If your dog has a habit of chasing cars, know this is a serious problem. Not only is your dog’s health in danger but so are the people driving the car and the pedestrians walking on the road. Moreover, if you observe stray dogs, what causes the most fatalities in them are road accidents.
It is also important not to punish your dogs for this behaviour since it is natural for them to chase anything that moves, be it a cat, rabbit, a jogger, and of course a car. It is their predatory instinct that makes them chase objects.
In this blog, you will see 7 simple yet highly effective tips that will tremendously help you stop your dogs from chasing moving cars.
Here are those,
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Prevention is Better than Cure
The easiest way to make your dog stop chasing cars is to not allow them to do so in the first place. This can be achieved by closing your house gate or putting them on a leash when the cars are passing by. This ensures that your dogs won’t run behind any moving objects, be it cars, bikes or cats. You should know that most of the tips given in this blog require teaching your dog to ignore and overcome their instincts. That is relatively challenging and you are not guaranteed a 100% success rate, even if you manage to pull it off.
Keeping your dogs secured in one place takes all the headaches away and also your responsibility to watch them over and over again to ensure they are not chasing anything.
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Shift their Focus
You will also find it highly beneficial when you are shifting your dog’s focus from the car. This can be done by offering your dog a delicious dog treat, an engaging dog toy or a game that they enjoy playing a lot. For example, playing a game like fetch will help you a lot since your dogs like chasing moving objects. The whole idea is to offer them an alternative source of entertainment that is more exciting than chasing cars.
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Make it Clear that This Isn’t Fun
If you call your dog in a lovely way or chase after them, they will think you are playing with them. In their minds, you are both having fun chasing the moving car. This is not at all what you need. You need to let them know that this is not a game and you don’t appreciate this behaviour. While calling them, use a firm voice but do not sound angry. Also, don’t punish or scold them when they come back. Instead, soothingly praise them with a treat.
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Train them to Come When Called
It would be futile to call your dog back if he is not trained in basic dog commands. A command like “come” can be highly helpful in calling your dog back when they are chasing cars. To teach your dogs to “come”, stand at a distance from them at first. Grab their attention by showing them a treat or a toy. Then tell them to come. Once they come to you, reward them and repeat the command so that it gets etched in their brain.
Increase the distance gradually, and add other distractions as well. The whole idea behind this is to make your dogs realise that running to you is more rewarding than anything else in their surroundings at a given time.
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Tire them Out in Advance
Many dogs who chase cars have excessive energy in them. If you think this is the case with your dogs too, consider burning off all that pent-up energy in them. Go with your dog for a walk in the park in the morning and make him run there, preferably by playing a game of fetch. Once they are totally tired, it is less likely that they will chase a car.
Remember, even if this doesn’t work, it will boost your bond with them, making communication better between you two.
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If Everything Else Fails, Consult a Behaviourist
If you can’t break your dog’s habit of chasing cars using conventional methods, they might be experiencing a deep-seated behavioural issue. Here is when you should seek professional help. A well-qualified dog behaviourist can assess your dog, determine the cause of their behaviour and can come with a solution as per your dog’s needs. They may even prescribe medication if they think stress and anxiety are the underlying causes.
Many times, there are environmental factors that contribute to undesirable habits in dogs. For instance, the dog behaviourist may look around your house to determine if anything upsetting your dog. Sometimes, the solution can be as simple as eliminating a few triggers inside the house.
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What Should You Avoid Doing?
There are also techniques that you should strictly avoid practising. Firstly, as mentioned above, punishing your dog for their bad behaviour. This method most definitely won’t work and will only make your dogs associate cars with pain. Your dogs can get aggressive and may start chasing the vehicles with more vigour.
Secondly, don’t make them afraid by using a car, either. Many owners think bumping their dogs with the car can make them stop chasing it. This is an extremely silly idea since one can also run over them.
In Brief,
If your dog tends to chase cars, it is highly important to solve this issue as this is the question of their life and the safety of car riders and pedestrians as well. Hopefully, these techniques will help you to overcome this problem. Remember, consistency and patience will play a key role in making your dogs stop this behaviour, as it will take a certain amount of time. Keep praising and rewarding your dogs when they follow your command and you will soon see fruitful results.