Las Vegas Review-Journal (Sunday)
Owner seeks help with dog who refuses to get in car
Dear Cathy: My dog will not get in the car. She weighs around 60 pounds and is too heavy to lift. She’s a rescue and we love her, but this is a big problem if we have to go to the vet.
She also will sometimes refuse to go on a walk, displaying the same behavior from the car episodes, neck down, tail between her legs, and legs cemented to the ground. What can I do? — Maurice, Old Bethpage, New York
Dear Maurice: Your dog might not be jumping into the car because she is scared of the car, the destination (the vet) or the journey (carsickness). Or, she may be physically unable to jump into the car because she is in pain, is a young pup or is a senior pet. Or, she simply has never been taught to jump into a car.
I am going to go with scared since she seems scared to go for a walk and was never trained to jump into the car. Dogs need confidence to do things, and your little girl sounds like she lacks confidence. You can build confidence through training. When she sits on command and you reward her, that builds confidence. Start doing some basic training (sit, down, stay) to help her along.
To train her to jump into the car, train her to jump on the couch or an ottoman, something sturdy, first. Smack your hand on the furniture and say “jump.”
Dogs generally understand this and will comply. When she jumps (or even looks like she is trying to jump), say a reward word like “Bingo” that lets her know she is moving in the right direction and give her a treat.
When you take her to the car, simply give her a treat for standing near it until you feel ready to ask her to jump into it. Hopefully, she will have regained some confidence and feel like trying. If not, keep working at it until she is not afraid.
If you still can’t get her into the car and you can’t pick her up, then consider buying a portable ramp or stairs for her to use to get into the car. Don’t feed her before any car trips, and give her travel chews (available at pet stores) in case her anxiety is related to motion sickness.