Car Chaser

[Germanshepherdlova]

My GSD was a big time car chaser as a pup. I would tell him no over and over and he quit doing it for the most part. But when we are out on a walk, and not very often does he do this, but he will occasionally regress to his car chasing ways and lunge for a car suddenly, and since he is a big boy now, he nearly takes my arm off. He walks great on the leash, but he catches me totally off guard, because he will stop doing it for a long time and then BAM-he does it again. I welcome all ideas on how to get him to permanently stop this!

[Good_Karma]

I was going to say No, only because I don't give my dogs the chance to chase cars, but I guarantee you they would chase a car if I let them.

What worked for me with Niko (who would lunge at cars when he was a puppy) was to put him in a sit and play the Look at That game as the car went past. So now when we hear a car coming, I put him in a sit and he gets treats as the car passes. He never attempts to go after the cars anymore. I could probably skip putting him in a sit now when a car goes by and just keep walking, but it's kind of a habit for us now. Plus we hardly ever get a car going by where we walk.

[Germanshepherdlova]

I live in the city, and we have cars constantly passing by. He waits for weeks to pass by and doesn't do it, and then when I let my guard down, he does it again. It has got to the point where every time I see a car coming, I pull back on the leash and say NO! Problem is, he isn't going to chase it every time, so he must think I am crazy, repremending him for nothing.

[Emoore]

Trying to correct the behavior after he's made the decision isn't going to do the trick. You need to keep his focus on YOU. Does he know "watch me" or a similar command? Teach him "watch me" which is where he looks at your face and not at anything else. Then, when you see car coming, you can have him "watch me." Pretty soon he'll be glancing at YOU whenever a car comes by instead of having time to decide if he wants to chase it or not.

[shilohsmom]

No, and I would never allow my dogs the chance to even try!

[Germanshepherdlova]

Talked to a behavioral specialist, since my dog just had surgery and he isn't allowed to run or pull at all right now. He said he is chasing the cars because he has a strong prey drive, which is very common in GSD's since they are herding dogs. My dog will have a shock collar on and when he attempts to chase, well you know what will happen. This is the quickest way to break him of this according to the specialist.
Emoore and Good Karma, thanks for your ideas.

[Emoore]

Is the therapist going to show you how to choose the appropriate stim level and introduce the collar correctly? I don't know a lot about e-collars since I've never had to use one, but I do know you don't just put it on the dog and press the button when he chases a car.

[Germanshepherdlova]

Originally Posted by Emoore

Is the therapist going to show you how to choose the appropriate stim level and introduce the collar correctly? I don't know a lot about e-collars since I've never had to use one, but I do know you don't just put it on the dog and press the button when he chases a car.

Of course not. He is working with us, sorry I didn't explain this well.

[Emoore]

Originally Posted by Germanshepherdlova

Of course not. He is working with us, sorry I didn't explain this well.

I see what you're saying now.

[JanaeUlva]

I have seen her watch cars as they zip down the road but she makes no attempt to chase them.