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Practical Lessons On How To Train Dog Not To Chase Cars
Chasing things comes as something natural to a dog. A canine might do things based on instinct or habit. Being in pursuit of moving things may be from either. Yet there are things that a pet owner can do to deal with this right. It is possible to persuade and train dog not to chase cars. Some things may help to manage this behavior.
It may take time and patience or even professional help to know how to teach a dog not to chase cars and other things. Buying specific items for that might even be necessary. But at least it is very possible, regardless of a pooch’s age.
Knowing why a dog does what it does and what the measures for restraining one can help.
Understand Why Dogs Do This
Canines are born with common natural features and behaviors. Forcing something that goes against a dog’s nature might not work. Sometimes, it takes adjusting to a canine to have one’s way with it.Responsible pet owners need to know these things to better interact with their buddies. It is often by understanding a dog wherein a person could also have better sway or control over his or her pet.
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A lot of dogs have predatory tendencies. They continue to hunt despite having enough food from their owners. This goes more for hunting dog breeds that have it in their DNA to do this.
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Some canines made chasing habitual because they find nothing wrong with the activity. They may do this out of boredom and from imitating their peers. It’s also possible for them to be this way due to their territorial nature and to show their dominance.
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Others feel very energetic and playful or have pent-up aggression. They experience release when they pursue moving objects, regardless of what they’re chasing. Some can even only calm down after being breathless from running hard.
Why Stopping It Is Important
This is a concern faced by a lot of dog owners. It is a canine behavior that is common and considered problematic. Putting attention to it is wise that completely ignore it. That is because a dog lunging at vehicles and other things may result in various issues.
The Inconveniences Are Preventable
It is tiresome to keep chasing after a dog that keeps lunging at vehicles that pass by. There are options to keeping one confined anyway. Dogs on a leash or kept in the confines of a property can’t go around tailing automobiles.
Needing to go after a pooch when it misbehaves like that causes not only exhaustion but also fear and loss of time. It can be bothersome to keep being afraid of what might happen to your pet because of its carelessness too. Running after a loose dog could also let you miss appointments and opportunities.
Safety Concern
Dogs might find it fun to pursue vehicles but such may result in various problems for people. Road users could end up in serious mishaps because of it. It could cause road accidents or crashes. Thus injuries or worse may surface. Even property damage is possible.
A dog could lose its life or end up with a permanent disability after getting hit too. So it is very important to have its urge to chase vehicles stopped.
Dog Training Methods For Behavior Modification
You might be asking yourself, “So how do I stop my dog from chasing cars?” One way to go about it is to have your pooch trained. With the right intervention, a pup, full-grown canine, or old one won’t try to go after cars anymore.
Here are some strategies that may help:
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Positive reinforcement by using treats
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Proper punishment methods
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Distracting them by using tools
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Seek a dog trainer or canine behaviorist
Using Treats for your Dog
This one is very useful because dogs do respond to rewards. When their favorable actions get recognized, they know they have done something good. Using treats for pooches can be a way how to train a dog not to chase cars.
An owner can try to instill discipline in a dog by asking it to come per command and then using pet food as a reward. The dog would then halt when its person would ask it to come when it chases a car. It may take several tries for positive reinforcement to work but it’s worth trying out.
Smart Punishment
The reward system doesn’t always work. Rather, it’s enforcing punishment that may sometimes help. But punishing dogs through violence will likely never work. The smart way to penalize a pooch would be to ignore its misdeeds. If that doesn’t work then putting it on timeout may be good too.As long as it is not at risk of hurting anyone or getting injured, do not run after a loose dog. Ask or command it to return when it gets away from you to lunge at a vehicle. When it sees that you are not impressed or angry at its actions, it will refrain from doing what it did.
Distraction Strategy
Using a clicker toy can help. This works in the same way as giving a dog pet food for its good deeds. It is only that you make it associate the clicking sounds with reward. You do that by rewarding a dog with a treat while making the clicks. That is until at some point the pet food would no longer be necessary.It can aid by keeping a dog focused on you. It would come or return to you when it would hear clicks. No matter how tempting it would be for it to chase cars, it would give priority to going for the clicking sounds. That is because it has already been associated with good feelings.
Going for Professional Help
Canine experts are around because they can help. Busy people can avail of their services or those who are having a hard time training their pets. Dog trainers and behaviorists understand the body language of canines. Most of them have tools, significant experience, and training too.
Extra Tips
Controlling it would be best while a dog is still young. But this doesn’t mean that an old pooch can’t learn to do so too. Positive reinforcement and punishment can work on dogs at any age. A person only needs to know how to take advantage of these strategies.
Measures For Restraining A Dog
Training a dog may take a while. Some pooches don’t respond well to teachings, especially the old ones. So it would be best to have some things that could at least give guarantees instead. These are what many try for pest restraint.
Installation of Dog Fence
Having a fence or wall around one’s property could help. This could at least stop a canine from leaving and lunging at vehicles that pass by. Yet it has also some other benefits. One is that it could prevent a dog from seeing outside of its confinement area. Such could also allow you to play with your pooch within your space. That is so it won’t have to run after things outside when it’s playful or energetic.
Use of Leash and Harness to your Dog
You can use these things to lead or control your dog and this is the most helpful way to train dog not to chase cars. They can stop a pet from getting loose and doing things they are not supposed to do. But it is important to put them on a dog right. Make sure that they don’t up choke or squeeze a canine. Fastening them right is also imperative so that dogs won’t escape and run. Almost anyone could stop dog chasing cars while the leash is intact.
