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Problem with car behavior
Submitted by Raylene on Dec 24, 2006
Hi Katrina I have a 3 year old GSD. He travels in a crate in a van. He accepts the crate very well. My problem is that when I close the door of the van he barks very loudly and has a look about him that he wants to "kill" that door! He is fine while we are travelling but as soon as we stop & I open the drivers door, he's at it again. Barking so loud that it's deafening. Apart from me wearing ear plugs is there anything that you can suggest.
The silly thing about it is he just loves to go out
Answer by Katrina*:
Hi Raylene! I think that your dog has associated the opening and closing of doors in your van with something that makes him feel very aroused. This is causing the intense barking. That means if we can change the emotional response from arousal to relaxation your dog will no longer feel the need to bark when you open or close a van door.
Although your dog maybe very comfortable with being in the crate at home, because he is in a different emotional state while in the crate in the van he is reacting differently. Think of the difference in how you feel when at home from when you are in a haunted house. My guess is that while in the haunted house you are much more aroused. You probably feel a combination of fear, anxiety, and excitement. Now imagine the difference in your reaction to a little noise. In a haunted house, you might jump, gasp, or even scream after hearing a noise that you would ignore or pay little attention at home. In your dog’s mind, being in the crate in the van makes him feel this increased arousal like you feel in a haunted house.
In the van, he may associate the closing and opening of the doors with being alone. Although being alone at home may not bother him, because he is in a state of heightened arousal he barks intensely. He also may associate the opening and closing of doors with getting closer to getting to somewhere new. Even if he likes going somewhere new, this still may be the cause, because excitement contributes to arousal. Remember, some people get very excited about going to a haunted house.
What I recommend is changing the association. Instead of the opening and closing of the van doors causing him to feel anxious, aroused, and/or excited, opening and closing of van doors can mean to relax. You want to break things down into tiny, easy steps to set your dog up for success. Below I’ve outlined some steps for you to follow. You only want to move on to the next step when your dog is completely comfortable with the previous one. This may take a lot of repetition. Remember your dog has probably been learning for quite awhile that the car door closing means to get aroused, so it may take a lot of counter-conditioning and desensitization to change the emotional response. Keep your training sessions short, no more than five minutes, and frequent. If at anytime in the training, your dog barks when you close the door, do not punish him! If you yell or do anything else that frightens him, you’ll be reassuring him that his arousal and anxiety about closing of doors is justified. Just go back and make things easier.
1. Put your dog in the crate in the van and close the door to the crate. Toss a really good treat like a small piece of turkey, liverwaurst, hotdog, cheese, or anything else your dog loves and praise him. Then open up the crate door and let your dog get out. Your dog will be learning that getting into the crate means good things happen (like yummy treats and mom praising me!) and doesn’t necessarily mean you’re going anywhere; therefore there is no reason to get aroused.
2. While your dog is in the crate, touch the van door, let go and reward your dog with praise and a treat. Open the crate door and let your dog out.
3. While your dog is in the crate, close the van door a little bit and open it again. Reward your dog with a treat and praise. Then open the crate door and let your dog out.
4. Continue to increase how close you are getting to closing the door before opening it back up, rewarding your dog, and releasing him from the crate.
5. Close the door all the way, pause, open it, reward your dog, and release him from the crate.
6. Increase how long you are pausing until your able to get to the driver’s door, open it, then walk back to your dog, open the van door, reward your dog, and release him.
7. At this point you’re ready to start taking short drives with your dog. Give him a stuffed chew toy, like a hollow bone or Kong toy stuffed with frozen peanut butter or cream cheese to chew on while you drive. Make sure that at this point you’re either just driving and returning home or driving somewhere fun for your dog, like a pet-store or park.
8. Your dog should be so comfortable with being in the crate in the van and with closing and opening doors that there is no longer a reason to bark. To maintain your training, continue to, every once in awhile, put your dog in the crate in the van, close the door, open it back up, reward him, and release him from the crate.
With time and training you should no longer need those earplugs!
* NOTE: Answer provided by dog trainer Katrina Krings, not currently affiliated with Pikapet.com
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