# Dogs bad behavior in car



## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

I feel your pain. And I know it is painful to have a spoo bark right into your ear.

Lily used to be a wild woman in my vehicle. It was all about guarding the space we were in. If there were no pedestrians, kids on bikes or motorcyclists near the truck it was fine. Now Javelin does the same thing in cycles. Lily just sort of stopped on her own in a reasonable period of time, but Javelin is really annoying about this in the last few months since I take him almost everywhere with me. I have tried various things. I did put a bark collar on him for a couple of weeks. It didn't totally stop the craziness but it did break into the behavior well enough that he was able to listen to me enough to stop lunging around. I also did a couple of weeks of giving him Rescue Remedy when we were getting ready to leave home. This took enough edge off that he again could listen to me enough to stop what he was doing. Once I could get him to stop the craziness as he was starting to get amped up I started tossing relly wonderful bits of chicken jerky into the back seat (has a hammock) so that he would get more interested in looking for the treats than playing Cujo. Now that allowed me to totally cut off the crazy train and now I tell him to lie down when I see he is starting to pay more attention than I want to outside the vehicle or I can see that we will pass a pedestrian. If he lies down I give him a generous piece of chicken jerky in response to doing what he is told. I also make him practice settling and giving me attention before he is allowed out of the vehicle. He has improved greatly but still has days where he back slides, but never all the way back to the wild man stuff. Since I always have a bag of chicken jerky in reach on the front passenger seat I can go back as far as I need to in that chain of training (although I haven't needed the bark collar or the rescue remedy in quite a while).

You might try the back seat hammock as a way to keep your dog partly contained. I do always have a harness clipped to a tether anchored on the chick seat lock and I keep it short enough that nobody can get into the front seat with me.

I just thought of one or two other things. Give him a really good run and/or a long leash walk before getting him into the car. The other thing would be to sit in your car in an area where the things that set him to barking and other craziness will be around and do some of the training I have done with Javelin while you are parked. Since it is really hard to train while driving this should let you get started onto a better pattern before you end up away from home with a problem. I just saw something in my local Patch newsletter about a car accident caused by a dog jumping into its owners lap while she was eating an egg sandwich and driving. Multitasking while driving is not realistically safe and having a dog unrestrained in a moving vehicle is just plain asking for an accident to happen.


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## Viking Queen (Nov 12, 2014)

lily cd re said:


> I feel your pain. And I know it is painful to have a spoo bark right into your ear.
> 
> Lily used to be a wild woman in my vehicle. It was all about guarding the space we were in. If there were no pedestrians, kids on bikes or motorcyclists near the truck it was fine. Now Javelin does the same thing in cycles. Lily just sort of stopped on her own in a reasonable period of time, but Javelin is really annoying about this in the last few months since I take him almost everywhere with me. I have tried various things. I did put a bark collar on him for a couple of weeks. It didn't totally stop the craziness but it did break into the behavior well enough that he was able to listen to me enough to stop lunging around. I also did a couple of weeks of giving him Rescue Remedy when we were getting ready to leave home. This took enough edge off that he again could listen to me enough to stop what he was doing. Once I could get him to stop the craziness as he was starting to get amped up I started tossing relly wonderful bits of chicken jerky into the back seat (has a hammock) so that he would get more interested in looking for the treats than playing Cujo. Now that allowed me to totally cut off the crazy train and now I tell him to lie down when I see he is starting to pay more attention than I want to outside the vehicle or I can see that we will pass a pedestrian. If he lies down I give him a generous piece of chicken jerky in response to doing what he is told. I also make him practice settling and giving me attention before he is allowed out of the vehicle. He has improved greatly but still has days where he back slides, but never all the way back to the wild man stuff. Since I always have a bag of chicken jerky in reach on the front passenger seat I can go back as far as I need to in that chain of training (although I haven't needed the bark collar or the rescue remedy in quite a while).
> 
> ...



Thank you, Catherine, for posting these suggestions. All of a sudden, Miss Perfect in the Car Poppy, has turned into CUJO at times and it is very frustrating. It all began a couple of months ago with her reacting, while we were at a stoplight, to one of the HUNDREDS, of panhandlers on the street corner who was approaching
our car. She just went ballistic and we have had lots of repeat performances and now it is anyone walking a dog, or approaching in a parking lot .....just about everything sets her off and it's awful. I will try some of your suggestions. Poppy goes nearly everywhere with me so I just can not have this happening. It is distracting, distructive and dangerous. I want my sweet girl back!


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

VQ you will overcome this behavior too. It is sort of hard to work on since it feels like you have to multitask and adding complications to driving is never a good idea. Having panhandlers walk up to your vehicle is just bad at many levels. Bad/sad that the folks who are out there are so poorly off (economically, psychiatrically or otherwise) and bad/sad that we have to feel intimidated by them and bad/sad that it scares our dogs.

One other thing I think of related to this is that there is very little useful work to be done while a dog is in the midst of a full out crazy break. I also think aversive corrections are fine when a dog knows what they are supposed to be doing, but are not doing that behavior, but when a dog is already in a frenzy a negative from you will just add to the bad chemistry. All of the methods and tools I have used to deal with this have been aimed at preventing the crazy train from leaving the station. Once you get the dog to collect its head then you can really work on the underlying things that are making them over excited before the excitement makes them stop listening to you. 

It might feel stupid to do so but training on these issues in a busy parking lot is ideal. Who cares what other people think. They will be impressed by your well mannered poodle once you get thigns straightened out.


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## Markbthompson (May 24, 2012)

merrydm said:


> SPoo Ariel loves riding in the car but gets agressive in car, very excited and jumps all over. He is an escape artist and can get out of a seat belt restraint in seconds. I loved taking our previous Spoo in car with me with me. He would occassionally bark but would stop immediately when told NO. Ari does not stop the barking though he does stop the aggressive nipping. I am presently sporting two very NICE bruises on my arm( through a heavy winter coat I might add). He is very good in so many other ways but this needs to stop. It is so distracting in the car. I had purchased a barrier for my car but my husband would not allow it as he was afraid it would damage the car's headliner. I have tried a cord across the back with his leash tied to it but he always manages to get himself close enough that he can bark right in my ear. I tried a shock collar which did not work well and I am generallly opposed to them. I also tried a squirt bottle which seems to make him more agressive. A boat horn, not so much and hard to use while driving. The car is smallish and will no hold his large crate as it is too tall to get inside. Has anyone had a similar problem?
> Please help - I would love any suggestions? Thanks


Hope is fine unless someone approaches my car or truck and that protection mode kicks in. I used to stop her but in my town there are panhandlers begging on almost every corner now and they won't approach me with a 60 pound SPOO woofing at them. I use a combination of a hammock with a screen but mine has straps that go over the front head rests with no posts. The only post is short plastic in the middle but it's really short and I don't bother putting it in, it don't reach near the roof. I Have the same setup in all 3 cars, it is inexpensive on Amazon. You can undo the 2 clips for it and the 2 clips for the hammock and get your search back in 2 minutes.
She still barks, just not in my ear. 

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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Not to derail this topic, but I am struck deeply by hearing that Markbthompson you have to deal with panhandlers too along with Viking Queen. When I was in graduate school in NYC in the 80s there were lots of squeegee men and other sorts of pan handlers all over the place as a result of the deinstitutionalization of psychiatric patients. This issue cleared up through various methods (not all humane) under the Guiliani administration but recently I have seen lots of pan handlers when I have crossed the George Washington Bridge back from New Jersey to New York and for the very first time in 30 years there has been pan handling at the place where I get off the parkway to go to my work place recently. The stock market may be doing well, but for the majority of Americans who don't own any stock, things seem pretty iffy.


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## merrydm (Jan 6, 2018)

Thanks I never thought of the protective angle as Ari's tail is always wagging like he is trying to get people/cars attention. I am going to try some of suggestions. Thanks again


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## merrydm (Jan 6, 2018)

Thanks going to check out the hammock arrangements.


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## Markbthompson (May 24, 2012)

lily cd re said:


> Not to derail this topic, but I am struck deeply by hearing that Markbthompson you have to deal with panhandlers too along with Viking Queen. When I was in graduate school in NYC in the 80s there were lots of squeegee men and other sorts of pan handlers all over the place as a result of the deinstitutionalization of psychiatric patients. This issue cleared up through various methods (not all humane) under the Guiliani administration but recently I have seen lots of pan handlers when I have crossed the George Washington Bridge back from New Jersey to New York and for the very first time in 30 years there has been pan handling at the place where I get off the parkway to go to my work place recently. The stock market may be doing well, but for the majority of Americans who don't own any stock, things seem pretty iffy.


The problem isn't the actual homeless, they don't beg with signs here. Just like we service dog users have to deal with people faking disabilities to use their dogs, these people have homes and cars and fake being needy. They have learned they can make way more money by begging than working a real job at $15 an hour. They stand on a corner in decent clothes holding homeless signs and if you get there at the right time you may see a car park nearby and the next shift takes over as the guy drives away or is picked up by his wife or GF. It's organized begging. 

I caught my wife before she gave a guy money one day, and explained something most people don't even think of. If he is homeless, where is his backpack? His grocery basket? How did he get to the exit of the interstate? Offer him food, they want money only. One guy had an umbrella on a rainy day magically, didn't the day before but his clothes were changed. People are paying their bills and their addictions and most of them are better off than the people giving them money. The police ignore them. It's ridiculous, that's why I can't wait to retire to the country.

Years ago the owner of a video rental store told me her best customer was retired and lived in a home near me, he begged to rent 3-4 movies every night and buy liquor. He just begged an hour or two a day and that was 20 years ago, multiply him by a thousand working in 10 hour shifts on the best corners to intercept low-middle class workers going home. They don't target upper income areas, they know better, they target the people who may relate to their fake sign. It has become a psychological game.





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## Viking Queen (Nov 12, 2014)

Markbthompson said:


> The problem isn't the actual homeless, they don't beg with signs here. Just like we service dog users have to deal with people faking disabilities to use their dogs, these people have homes and cars and fake being needy. They have learned they can make way more money by begging than working a real job at $15 an hour. They stand on a corner in decent clothes holding homeless signs and if you get there at the right time you may see a car park nearby and the next shift takes over as the guy drives away or is picked up by his wife or GF. It's organized begging.
> 
> I caught my wife before she gave a guy money one day, and explained something most people don't even think of. If he is homeless, where is his backpack? His grocery basket? How did he get to the exit of the interstate? Offer him food, they want money only. One guy had an umbrella on a rainy day magically, didn't the day before but his clothes were changed. People are paying their bills and their addictions and most of them are better off than the people giving them money. The police ignore them. It's ridiculous, that's why I can't wait to retire to the country.
> 
> ...


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

I would invest in a really good, crash tested harness, and go for lots and lots of training. Work out what the triggers are (Excitement at going for a walk? Anxiety at being restrained? Guarding against intruders? Frustration at not being able to greet passing dogs?) and address them with desensitisation and counter conditioning - I would be wary of aversives as they are likely to increase stress rather than calm things down. 

But I would also point out to your husband that while a barrier might mark the car lining, not having a barrier could lead to an accident that writes off car, wife and poodle! He may not have his priorities quite right, I fear...


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## Markbthompson (May 24, 2012)

fjm said:


> I would invest in a really good, crash tested harness, and go for lots and lots of training. Work out what the triggers are (Excitement at going for a walk? Anxiety at being restrained? Guarding against intruders? Frustration at not being able to greet passing dogs?) and address them with desensitisation and counter conditioning - I would be wary of aversives as they are likely to increase stress rather than calm things down.
> 
> But I would also point out to your husband that while a barrier might mark the car lining, not having a barrier could lead to an accident that writes off car, wife and poodle! He may not have his priorities quite right, I fear...


I use these by Solve-It and they have kept my dog from flying up into the windshield a few times when I had to lock up the brakes in my pickup. It won't damage the car, but the plastic brace rod on the center is the first thing to break so I leave it out.
http://www.cabelas.com/product/Solv...HWbv5pGfuWq5I62w7FgaAlQHEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

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## Mufar42 (Jan 1, 2017)

The problem isn't the actual homeless, they don't beg with signs here. Just like we service dog users have to deal with people faking disabilities to use their dogs, these people have homes and cars and fake being needy. They have learned they can make way more money by begging than working a real job at $15 an hour. They stand on a corner in decent clothes holding homeless signs and if you get there at the right time you may see a car park nearby and the next shift takes over as the guy drives away or is picked up by his wife or GF. It's organized begging. 

We have the same here. Of course some are legit but many are not. We had a lady holding up a sign that she is disabled, will accept only cash and guess what, she has someone in a beamer waiting on her in the parking lot. Same with many others, they dress down but actually drive way in newer looking vehicles. It seems to have gotten better late, there were few during the holidays on an off. We have one old guy with two dogs, he is a regular. He will accept anything. I will not support any of them since I don't know who is legit and we have a excellent food bank in town with a consignment shop who I support whole heartedly.


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## Markbthompson (May 24, 2012)

Mufar42 said:


> The problem isn't the actual homeless, they don't beg with signs here. Just like we service dog users have to deal with people faking disabilities to use their dogs, these people have homes and cars and fake being needy. They have learned they can make way more money by begging than working a real job at $15 an hour. They stand on a corner in decent clothes holding homeless signs and if you get there at the right time you may see a car park nearby and the next shift takes over as the guy drives away or is picked up by his wife or GF. It's organized begging.
> 
> We have the same here. Of course some are legit but many are not. We had a lady holding up a sign that she is disabled, will accept only cash and guess what, she has someone in a beamer waiting on her in the parking lot. Same with many others, they dress down but actually drive way in newer looking vehicles. It seems to have gotten better late, there were few during the holidays on an off. We have one old guy with two dogs, he is a regular. He will accept anything. I will not support any of them since I don't know who is legit and we have a excellent food bank in town with a consignment shop who I support whole heartedly.


We have several food banks and shelters, you find about 75% of the homeless in those areas. The rest are in tent camps in 2-3 areas. They know where to go to get food, medical care, etc so for the most part they don't beg. 
A lot of the professional beggars are on drugs so they can't pass a drug screen to get a job. There is 1 begging in front of a warehouse covered in signs paying $15-18 for warehouse pickers and can't fill the jobs. Jobs are plentiful here in that range, Amazon has warehouses and fulfillment places galore within 2 miles and they want hundreds of people willing to work. 

I don't give anyone anything after I saw one get into a Mercedes SUV and go to liquor barn. I've worked since I was 16 for what I have, they need to get a job. I heard they average 40 an hour begging,$1500 a week tax-free! so people need to roll their windows up and force the lazy clowns into the labor market!

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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

You all have opened my eyes! What sad cynical times we are in. I guess a lot of the people who are begging are looking for money for opioids, one more reason to confront this medically induced drug addiction epidemic. The places I see people pan handling they really seem to be indigent and may also have substance abuse problems, but I don't think that is the whole story in NYC and environs.


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## Markbthompson (May 24, 2012)

lily cd re said:


> You all have opened my eyes! What sad cynical times we are in. I guess a lot of the people who are begging are looking for money for opioids, one more reason to confront this medically induced drug addiction epidemic. The places I see people pan handling they really seem to be indigent and may also have substance abuse problems, but I don't think that is the whole story in NYC and environs.


Some of ours "appear" to be in bad shape too, but appearances are decieving. If you see a truly homeless person, they usually have their belongings with them, it may just be a backpack but they have something. Take a close look at that next beggar and think about that.He has personal belongings somewhere.

In my college days I drove a delivery truck and had a stop near a shelter. They turn them out during the day and I met a Vietnam vet just wondering by with his belongings on his back. He wasn't begging but it was freezing cold out so I took him into a little cafe and got him a burger and "bottomless" cup of coffee. He could stay and drink coffee for a while and warm up. He quickly figured out I was there twice a week on my route and I got him lunch thru the winter on those days but he disappeared in the Spring. He was sober and not a drug user or beggar, just didn't fit into society. He had a cot in a warm building overnight, breakfast and dinner there too. No need to beg.

Drug use and abuse is a personal choice some people make, the supposed War on Drugs can never stop it.
I don't see the so called opioid crisis coming from the medical industry as much as people abusing and using it for it's affects, not true need, thru underground sources or unscrupulous doctors who write the prescription without a medical diagnosis just for the money. I'm sure it's addictive, just like heroin, people will abuse anything and there is a black market for anything they want. If they can't find a doctor to write it, they get it underground for a lot more money.

I think the increase in beggars is due to simple math, not drugs. Why work for $600 minus taxes a week when you can have twice as much tax free and do nothing? Wouldn't you like 4000-5000 a month of free money? We aren't talking small change or pocket money, if they get even 20 an hour it's 800 a week tax free or 3200 a month. Now, when you combine that with Section 8 housing, food stamps,Medicaid, why work? If they game the system well, they have it made.

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