Major Help! Car Travel & Traffic Fear/Anxiety

[Lindawest]

Hi

We have a 20 month old male border collie who has developed two quite serious behavioural problems that were not present when we first got him.

1. Stalks traffic when walking and will if the vehicle passes closes enough, will attempt to bite them. Has from day one been lead trained and initially had no issues but now has the collie instinct to chase.
2. Has become extremely frantic in car, starts when engine is switched on when he starts to scream (only way to discribe the noise) then will settle, then will become frantic and start screaming/barking again if we slow approaching any roundabout (see's traffic going round) or approaching a T Junction (see's traffic passing) or any vehicle overtaking. Again did not have this issue at the start, was travelling perfectly until about 3 to 4 months ago when he started bouncing back and forth in car trying to chase traffic. Have had several suggestions ie harness, cage (uncovered & covered) which we have tried and if anything the behaviour is getting worse. Has no fear getting into car and will sit quiet until the engine is started!

In all other aspects of his behaviour he is extremely obedient and a pleasure to own, being extremely friendly to people and other dogs.

Just getting concerned as having had collies before have never experienced these problems and in a nut shell really concerned with his car travel that he will give himself a heart attack as he gets so frantic.

Any suggestions/help gratefully appreciated particularly with car travel!

Regards

Linda

[nick_j007]

Hi Linda.
This is the type of behaviour and situation that I would encourage you to seek advice of an experienced trainer/behaviourist.

Solvable yes, but not at all easy online.

Look for a local practitioner here: Canine and Feline Behaviour Association

Best of luck in your efforts.

Nick

[PaulB]

Hi Lindawest,

I would be very interested to hear if you have solved the problem about being frantic whilst in the car. Our border collie (a rescue dog we have had for about 12 weeks) is doing exactly the same thing. At first he was fine in the car but now he is getting more and more worked up...we have tried a crate, covered and un-covered, short trips with treats at the end, phasing it by just sitting in the car with the engine running....nothing has worked so far.

Any advice you or anyone else has would be gratefully received!

[nick_j007]

A key element in resolving such behaviour is to take the dog out regardless every day, as in my experience most dogs will overcome such sickness in time.

Many people stop due to the sickness, but this is a fatal error.

Try Scullcap & Valerian tablets from Dorwest

Best,

Nick

[PaulB]

Thanks Nick. We will persevere. Shame it's not safe to drive with ear-plugs in!

The odd thing is he used to be ok in the car when we covered his crate so he couldn't chase things going past the window. However, since a trip to the vet when he was poorly and threw up in the car, he has been frantic ever since. I guess this is due to a bad memory in the car? We have tried to counter this with lots of small trips and treats/walks....is this the right direction do you think?

[nick_j007]

Yes definitely so. Such incidents like the one you describe can in fact be a trigger to various behaviours. Another that comes to mind is separation anxiety...it can be triggered by such events.

Keep up the good work.

[rosiesalmon]

Hi Linda

Try Sound Therapy 4 Pets and look at the Sounds Speedy CDs to get you started. Great CD with a useful comprehensive booklet with training advice to get you started. Good Luck!