultimately with their permission), and over time witnessed the full-on attack turn into barking and tension, turn into playful barking, turn into play-bows (on opposite sides of the fence).

I give you this information to show you that there is a way to deal directly with that charge - but it will require Tucker to be leashed, and it will also require you to have a solid foundation in pushing.