How to Train Your Dog to Not Run After Cars

Hello! I am going to give you information on how to teach recall. Recall: STAGE ONE – 'Catching' or Charging Up the 'Come' Cue Start in a distraction free environment so that your dog can focus only on you. Whenever your puppy or dog is coming to you on his own, wait until he is a couple of feet from you and then say his name and the word 'come.' When he gets to you, make a big fuss. With this exercise, your dog will learn that coming to you is a really good thing. After a while, you can lengthen the distance between you and start using the word when he is coming to you from a greater distance. Coming to you should always be rewarded, whatever the circumstance and no matter how long it took your dog to respond. Motivate your dog to come by being exciting, running away from him, waving a toy, or having delicious food for him when he gets to you. This will show him that coming back to you the best thing he can do. STAGE TWO – Solidifying the Cue Through Play Make sure you play the Back and Forth game with another person that your dog is comfortable with. Start the game in a quiet environment so it is easy for your dog to focus on you. Hold your dog back while the other person calls him excitedly. Try not to use his name or the cue word but talk excitedly to ‘gee’ him up. Do not release him until the person calls his name followed by the cue word “come.” When the cue word is given, release your dog and let him go running to the person calling. As soon as he reaches them they should praise and reward him with a game of tug or a food reward. When your dog has had his reward, have the other person hold him back as you call him and release as you say his name followed by the cue word. When he comes to you reward him with another game of tug or food reward. Repeat this game back and forth but only do a few repetitions so your dog does not get bored or too tired. Keeping it fresh means the game is always fun to play. STAGE THREE – Adding Vocal Cue With Hand Signal Inside Now your dog knows what the word “come” means you can use the cue word to call him to you while adding a hand signal to the word. Hand signals are always good to build with vocal cues so that even if your dog cannot hear you he will understand what the hand signal means. This is good if your dog is a distance away from you. Start in a quiet environment. Walk away from your dog and call his name followed by the cue word and a hand signal. Praise and reward him when he comes to you. Start increasing the distance you call him from and praise for his compliance. If he does not respond, go back to the previous distance and repeat. Only practice this cue for a few minutes so your dog does not get bored. The secret to success is to always keep it fun, exciting and fresh. When your dog recognizes the hand signal, try calling his name and using the hand signal by itself without the vocal cue. You will then be able to use a combination of vocal cue only, hand signal only and the two together. Now your dog knows what the cue word means you can start to call him from different rooms or from areas where he cannot see you. This will encourage him to respond even when you are out of sight. STAGE FOUR – Adding Vocal Cue With Hand Signal Outside Now your dog is consistently coming to you in a distraction free environment you can proof your recall cue by taking it outside. Practice the recall in your yard and then gradually build up to the point where you can use it in the park or similar environment. The ultimate test is to use the recall when your dog is engaged in a different activity. Wait for a lull in that activity and then call your dog to you. Praise his decision to comply.

Feb. 2, 2021

Hello Ashley, I highly suggest hiring a local professional trainer who is extremely experienced with using electric collars, and also uses positive reinforcement. Car chasing is a very serious, often prey driven, behavior. You need to teach a strict avoidance. You can teach this the way that you would stop livestock chasing. Always practice such training on a normal or long leash, never off-leash, so that your dog cannot get to a car at any point, even if you think she is doing well. You want a trainer to help you find the proper collar stimulation level to train her on, and work on teaching her a command that means get away from that, like "Out" or "Leave It". When she starts toward a car or fixates on it, give her the command and if she turns away from the car, then praise and reward her. If she does not leave it alone, then correct with the e-collar remote on the proper level, and then when she is "snapped" out of her fixation and obeys your command, reward her. Start doing this on a six or eight foot leash for control and make sure that she cannot slip out of the harness or collar that you are using for her. You may want to clip her into both for added safety. As she improves on the six-foot leash and can obey you while you are right beside her or the car is further away, then purchase a twenty-foot leash and work on her obedience while you are further away from her but she is still securely leashed. If she is pretty strong, then attach the end of the leash to something secure and not yourself, like a column on your porch, as a backup for safety. Eventually, you can even attach her to something very secure in a safe area, like your neighborhood and front yard, and hide somewhere close-by where you can still see her but she cannot see you. When a car drives by, if she attempts to chase it because you are not there to stop her, then correct her with the electric collar remote. Doing that will help her to associate the correction with the car and not just you, so that she is not as likely to try to do the behavior when you are not present or prepared for it. Do not simply go out and buy an e-collar for this. Cheap, poorly made ones can be dangerous and there is a very specific, safer way to use them. Get the help of a qualified trainer. High quality brands include: Garmin, E-collar Technologies, Dogtra, and SportDog. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

Oct. 26, 2018