If your dog is always running out into the street to chase cars, you’re probably looking for ways to stop him. While it can be a challenging behavior to break, there are a few things you can do to make it happen. This post will discuss some of the most effective methods for stopping your dog from chasing cars. We’ll also provide some helpful tips on how to keep him safe while he’s out and about. So, if you’re ready to end this dangerous behavior, keep reading.
Breed Is a Factor
Not all dogs behave the same way. Some are calmer and more peaceful, while others have aggressive attitudes. While some dogs may be easier to train, others will persistently fight us for the alpha position. One dog may successfully learn tricks in a short period, while another will need more dedicated time and effort from us.
These differences in learning capabilities, general attitude, and submissiveness depend on our dog’s breed.
A dog breed usually entails common traits that all dogs belong to it are most likely to have. Yet, breeds are a human product; people have nurtured desirable features by mating features dogs for generations.
For example, Doberman Pinschers are naturally energetic and robust but aggressive and dominant aggressive and dominant by nature — they are bred as guard dogs. On the other hand, Labrador Retrievers are usually playful and easy-going. In the past, they were born to retrieve prey from hunters, which is why they don’t have strong jaws. Otherwise, they would be capable of damaging the game.
For these reasons, we must adapt our training to our dog’s breed and training to our dog’s breed and their natural traits. However, know that these training steps should serve as guidelines. We might need to further upgrade them depending on our dog’s personality.
How to Stop My Dog Chasing Cars — Simple Steps for an Obedient Pup
Playing is for fun, but training should be taken seriously. We’ve already elaborated on the potential dangers that are most likely to occur if our dog is the alpha in our pack. Hence, we need a new attitude.
Our love and affection for our dogs must be put aside during training. We should become strict and firm with our puppy.
As mentioned, we should address our dogs by their given name during training. Also, to ensure we always have our dog’s attention, it’s important to remember one simple tip.
Address the dog first, and command later.
Your pet will get used to a particular course of action. If you’re persistent with this type of communication, the dog will adopt it, and you won’t have to try hard after a certain period to get your dog’s attention.
Keep It Simple
Dogs are clever, but their attention span doesn’t allow them to wait for us to finish an entire sentence before they act. Thus, we must develop a common language with our dogs by establishing commands.
The answer to How to stop my dog from chasing cars? It isn’t hidden in explaining to our dog why this activity is dangerous. Telling them not to run away because they might get hit by a passing car or disturb the entire traffic won’t work.
Hence, we need clear, loudly spoken commands our dog will understand. Sit, stay, come, off, heel, wait, down, place, drop/leave, and there are ten one-word commands our dog needs to know.
Leash Training Comes First
We must first establish dominance to teach our dogs not to chase cars. The best way to begin this process is through leash training.
Our dog is close to us when on a leash, so we can influence their behavior and teach them what each command means. Also, we can show them when we’re unhappy with the lack of obedience by firmly tugging the leash.
Punishment and reward is the most successful training system. However, it’s a common misbelief that it’s necessary to punish the dog by beating them — both unnecessary and cruel.
Our dog will get the hint when we tug the leash. Furthermore, we should reward them for two reasons — to get their attention and thus make them willing to train and to encourage the desired behavior.
Before we start How to stop my dog chasing cars training, we first need to implement this system.
Ask for Help from Friends
Once we get through the basics and our dog knows the difference between stay, heel, and wait when we’re walking them, it’s time to introduce staged situations.
For this to work, we’ll need to ask our friends for help. Given that we’ve probably already expressed our concerns on How to stop my dog chasing cars problem, our friends are likely to help. So, we can ask them to run, bike, and drive past us while we’re walking our dog.
This part of the training will succeed if we divide it into three stages.
For the first stage, our dog should remain on a tight leash. After all, this is a new situation for our dogs, and we need to give them time to get used to objects and people passing by.
Once we’re sure that the dog is answering all commands, we can extend the leash to see how they will respond to this newfound freedom. After that, we can continue with the same powers and apply the punishment/reward system.
If our dog doesn’t respond to commands and they go back to dominant behavior, we should regress and go back to stage one — a tight leash. Considering they like their freedom, the dog will also perceive this as a form of punishment. Because of that, they are more likely to adopt submissive behavior.
Once we can trust our dog, we can take the leash off. Again, this will be an unknown situation for our dog, and have no doubt — they will test our boundaries. So, if necessary, we can always go back to a stage once more.
And that’s pretty much it. These stages should enable anyone to finally resolve the How to stop my dog chasing cars mystery.
Training Should Never Stop
We shouldn’t relax once our dog responds to our commands because training never stops.
The effort needs to come from both sides. Our common language’s persistence, discipline, and perseverance will help us protect our dogs and allow them to lead long, happy, and healthy life.
How to Stop My Dog Chasing Cars — Nurture the Bond
Not only should we continue training our dogs every day, but we should also nurture the bond.
The answer to How to stop my dog from chasing cars? It isn’t based only on disciplining our pets.
When dogs feel unloved and unappreciated, they tend to act out. Dogs aren’t born dangerous — they become threatening due to human behavior. When they are abused and maltreated, they develop self-preserving habits. Like humans, dogs can have protective mechanisms as well.
Although neglecting our dog isn’t on the same scale as abuse, it’s still something we shouldn’t allow ourselves. We must ensure that our pet is given a proper amount of affection daily, that their playful side is satisfied, and that they don’t have extra energy.
The dog will express their gratitude, have no doubt. We’ll gain an affectionate life companion.
But what’s even more important is that our communication will grow stronger. All types of relationships, whether human to human or human to pet, slowly die out if we don’t take care of them — they require work and dedication.
How to stop my dog from chasing cars is an extensive subject. Although this may seem like a lot of continuous work, we will stop noticing it once it becomes routine. All we have to do is be persistent — our hard work will undoubtedly pay off.
It’s challenging to perceive dogs as animals. Once they enter our home, they become much more than a pet — like a part of the family.
Still, although this is a beautiful thing — the canine is indeed a man’s best friend — it often prevents owners from training their pets properly. Improper training often leads to unfortunate situations and potential consequences that we must not ignore.
Not only could our dog get in trouble, but other people could get hurt too.
However, the good news is that we can prevent stressful situations and tragedies. We need to know how to stop our dogs from chasing cars. The answer lies in training.
Not everyone is born with natural training abilities, though. Some people have that “alpha” attitude and have no issues controlling their dog, regardless of the breed.
Dogs are pack animals. When they become a part of our family, they perceive it as a pack. This shouldn’t be surprising — dogs and wolfs share the same ancestor. Therefore, it’s no wonder both of these breeds have similar traits.
In conclusion, our dog’s dominant instincts will surface if we don’t become the alpha in our pack. However, this is just something we should have in mind — no need to worry. Anyone can learn how to train their dog, even if that doesn’t come naturally.
But, before we begin explaining the do’s and don’ts of training, it’s necessary to answer a few common questions first. It’s of the utmost importance to understand our dog’s behavior to know how to train them better. So, to find the answer to How to stop my dog from chasing cars? — we need to start at the beginning.
My Dog Is Chasing Cars — Why?
It’s their most instinct. Before dogs were domesticated, they had to hunt and feed. Thus, trying to outrun moving objects is in their nature. If they cannot get food and shelter quickly, dogs will stalk, capture, and kill prey to survive.
Although it may be difficult to understand, our affectionate fur ball is a killing machine. So, the first part of the answer to “My dog is chasing cars — why?” is predatory aggression. It’s all about instincts and self-preservation.
Still, playing is another far more benign explanation for this behavior. You must have seen how dogs play by now. They run, bite, wrestle, and chase around. They are playing what we’d call tag. So, when our dog sees a moving object, they want to play with it, outrun it, and catch it.
The funny thing is that dogs expect the car to chase them once they catch it. Thus, it’s a dangerous game they are playing, and to successfully conduct How to stop my dog chasing cars training, it’s necessary to have this in mind.
My Dog Barks at Passing Cars
Regardless of their size or predatory predispositions, dogs consider themselves the protectors of our home. Cars, bikes, mail carriers, or random passersby are potentially dangerous to our pets.
Other than being predators, dogs are also territorial. Our home is a territory that our dog feels obliged to protect. Hence, they bark. Whenever our dog senses that potential danger is approaching, they’ll try to warn us, scare off the enemies, and protect the territory along with everyone on it.
We have already mentioned that dogs are pack animals. So, unless we let them know that our territory is ours to protect, their barking might drive our neighbors and us crazy.
In addition, we also need to understand that dogs express themselves through barking. It can also be a sign of sheer boredom, or in the very opposite case, excitement.
My Dog Chases My Car When I Leave
The answer to this question is somewhat similar to the previous two. Predatory aggression or playful behavior may be why our dog enthusiastically follows us each time we drive off.
But there could be more to it too. Unconditional love is why a dog is considered a man’s best friend. Our dog misses us when we’re not home. So, if we don’t set up the proper boundaries, we’ll have to deal with a needy dog that becomes depressed every time we leave.
It is challenging to be strict or annoyed with our dogs, though, especially when we know that pure, innocent affection is behind their behavior. However, the right attitude can make our and our dogs’ lives easier.
What Not to Do
Now that we’ve answered both, My dog chases my car when I leave — why? And My dog barks at passing cars — why? We can move on to common training mistakes.
There’s one thing worse than not training our dog, and that is improper training. People probably say teaching an old dog new tricks is impossible, but it’s old dog new tricks is impossible, but it’s rather challenging.
It’s not that dogs are old and thus incapable of learning new tricks. The problem is that it’s challenging to remold an already mature dog and correct its behavior. When dogs adopt a specific behavioral pattern, they get used to it. As far as they are concerned, that is proper behavior.
The same goes for people — they can change, but it’s rather difficult when a person is set in their ways.
Therefore, before we start our training and discover the secret to How to stop our dog from chasing cars, we must learn what not to do first and how to avoid common mistakes.
Giving Treats Isn’t Productive
When our dog runs away from our proximity and starts chasing cars, we experience an adrenaline rush caused by fear — which is only natural. Our first instinct is to call for our dog.
But, considering that they are either in a predatory mood or in a playful state of mind, they won’t pay too much attention to what we have to say.
That’s precisely when most owners remember one thing that a dog will never say no to — food. So, we desperately try to protect our dogs by tempting them with a delicious treat.
Treats are supposed to be rewards.
Chances are our dogs will return to us — but just for long enough to get their treat if we don’t manage to restrain them with a leash.
We shouldn’t get mad at our dog in this case. As far as they’re concerned, it’s a win-win situation. The dog gets a treat as a reward for their behavior, and they get to continue playing or stalking their prey.
In conclusion — don’t use a treat in this situation. It will only encourage undesirable behavior in the future.
Do Not Run After Your Dog
Another protective instinct that will overcome us is chasing our dogs when they start running after a passing car.
Why is this bad? Well, in our dog’s mind, we become just another playmate in the tag game. It’s not that our dog is trying to mess with us intentionally by running away from us; they are just playing.
However, considering this isn’t a game for us but a highly stressful situation, we should restrain ourselves from running after our dog.
Using Cute Nicknames Is a Bad Idea
Owners also tend to manipulate their pets with affection in these circumstances.
Still, by doing so and trying to get our pet back with cute nicknames, we’re decreasing the severity of the situation in our dog’s mind. If we start throwing affection their way, they won’t understand they are doing something wrong. On the contrary — our dog will feel encouraged to continue.
When our dog runs away from us, we need to use a strict, clear command if we want them to return. We shouldn’t use one of their nicknames but the name we use for training them.
Leashes Are Not a Permanent Solution
When all of these attempts to restrain a pet fail, most owners showcase fearful behavior — they start walking their dog on the leash permanently.
Although this may seem like the best solution to indefinitely protect our dogs from themselves, it’s not good. Doing so will make our dog unhappy.
Adopting a dog comes with responsibility — they don’t exist for our entertainment. We need to take care of their happiness too, and dogs are in their most cheerful state when they can freely run and play.
