Some dogs like to chase fast-moving objects, such as motorcycles, bicycles, cars and other vehicles, joggers, and skaters.
It would seem that there is nothing wrong with this, but especially persistent animals, and some like to jump out of cover and overtake a car, can be harmed by a vehicle, receiving serious injuries or dying. In addition to the fact that the dogs themselves can get hurt, when chasing a car they can provoke an accident, because drivers, seeing the animal, try to slow down, go around the animal, or out of surprise they can sharply jerk the steering wheel, losing control of the car.
The danger also lies in the fact that the pet can jerk on a leash after a moving vehicle, pulling the owner along with it. An adult may have the strength to hold an animal, but not every child can handle a pet, which risks getting injured if it falls.
People involved in active sports, such as runners, who will not be able to protect themselves from the teeth of a dog that overtook them, are also at risk.
Why do dogs run after cars?
Dogs run after bicycles, motorcycles, cars because for them it is a kind of entertainment that gives them pleasure. The tendency to pursue is observed in animals that feel the need to waste energy, but do not have the opportunity to waste it. Perhaps the animal does not have enough games, physical exercise during walks, which is why the pet has a desire to chase.
Certain breeds experience a more obsessive desire to give chase. So, for example, the desire to chase a moving object is in the blood of greyhounds and terriers, who often like to chase small animals.
How to stop a dog from chasing cars
If you observe a dog's tendency to run after cars, you should try to wean him from this. dangerous occupation. It is better to act immediately, when the animal is still making its first attempts to entertain itself in this way, before it becomes a habit. You need to show your pet that there are more interesting things to do than chasing a car.
It is important to catch the moment when the dog shows interest in a moving vehicle and redirect its attention to something else that will be no less interesting for the pet. When your pet looks at the car while walking, you need to switch her attention by saying her name, call her to you and give her her favorite toy. If the pet does not respond to the name, then you need to come closer and twirl a treat or toy in front of your nose, and when the pet turns around, praise it.
An alternative way to stop a dog from chasing cars is through negative experience. But you should not subject the animal to physical punishment, which can cause stress, mistrust of the owner or aggression. Alternatively, you can call a friend for help. Have a friend drive slowly past the dog in a car. At the moment when the pet takes off in pursuit, a friend should throw a bag of water (a balloon filled with water) next to the animal, but without causing any harm. painful sensations animal. The goal is to scare the pet, discouraging the desire to give chase. But this method may be ineffective because the animal may stop chasing similar cars but continue to chase other vehicles.
Timely measures to raise your puppy will help you avoid behavioral problems in the future. If, due to breed characteristics, it can be assumed that the pet will chase moving objects, then you should start training it. It is better to start with basic obedience skills, namely, teach the puppy to walk on a leash, teach basic commands (“sit”, “come to me”). Then you can proceed to the next stage, namely to recreate a situation in which the dog could show a desire to run after a moving object. To do this, the pet on a leash is given the command “sit”. The animal must be in a place where cyclists and cars can pass by. As soon as a moving object approaches the puppy, you need to command it to turn around or call the puppy to go in a different direction (away from the vehicle). If the puppy has completed the task, then he must be rewarded by giving him a treat.
In adult animals, it is difficult and sometimes impossible to eradicate the desire to give chase, but you can redirect this desire into a game that is active and interesting for the animal. You need to try not to let your pet get bored, satisfying his needs for running, physical activity. It is better to walk your pet without a leash in places where there are no cars.
Some dogs like to chase fast-moving objects, including vehicles. You can watch how a dog, seeing a car, prances and rushes in pursuit. Often seen stray dogs, who deliberately wait for a car and then jump out onto the roadway barking. If your ward has succumbed to such a temptation at least once, it is necessary to take measures. Let's figure out how to stop a dog from running after cars.
Car chasers often get serious injuries and die under the wheels. In addition to damaging the dog’s health, you need to understand that an animal that suddenly jumps onto the road can provoke an accident in which people will be injured or killed.
You may decide to only walk your dog on a leash, but that won't solve the problem. On every walk, your pet will become overstimulated and suffer from limited willpower. After each walk, the dog will become convinced of its intentions and in the end, it will break off the leash, and you will not be able to do anything.
Note! The desire to chase after transport is a dangerous and difficult to eliminate condition. In acute situations, it is better to contact a dog handler or an experienced trainer.
Have you noticed that dogs chase cars as adults? Puppies may be afraid of transport, interested in it, but do not try to chase it. The reason is that Following vehicles is a habit that takes time and complete freedom of action to develop. This explains the obsession of stray animals that wait in packs for transport, chase cars and cyclists, and sometimes even manage to bite a bumper or wheel.
A pet that is walked under supervision should not, in theory, acquire such habits, but (!) it may begin to imitate other dogs. Such offenses must be nipped in the bud, very strictly and unambiguously. However, the relevance of the methods depends on the animal’s compliance and one should not go too far in this matter either.
Important! Do not let your dog off the leash, even away from the roadway, if you are not sure that the pet is under control.
Read also: The dog is afraid of the owner: causes of phobia and ways to overcome it
The soft method is distraction. As soon as your ward becomes interested in cars, give him a nickname and distract him with a toy, stroking, or other stimulus. This method works on very young and service dogs with a clear focus on people. Treats are also a great distraction, but be careful that your dog doesn't think you're praising him for paying attention to the car. When working with the distraction method, you must understand that the effectiveness of the correction will depend not on the dog’s abilities, but on your concentration and attention.
Note! If a dog barks at cars while guarding the yard, this is not very good, but can be considered as a variant of the norm. Please note that with this tendency, you must take care of the strength of the fence and absolutely limit the movement of the pet.
For animals that pay attention to cars while in their own yard, the distraction method is also suitable, but is it relevant for the owner? Agree, few people agree to sit on the street day and night just to observe the behavior of their ward. An alternative is toys, but not simple balls and bones, but something interactive, for example, a car stingray suspended on a cable.
Note! Replacing the fence with solid shields will not solve the problem, because the dog not only sees, but also hears the car. However, it makes sense to cover part of the fence with a thick awning so that the dog’s “post” is not too wide.
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Dogs living in yards or enclosures must be walked, since one of the reasons is loneliness or low socialization. Any service breed is hardy and needs exercise, so patrolling the yard is not enough. At least every other day, walk your ward on the site with other dogs and do training.
What should you do to stop your dog from chasing cars?
To begin with, do not create motivating situations, i.e. walk your pet away from the roadway. On the way to safe place and back, keep your dog on a leash and (if the dog's size allows) stop his attention to cars by jerking the leash. Teach your ward how to call (command Come to me). No matter how banal it may sound, this is the only and most reliable method preventing problems and not only with cars.
Advice: If you are driving a car and notice that a dog is chasing your vehicle, stop, use the accelerator or sound the horn. If the four-legged dog is domestic, you will do its owner a favor, but if the dog is a stray, you will most likely prevent trouble.
Teach your dog an additional stop command. The technique is very effective with pets that take a long time or have difficulty mastering the recall. The method is simple - choose the command that is easiest for the dog (usually Sit, Down or Stand) and practice it until the execution is perfect. Many four-legged animals “do not hear” the call, but sit down or lie down, even if they have already given chase.
To make sure your ward is under control, do a test by asking friends for help. You need to create a situation where the dog is close to a moving car (within 20 meters) without a leash. If the pet showed attention, but did not give chase, the training can be considered successful. However, do not delude yourself and regularly hone your acquired skills.
Advice: If you are unable to teach your dog recall and other commands, the reason may be a lack of training experience. Four-legged dogs only obey those they respect, which is why many dog trainers train owners first and then dogs.
If you shelter adult dog, which has established habits, the above measures may not be enough, but until they are taken, methods cannot be tightened either.
Driving through a yard or a country road, you can often see a picture of stray or yard dogs chasing a car, bicycle, etc. with loud barks. Unfortunately, this behavior is typical not only of ill-mannered ownerless dogs. Our civilized pets can also afford such tricks.
This inadequate race brings a lot discomfort both the owner and the victim. Not to mention that chasing cars is a very dangerous activity.
What reasons make a seemingly decent dog lose his temper and chase a bicycle without seeing anything around him?
Pursuit instinct. Hunting and herding breeds are most susceptible to it. So, if you adopt, for example, a whippet or border collie, be prepared to tirelessly supervise the dog on walks.
Also, when seeing a person in an unusual situation (on skis, on a bicycle), the dog is surprised and enters into excited state, as a rule, immediately begins to bark and jump around. If the object moves away, the dog thinks that he drove it away and runs after him, consolidating his success.
When chasing cars, dogs most often throw themselves at the wheels, trying to bite them. This is due to the fact that the wheels themselves rotate quickly and attractively, they are easy to reach (do not jump on the roof). Dogs also know that metal has different biting properties from rubber. No dog will grab a metal rod.
For example, my shepherd dog happily attacked a toy car with radio control and large wheels, and did not pay attention to the plastic body and clung to the rubber tires.
This problem progresses if you pay little attention to education or do it incorrectly.
How to fix the problem?
1. Correction. You are leading the dog on a leash, seeing an approaching object and realizing from the pet that he is going to rush after him, in a low voice sharply and briefly say “No,” accompanied by a short and sensitive tug of the leash. An unpleasant correction should be immediately followed by positive reinforcement: you praise the dog in a loud, high-pitched and “kind” voice, and give pieces of treats.
2. One-time correction. This method, as the name suggests, can be used once per walk or even once a week. It is used if the dog stubbornly does not hear you. Let out a loud, piercing scream and quickly move away in the other direction from the dog. The dog is guaranteed to turn around and run after you.
3. Training. When the dog knows what obedience is, hears your “No” and “Come” on the street and obeys, the problem will disappear. Turn every walk with your pet into an activity. 10-15 minutes on the toilet, then play with different commands. If your dog is very active, both in terms of breed qualities and in itself, then the more you walk it, load your brain with various tasks, the more calmer dog will be at home and on the street.
When in areas with lots of cars, cyclists and other targets, keep your dog under control. Learn to read the animal’s body language, you need to notice the approaching danger by the slightest tension in the body, movement of the ears and eyes and distract the pet by giving the commands “Stand”, “Come to me”, “Sit” or “Lie down” in sequence. Ideally, you should monitor your surroundings better than a dog and “turn on” herself when she has not yet noticed the object herself.
4. Generally, dogs that like to chase moving targets will respond well to the toy. It will be much easier for you to transfer her instinct of pursuit to the fetching object. Let him chase not cars, but a ball, a puller or a flying saucer. With proper training, pretty soon the dog will forget about his addiction to cars, and will only follow the toy in your hands.
How to train your pet to play? The toy that you use for walks and distraction should be one, comfortable, durable, and wear-resistant. At home, she should never lie on the floor or on a dog bed. It is advisable to completely remove all toys from free access. Start gradually, first make sure that the dog actually likes the toy you bought.
The first time, play for about 5 minutes, throwing it and exchanging it for a treat or a second identical toy. Don't forget about intense praise. Always stop the exercise before the dog gets bored of chasing. Take a toy with you on every walk, gradually increase the duration of the game, but always stop the entertainment before the dog becomes distracted.
As a result, you will get a dog that is constantly focused on you; it will not be distracted by cars, skiers, bicycles, because playing with you is much more interesting. Plus, spending a large number of There will be no energy left to chase after the puller; there will be no energy left to run after the cars.
I hope the article was useful to you, you understood why the dog runs after moving objects and how you can fix the annoying problem.
Ekaterina Titova (Doggy Center instructor)
Many dog owners are faced with their pet’s excessive “love” for catching cyclists, chasing cars or biting runners’ heels. Owners know firsthand that it is impossible to put up with such dog behavior.
Instead of once again relieving stress with heart drops, we suggest you once and for all rid your pet of “ bad habit and teach him self-control.
To retrain a pet, you will need: its owner (that is, you yourself, and not an experienced trainer from some club), an assistant, with whom, preferably, the dog is not familiar (at first - one, then you may have to involve more people), treats for reward (things that the dog rarely eats, but loves passionately).
It is better to conduct classes in a deserted place, where there are few people and other “factors” that distract you and the dog.
So, let's start step-by-step training!
Ask your partner to disappear from the dog's field of view and appear at your signal, then say. When the dog approaches, give him a treat.
While the dog is enjoying the treat, signal your partner to come into view. He should not come close - just walk for 20-30 seconds, but so that the dog can see him. Then have the assistant disappear from view. This exercise must be repeated 2-3 times.
Second stage
Before starting the second, be sure to repeat the first stage of training. This time, ask your helper to jog within your dog's line of sight for about 10 seconds. When the dog sees a person, immediately command him “Come to me!”, without waiting for him to think that it would be nice to catch the suddenly appeared athlete. If your dog comes to you, praise him and give him a treat.
Repeat the exercise several times, and then allow the dog to rest: play with a ball, fetch a stick, or just let your pet walk around the neighborhood.
You can proceed to the next stage only when the dog begins to unquestioningly approach you at the first call, without trying to catch up with your assistant. Never move on to a new exercise until you are sure that your pet has memorized the learned skill well.
Third stage
Let your partner run a little faster in the dog's field of vision, but do not reduce the distance between himself and the dog. Call your pet and give it to him. Repeat the exercise 3-4 times and allow the dog to rest.
Fourth stage
Reduce the distance between your partner and the dog, first to 20 meters, then to 10. When the pet begins to return strictly on command, set the distance to 3-5 meters.
Don't worry if your pet has trouble focusing on your command—for some dogs, the learning process can take weeks, sometimes months. Don't rush things - and you will get the desired result. The main thing is to wait until the dog strictly follows all commands.
The last step
Ask friends your dog doesn't know or doesn't know well for help. Repeat all stages of training with them. If you find it difficult to find “volunteers,” take your pet to a crowded park or square.
If the dog reacts calmly to athletes, you have finally achieved success.
Never yell at your pet if he doesn't follow a command the way you want. Perhaps you are in too much of a hurry, and the dog, even more so, is losing control of himself. Remember: training is not easy, but it is worth the results obtained in the future.
The same technique can be used when training your dog to respond calmly to cyclists and cars. However, experts say that if the dog is calm about bicycles, cars will cease to interest him, despite their impressive size.
The skill your pet acquires will not only save your nerves - it will save his life from danger. After all, fearlessly throwing himself under the wheels of a car or catching up with a cyclist, he risks his health.
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