If it moves, your dog will chase it. Balls, bubbles, sticks or falling leaves floating through the air are just a few of the fun things dogs love to pursue. Young dogs in particular love the challenge of moving objects. They make perfect toys and it’s delightful to watch a young pup entertaining himself by trying to catch a fly on the window or investigating a tuft of cotton blowing around the yard. Once things come to a standstill they’ve not nearly as interesting.
As they mature, some dogs become territorial. They fell it’s their job to protect their home from intruders, and the chase game that was once so cute soon develops into barking and running back and forth as they attempt to scare away anything that moves or breathes. To a territorial dog, cats and squirrels are just as menacing as kids on noisy skateboards and bicycles.
The first time your dog succeeds in chasing something or someone away, he swells up with confidence and this makes him want to demonstrate his chasing ability again. But when a dog gets enough confidence to start racing after cars, he has become dangerously aggressive and is risking his own life.
Halt!
To prevent your dog from developing into a car chaser, don’t encourage chasing behavior. If your dog steals something of yours or he doesn’t come to you when you call him, don’t chase after him. Instead, all him to “Come,” and reward him when he does. Obedience training will be very helpful in making sure the “Come” command is well instilled.
If your dog has already taken to chasing cars, make sure you keep him in a fenced yard or on his leash when he is outdoors. Giving your dog plenty of exercise is another way to curb the chasing instinct. Teach him to retrieve, and then spend lots of time throwing balls, sticks or other items for him to chase after and return to you. Hopefully, this will war him out. Never encourage him to run after anything without brining it back to you.
To stop your dog chasing things while you are out walking, keep him on a leash and develop his attention span by making him follow your commands and getting him to watch you. If he begins to run after a moving object while walking on his leash, turn abruptly in the opposite direction. When he follows you instead of going after the squirrel or cyclist, reward him with a food treat.
If a moving car still fascinates your dog, ask a friend slowly drive a car by the front of your house. When your dog begins to run after it have your friend throw water balloons or something noisy (but harmless) from the slow-moving vehicle. It should startle him enough to make change his mind.
Try also attaching a 15-foot leash to his choke collar. Again, ask a friend to drive by the front of your house very slowly. As soon as your dog begins to chase after the car, let him run a few feet before you tighten, then quickly release your grip on the leash. Be sure to command “No1” when you do this and take care not to choke him. Keep repeating this exercise until he catches onto the idea.
As they mature, some dogs become territorial. They fell it’s their job to protect their home from intruders, and the chase game that was once so cute soon develops into barking and running back and forth as they attempt to scare away anything that moves or breathes. To a territorial dog, cats and squirrels are just as menacing as kids on noisy skateboards and bicycles.
The first time your dog succeeds in chasing something or someone away, he swells up with confidence and this makes him want to demonstrate his chasing ability again. But when a dog gets enough confidence to start racing after cars, he has become dangerously aggressive and is risking his own life.
Halt!
To prevent your dog from developing into a car chaser, don’t encourage chasing behavior. If your dog steals something of yours or he doesn’t come to you when you call him, don’t chase after him. Instead, all him to “Come,” and reward him when he does. Obedience training will be very helpful in making sure the “Come” command is well instilled.
If your dog has already taken to chasing cars, make sure you keep him in a fenced yard or on his leash when he is outdoors. Giving your dog plenty of exercise is another way to curb the chasing instinct. Teach him to retrieve, and then spend lots of time throwing balls, sticks or other items for him to chase after and return to you. Hopefully, this will war him out. Never encourage him to run after anything without brining it back to you.
To stop your dog chasing things while you are out walking, keep him on a leash and develop his attention span by making him follow your commands and getting him to watch you. If he begins to run after a moving object while walking on his leash, turn abruptly in the opposite direction. When he follows you instead of going after the squirrel or cyclist, reward him with a food treat.
If a moving car still fascinates your dog, ask a friend slowly drive a car by the front of your house. When your dog begins to run after it have your friend throw water balloons or something noisy (but harmless) from the slow-moving vehicle. It should startle him enough to make change his mind.
Try also attaching a 15-foot leash to his choke collar. Again, ask a friend to drive by the front of your house very slowly. As soon as your dog begins to chase after the car, let him run a few feet before you tighten, then quickly release your grip on the leash. Be sure to command “No1” when you do this and take care not to choke him. Keep repeating this exercise until he catches onto the idea.
