Bolting (or trying to) out of the car!!

[FlowersGSD]

ok-so I take Ben most everywhere with me in the car. He is 6 mos old and this was part of his socialization-going places meeting new people etcetc.
He is a great dog with a wonderful temperment.
I just bought a clicker and am using it with success with 'leave it' ,'wait' and things like that.
Every morning we have been riding to the park for play and walks.
but one thing I need to be able to teach is to stay in the car when he is not going to come out with me and wait until released when he is.
when I stop the engine he starts to get excited and jumps into the front seat and right up to my back as I am exiting. I have to forcibly stuff him back in and quickly shut the door to escape. there has to be a better way!
when we get to the park and he is going to be getting out- I do that routine and tell him from the outside of the car"get in the back". I then open the back door and try to do my best for a good "wait" then "ok".
I think we will be able to get that down better as we work on it more.

The biggest problem is how to train him to stay in the back seat and stay period when he is not going to be getting out with me. I am afraid that he will bolt into traffic.
anyone have a good way of dealing with this??
all ideas are welcome!!

[martemchik]

You should anticipate him jumping into the front seat and catch him in the act. That way he gets that he should wait in back. I have a hatchback and mine jumps into the trunk (with the back seat down). He would do this all the time and also try to sneak out through the crack between the front seat and the back when I opened the door. I forced him to stay back and then when opening the trunk to let him out made him sit and wait for me to say its ok to go.

Its really hard to control them with any other way then force since you are kind of limited in the actions you can take. Mine is 8 months old and it took him a few trips to the dog park to figure out he has to wait. So just keep trying, I bet it will be harder with the door (mine is a lift gate), but you should be able to do it.

[Good_Karma]

I put a harness on my dogs in the car, and then have them attached to a seatbelt with a tether. They cannot physically move into the front seat. And when I open the car door, they cannot jump out either. I attach the leash, unclip the harness, then release them to jump out (actually, Rosa gets picked up and set down since she can't do the jumping with her bad hips).

Maybe until your pup gets some more self control (that comes with age and training), a tether for car rides might be a good idea.

[Kris10]

You could purchase a seat belt harness, which is a pretty good thing to have for safety too. There are many kinds and price ranges. I have the Solvit harness and it is sturdy and can be attached to the seat belt in seconds. Of course it tightens up with the seatbelt when needed, but allows some movement...

Then you can teach "wait" without worrying about him sneaking out! I taught Max to sit and wait until I say okay to jump out. Basically I open the door a little at a time and close it if he tries to come out. He doesn't get the "reward" (getting out of the car) until he complies and waits in a sit.

[FlowersGSD]

i see that amazon has a large solvit harness used (like new).
sounds like a plan.
was hoping to get him trained without it but that may be asking a lot.
i still would love to hear other peoples experiences with the same issue. it just seems that it is probably something that lots of people deal with.
thanks for the input!

[Rerun]

A seatbelt is a nice safety feature, but personally I don't feel the dog will magically gain knowledge as he grows up. He either learns to wait, or he doesn't. I teach all of my dogs from day one not to bolt out of cars and they have to wait before they enter one as well. nothing more annoying than opening a door to get something, and having dogs go flying in the vehicle in the wrong spot. My 9 month old is my youngest and he's known this behavior since he was a few months old.

You have to be faster than the puppy, and as someone stated - anticipate the pup will try to bolt. Catch the leash, give the wait or stay command (your preference), and a correction if the dog persists in trying to launch out. If the dog jumps out without having been given the command or release to do so, immediately correct and put the dog right back in the same spot he jumped from. Repeat as necessary.

[wilbanks17]

Originally Posted by Good_Karma

I put a harness on my dogs in the car, and then have them attached to a seatbelt with a tether. They cannot physically move into the front seat. And when I open the car door, they cannot jump out either. I attach the leash, unclip the harness, then release them to jump out (actually, Rosa gets picked up and set down since she can't do the jumping with her bad hips).

Maybe until your pup gets some more self control (that comes with age and training), a tether for car rides might be a good idea.

Yes, this is the best method. Try it!

[FlowersGSD]

correcting and putting him back in the car as many times as it takes is more what i would like to do.
i would train that in the driveway first probably.
i would want him to be reliable to stay put while i am getting out of the car and also when i am getting back in. so how would yu train that? stay? or wait?
also the harness is a great idea but what if i want to go in the grocery store for a long shop-- does anyone leave a dog in a harness? iam thinking not. so i would want to do this without an artificial restraint but with training.
he has learned to wait before getting in the car and to wait before exiting.
it is just the situation where i will not be taking him out with me.
then i use the word stay-which means he is not coming.
does that make sense?

[spidermilk]

Use the doggie seat belt. There are so many other good reasons to use one. I can wait until he calms down to open the door and he can't destroy my car. Then I can wait until he sits or downs to unhook him and let him out. It will get better with practice and by not allowing him to bolt and making him sit before you allow him out. Treats help as always.

Dax's big thing was barking non stop when we got somewhere. Now, with work, even that has ended- yay!

[Coastie01]

Put him on the training collar and leash of your choice and make it just short enough that he gets janked back if he tries to get in the front then do some training with the stay or wait command and if he tries to jump he will get corrected by the collar.