Interrupting unwanted behavior-tips?

[Shamas mom]

Anyone have tips for interrupting unwanted behavior in the car?

Shamas has been getting growly at neighborhood dogs if he sees them on our street when he's in the car. We generally drive around a little more instead of pulling into the driveway, to give the other dog time to walk by and out of our block...but having a growly dog in the back seat is distracting. I can't reach him from the front, so I can really only give a "sit" command and hope he listens. He does, about 50% of the time...the other times it's about breaking line of sight.

I feel like he's worried they're going to go to his yard or something....it's literally only on our block he kicks up a fuss. Seems territorial

 

[HAH]

Is it possible to park up on your street but at a distance from your driveway and sit in the back so you’re closer to him first of all, marking when he looks at a dog and treating when he doesn’t growl (you might need to be quick to begin with!).

Once this is working, it might be possible to have two of you in the car - one driving, one sitting in the back marking and treating - to introduce movement.

Eventually, if possible could you rig up a drainpipe from next to the drivers seat to the back with a slight downward slope, so you can mark and treat when it’s just you in the car? I know a trainer who suggests this, obviously you need to get there first and most importantly make sure it’s safe and not a distraction from driving!

Just thoughts on this, others might have better ideas

 

[Shamas mom]

That sounds like a really good long-term plan. The only part I can't implement is the sitting in the back seat because he's the driver and I'm the trainer(I recently injured my ribs and don't need an irate lab jumping on me)

I was considering a short lead plugging him into the middle, to limit his window reach. He's got the whole back bench right now. But I didn't know if that would make him more nervous in the car, being tied short. If he loses balance now, he can readjust his balance to a better position

 

[Beanwood]

I think really you might want to consider removing the view or the ability to "see" the other dog. Change the environment and add something nice, like a kong when you get near the "danger zone"

Maybe something like screens/blackout blinds for the back windows of your car.

Car Window Screens

 

[snowbunny]

Shadow used to bark at other dogs when we were driving. I just paired seeing dogs with calm feeding, and it stopped pretty quickly.

I was considering a short lead plugging him into the middle, to limit his window reach. He's got the whole back bench right now. But I didn't know if that would make him more nervous in the car, being tied short. If he loses balance now, he can readjust his balance to a better position

It's a very good idea (and in many places a legal requirement) to have your dog restrained in the car so that in the event of an accident they do not become a projectile who could easily seriously injure other occupants of the vehicle. There are crash-tested harnesses on the market which do a better job of keeping all travellers safe in the event of a collision. Normal walking harnesses aren't designed to stand up to the forces at play in collisions and can simply disintegrate during impact, so your dog is still flung about.
In Spain, you can be fined even for having bags of shopping on the back seat of your car!

 

[Emily_Babbelhund]

I agree with all the suggestions. Getting him secured in the car and breaking his line of sight somehow is the quickest first step. A crate is great for this if you can fit one into your car. Then LAT (look at that) - what @snowbunny is talking about - not only in the car but in all situations. That needs to build up first in less stressful situations where you have better control before generalising it to the car.

I've also found having an all-purpose interruptor to be really helpful. This has been part of Carbon's SD training and it works in so many situations. His trainer calls it the "Kissy Sound" but I use a double tongue click (like 'giddyup' for a horse). Doesn't matter what you use though. Essentially you are training your dog to immediately swivel his attention (eyes, head, body) back to you when he hears that noise. We're still working with LAT and other dogs, but sometimes the interruptor works even better.

In Spain, you can be fined even for having bags of shopping on the back seat of your car!

I didn't know this! My shopping is always in the hatchback anyway, but interesting to know...

 

[snowbunny]

I’m not actually talking about LAT, I’m just pairing the trigger with food because a) it makes good associations with the trigger and b) eating is calming so keeps arousal down

 

[Emily_Babbelhund]

I’m not actually talking about LAT, I’m just pairing the trigger with food because a) it makes good associations with the trigger and b) eating is calming so keeps arousal down

Oops, sorry about that! Sounds like I use the LAT term incorrectly. So instead of LAT I'll say, the "When there's a dog you get a treat so other dogs are good" technique.