Hi i got jem the dogmatic headcollar and it has worked great but when a car passes she still goes mad, but the situation is alot safer now i have the dogmatic but how can i stop her wanting to chase them? iv tried all sorts of treats but she just isnt iterested in them, she is so fixated sp? i just cant get through to her, she wont listen to a word i say iv tried turning her away from them but that doesnt work either coz she still manages to turn to the car again. can someone think of any thing else i can try?

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Argh I know how you feel, one of my Chihuahua's used to try and "get" cars too, especially if it was raining and they made that whooshing sound as they went by, she used to go mental. Fortunately she grew out of it, perhaps she just got desensitised to it after hearing them go by everyday?

Anyone have any ideas?

Obviously your dog has such an obsession that she has reached the point where she is completely oblivious to her surroundings, she just wants to chase the car! For these kind of cases, where dogs reach that fixated state, owners need to assert their dominance via touch. This can be done by a simple but firm and confident touch with your hand to the neck. It isn't hurting the dog in any way, it is just like someone touching you on the shoulder to get your attention. It is a primal instinct. Dogs will often nip other dogs to tell them 'I disagree with that behaviour'.

If you do this correctly, the dog should recognise your existence then, as you are knocking him out of his fixated mental state. If this doesn't work it could mean that either your not doing it firmly enough to match the level of his minds fixation, or your not promoting the right energy- you need to be calm at all times, never angry/frustrated etc., but please consult a professional before hand.

Hope this helps!

And why's that?

How is a dog trying to chase cars anything to do with dominance?

You need to work on desensitising her, start further away from the road at a point where she barely reacts to the cars and do as you have been doing, reward good behaviour and distract from unwanted behaviour.

Slowly get closer to the road as she becomes less reactive to the cars continuing to reward and distract. It might take a while but it will work if you're consistent and patient.

thanks i will try this a try

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Jem looks like a collie to me, and a great many of them turn their instincts to herd anything that moves onto cars - so to stop her wanting to chase them you could consider a brain transplant from something like a Shitzu. Use the desensitivity methods of starting far away, gradually get closer. What worked for me was teaching my collie-cross to sit for a treat when a car came near.

lol yeh she is a collie and still very young, 2 in feb! do you know of any shitzu??? only joking, wouldnt change her for the world she has a great personality sp? im going to try desensitizing sp? her, with yummy hotdogs

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[QUOTE=HighPr00;1066859]And why's that?

How is a dog trying to chase cars anything to do with dominance?

Maybe dominance was the wrong word. I meant the owner needs to let the dog know it's not acceptable behaviour, therefore asserting themselves as the leader in the dog-owner relationship.

You need to work on desensitising her, start further away from the road at a point where she barely reacts to the cars and do as you have been doing, reward good behaviour and distract from unwanted behaviour.

Slowly get closer to the road as she becomes less reactive to the cars continuing to reward and distract. It might take a while but it will work if you're consistent and patient. [/QUOTE]

The only trouble I can see from this approach is that it's very easy for someone to be unintentionally rewarding the excited behaviour, if they don't read the dog properly.

I always think that if you take the dog to the situation and act on it there and then, the dog will have a clearer idea about what your disagreeing with. I am no professional though...

Chasing cars has nothing to do with dominance. My guess is that you never had a dog that's crazy about chasing cars, because if you had you'd know that a touch wouldn't help.

My first dog was a Swedish Lapphund that used to chase cars. She only did it when she was off the lead, so there was no chance to physically punish her. Once my father actually hit her with the car on purpose (just enough to hurt a little, but not injure the dog) but it didn't help at all.

My third dog was a Belgian Sheperd Tervueren and she was completely crazy around cars. She was 1,5 when I got her and had already established the behaviour. If she got loose near traffic she'd chase the cars and if possible bite the tires. I tried everything, even very hard physical corrections, but nothing helped; she was totally blocked around cars. She never stopped chasing cars (altough, she might have stopped had she become older than 2 years old- and no, she wasn't run over by a car )

The collie cross I have now wasn't chasing cars, only trucks and buses. I taught him not to by rewarding a different behaviour rather than punishing chasing trucks/buses. Away from traffic I taught him to look a me to get a treat. Then I used the command to look at me whenever I saw a truck or bus approaching. If he then looked at me I gave him a treat. If he didn't I ignored him (with a firm grip on the lead). After a while he had learned that he was rewarded if he didn't lunge at the trucks and buses and now he's completely stopped chasing them.

It's also important to learn to see the signs in your dog. Dogs have signs that tell that they are getting excited and if you learn to see those signs you can stop your dog before she starts chasing the car, which is much better than to try to punish her while chasing cars.