Dog Barking in car - how do I make him stop?

[Herbie31]

Sorry if this is long

, you need to know the full picture to be able to help, right??

Anyway we have a BC which is the sopyest dog going. No sign of agression at all, you can take his chew/dinner away from him and he will just accept it (even though he loves them with a passion)

Every night we go round to Mum's when she gets home from work and always take the dog with us for change of senery etc. He loves going round and adores my Mum.

Now the problem is that Mum always waves us off at the door and the dog will bark like mad at her when we drive past (he has a very loud bark

which goes right through me)

The other day Mum was strapping my son in (Grandma always has to do it

) My son wanted a big squeese from Grandma and the dog flew at her barking from the back of the car (estate car so he could not actually get to her) which freeked me a llittle. We put it down to him protecting my son but he is an intelligent dog and has known my Mum (and loves her to bits) since he was a puppy - he's now 3 1/2 yrs old - so surely he should know Mum is no threat??

He's very much 'my' dog so to ensure the 'pack' order in our house my son always gives him his breakfast and dinner (makes him sit and wait etc) so that the dog knows where he comes in the order.

When we are out for a walk and my son or OH goes some distance away the dog wil cry until I let him off the lead to go to them - then will immediatly come back to me (without me calling)

I thought maybe he is trying to protect his 'pack' when in the car but would like to hear others thoughts.

Obviously this flying at Mum can not be repeated so how do I discourage it? I thought about rattling a tin in the front when he barks in the car etc but think he may be so worked up to notice.
He does not bark in the car when strangers go up to it when I am not in it.

Has anyone else had this? Any ideas on how to stop it??

Sorry its so long

 

[CAYLA]

My rotti loves my OH to death, but if he looked like he was coming toward me in a threatening manor, she would not hesitate to defend me.
With collies this could obs be a mixture of the excitement and poss protecting which in some dogs is heightened by restraint, i.e in a kennel, on a lead, behind a dog guard, hence as they are sort of trapped/restrained a little frustration will also come into play.
I would maybe get a crate for the car, to obscure his view, as u can cover a crate or even get a plastic one that would obscure his view anyway.
I would think him barking at your mam is again a little excitement which collies tend to take to the extreme(don't forget they over exegerate everything

so again with the crate he wont beable to see her wave u off.
It does not sound like aggression (which I think u may be subconsciously worrying about) I don't think he would react the same if he was sitting beside your son, he would prob just get very excited and join in by licking your mam and becoming a little hyped/excitable (not that I would allow him to sit beside him) but u would not believe how a barrier/restraint exhuberates a dogs reaction towards basically any stimulus, hence why dogs in kennels get over looked as raging beasts, when really it's sheer frustration.

 

[Herbie31]

Hi cayla - thanks for your reply.
What you said all makes sense however I don't have a dog guard in the car, though he may be feeling restrained by the seats of course.
Also he is a large BC (size of a german shepard) so would need a massive crate which would not be a problem to have in the back of the car if it were not for half the boot space taken up by my mobility scooter (which I need to be able to walk him - got ill when he was 1 1/2 - no way I was getting rid of him

)

Do you have any other ideas on how to stop this?

 

[zippo]

Try this .child goes into car,dog waits outside..tied up or held securely,child is in seat,buckled up,ready to go.Dog is then taken to his place in car,tied or restrained,car then departs smartly.Spray bottle of water is used as soon as dog lunges or barks,loud"NO"is said,dog then ignored until home is reached,very naughty/bossy/aggressive dog is then put to bed after everyone else gets out of the car....Good dog!!!

 

[CAYLA]

You could try a covered dog guard, they are make of a water proof type material. this would block his view, or u could try sitting i the boot ad whe your mam says goodbye u could correct him if he displays any overselous behaviour this way, or you could try asking your mam to offer him a treat before she hugs your so goodbye then again as she is about to close car door as a sort of goodbye to the dog and a treat for staying calm, this way he may begin to assosiate your mam saying her goodbye and hugs to your so with him recieving a treat.

When driving away and him barking u could try the pistol and a LEAVE IT, but I would not recommend this if u are driving alone, or if u are a bad aim and may soak your child

would drf need the passanger seat driver to squirt.
Maybe be a splash collar would be safer as it will automatically trigger when he barks.

 

[Herbie31]

Thanks again Cayla.
Unfortunately it is normally my son and I in the car on our own when we leave mums so the risk of soaking my son is very high - though could be fun lol

I will look into the water collar things you suggest they sound good

Update on tonight - told the dog to lay down so he could not see Mum as we drove past (fortunately he is very obediant - well being a BC he would be

) which worked really well - lots of praise when we got past.

All was going well until Mum in all her wisdom knocked on the car window to say goodbye to my son - course dog barked! grrrr mothers!

 

[CAYLA]

Lol at ya mam

if he responds well to a command of LEAVE IT OR DOWN, then go for it and be firm with him, the splasg collar is a citris/or basically jsut the aerasol noise blast not a water based blast

it distracts them ad in general they don't like it, so it stops them in their tracks and is a negative assosiation with the behaviour displayed at the time.