I don't think shouting or saying anything to him is going to solve the problem, a better strategy would be to grab him by the neck or tap him lightly on the side with the back of your hand. It would also be ideal to take him for quick walk right before he gets into the car everytime you go on an outing.

 

Practice "down-stay" a lot and use it Obviously start small when doing this in the car but he's a smart boy and I'm sure will quickly figure it out

 

This might sound silly, but maybe you want to practice getting in and getting out of the vehicle with King. Go to the vehicle get in, wait for a few minutes and then get out of it without going anywhere. Use it as training. Once he gets in, make him settle down, then get out and only let him out if he is calm. If he's not, wait until he settles down. Then let him out. Also try using the enough command, you use for the inside. That might help break that behavior and focus back on you.

My girl sometimes gets very vocal when we go to the dog park, but I will not allow her out until she is quiet. I use the wait command alot when I open the door, so she won't bolt out. Persistence, persistence. If I think of anything else I'll add later....

 

Lexus knows when we are arriving at certain places also, to play with her mom, the park, Pet store.... and she gets whiney and starts turning circles in the back seat (bumping my seat with every circle)... I would do as Tracy says and work on your down stay.

I've really had to work with Lex, and I can live with the whining, but not the pacing and circles. So she must lay and stay until I call her out.

 

I have a standard cab full size pickup and GKar rides upfront with me so there is no room for an excited doberman. When I stop he sits to have his leash attached but other than that he lies quietly next to me, usually with his head on my lap. I agree with the people about the sit stays and practice getting in and out of the car except I would do it at the places he gets excited at. I think you need to take a little more control from the time he gets in the car thou.

 

Yea Tom it sounds like King is not performing under distraction (the car and or park). Basically you need to keep on him, it would be the same as making him do a down stay with say other dogs around or kids playing ball. He must do it regardless of the distraction ie: car, kids, balls, toys, food. Whatever the distraction is he must follow your command. I know it sounds easy but I also know it is not easy and it takes alot of hard work and time.

Good luck

TD

 

Thanks for all the replys. I really do appreciate it. Im going to practice getting in and out of the car at the place's of distraction Using the sit/stay command along with "enough". Hopefully people dont think im too much of a nut case...lol unk:


Ill post an update in a few weeks.

 

Rudy use to do that all the time. He would start to whimper and howl in the car.

We treid everything with him. I finally called his breeder and asked for her help and she said to just take him more places and just out for car rides where ever we went so he would not always associate going in the car with going out and having fun. It did work but took some time. he really just kind of grew out of it. He doesn't do that anymore.

It does drive one crazy doesn't it .

 

LOL.....TomandKing, In case you haven't noticed, we are all pretty much nut cases in one way or another. Well, nut cases with dobermans.......

 

King has actually made some progress. Not a whole lot, but he is starting to become a BIT calmer, and starting to listen to commands now. I think in a month, i should have a well behaved dog in the car.

 

Mavis started out the same way King did. At first, I would just get her to "sit" before I opened the door, even if it took ten minutes. Later,(like a couple months later) I would get her to "stay" before getting out, (I would tell her "stay"). If she got out before I told her "okay", she would have to get back in the truck, and we would start over. After a while, she knew every time she would have to do the sit-stay thing, so she would stay put without being told after I opened the door. Before long, I could pull up at the Dog Park, open her door, walk away while other people's mis-behaving and un-leashed dogs stood barking in front of her open door, and she would just sit there until she got the word to get out. She knew there was no future in getting out on her own. None of this happened over-night, and I never dreamed at the beginning she would ever get to the level of self control she ended up at, but I started basic and simple, and went from there.
Good luck with King!

 

Lexus knows when we are arriving at certain places also, to play with her mom, the park, Pet store.... and she gets whiney and starts turning circles in the back seat (bumping my seat with every circle)... I would do as Tracy says and work on your down stay.

I've really had to work with Lex, and I can live with the whining, but not the pacing and circles. So she must lay and stay until I call her out.

I agree with TracyJo and Lexus. Do the down/stay. Maybe with the barking /whinning have one word that he can related what you saying (Like wrong). And when he does a good job reward him w/ treat. Good luck!!!
How is King doing otherwise?

 

Well he is doing pretty well with the whole car thing. He knows he isnt going to get out of the car when he wants, but when i want, so he is much calmer now. He still whines, but not nearly as bad as before. He seems to be getting a lot better around people and other dogs, but he has his moments. If everything works out, my cats teeth will be done and so will kings thyroid test in a few months.

 

Well he is doing pretty well with the whole car thing. He knows he isnt going to get out of the car when he wants, but when i want, so he is much calmer now. He still whines, but not nearly as bad as before. He seems to be getting a lot better around people and other dogs, but he has his moments. If everything works out, my cats teeth will be done and so will kings thyroid test in a few months.

Thats great to hear. It all takes time. He sounds like he is doing well.

 

Great topic and great responses. I have been having same problems with Princi. She just won't stop whining and shaking. I put a nice soft compforter (sp) in the back for her to lay down in and she just won't relax. But I haven't really done a whole lot of down/stay with her and need to work on that. One thing I have found out is that when the windows are open wide enough for her to stick her head out she calms down a little. Has anyone experienced their dog growing out of something like this? Or is it more of a training issue.

Naveen

 

i agree with the "enough" and "down/stay" comments also the parctice getting in and out of the car. also one thing i would suggest is just driving by these places not meaning tease him but if he realizes if he acts up he doesnt get to go? make sense?

 

Great topic and great responses. I have been having same problems with Princi. She just won't stop whining and shaking. I put a nice soft compforter (sp) in the back for her to lay down in and she just won't relax. But I haven't really done a whole lot of down/stay with her and need to work on that. One thing I have found out is that when the windows are open wide enough for her to stick her head out she calms down a little. Has anyone experienced their dog growing out of something like this? Or is it more of a training issue.

Naveen

I think it might be a little of both; immaturity and training. Start working on the down stays in a place where she is comfortable, like your living room and then gradually take the lesson on the road. I'd start with the car/truck parked for a bit and then add short trips. I think the car trips a lot of dogs up. First, they're moving. Our dogs are great thinkers and surely the idea of moving, where they may be going, what will happen when they get there, how long will it take, etc. is an awful lot for them to think about ;-) Second, when we are driving, our attention is not completely focused on the dog. How dare we do something that takes our attention off of them?
But with practice and the confidence that results from the practice, she'll get the hang of it in no time

ps. I love your signature

 

Makes sense.

Thanks for the compliment on the sig, you know, someone actualy said that to me once and they were serious!!! So when you said that I just had to have it...

Sorry Tom, didn't mean to hijack the thread... ;-)

 

Makes sense.

Thanks for the compliment on the sig, you know, someone actualy said that to me once and they were serious!!! So when you said that I just had to have it...

Sorry Tom, didn't mean to hijack the thread... ;-)

Lol, no worries. I got all the info i needed already.

I honestly cant count the number of times someone has come up to me asking about that myth.